Run the Bath again

Race Day! One of my favorite things about race day(s) is walking around town in a medal and a space blanket like it's no big deal. Today a kid asked his mom as we walked past, "Why are they in tin foil?"

Because, dear kid, today is the Bath Half marathon!

My fourth time in this race, in fact. That's 4/6 for the period I've been here, not too bad. And, today, a PB! But don't get excited, because, actually, what I did was just tie with my last PB. Weird. I know. Exactly the same. 1.40 last time, 1.40 this time. But I'm counting it as a real PB because last time I felt horrid after, and this time I just feel hungry.

(Charlie did brilliant too, considering he fell off his bike last week, smashing his knee and can't really bend it properly right now. 1.48, in a brace. Not bad at all.)

My least favourite thing about this race:

-although Bath is one of the most breath-takingly beautiful cities in the world (I say), this course, in order to stay mostly flat, takes runners along all the ugliest bits (except the start and finish, which are, to be fair, lovely). Maybe they want to encourage people to stick around for a few days to see all the nice bits afterwards?

My favourite things about this race:

-it's so close. A six minute walk down to the start from our front door.

-Great treats. You never know what you're going to get. Along with the regular sports drink, t-shirt, mars bar, etc, this year's goodies include Goji berries, toilet paper, discounts on flights to Toronto (!) and ground flax seed...

-it's a huge race in a small town. Meaning loads of spectators, and a good chance that you'll recognize a fair number, even if you didn't know they'd be out/they didn't know you were running.