Trevor Pask writes on 23 January 2023
The end of week three of 16 weeks began and ended on a Sunday at ‘The old airship hangar’ at Farnborough Airfield. The old airship hangar doesn’t have any walls. It is the framework of a very long, tall and narrow hangar which has been restored as a huge skeleton-like monument on the technology park at Farnborough. It’s a Grade II listed building dating to 1912, when what we now think of as conventional aircraft (heavier-than-air machines with wings to generate lift and engines for propulsion) were still thought of as being impractical toys which eccentric people (usually American or French) played with. The real future of flight was something twice as big as a football pitch, full of highly explosive gas, powered by temperamental petrol engines that created lots of heat and sparks. For good measure, to stop the gas escaping, the airship’s fabric envelope was coated in a flammable resin, with a tendency to create static electrical discharges. Also, every man (and they were all men) who thought this was a great idea - from Mr Rolls and Mr Royce, to Stan who swept the hangar floor - had been a hardened smoker since the age of 12. What could possibly go wrong?
With 16.6k on the plan, what could go wrong with doing a tad more and having a go at 21.1k at the Farnborough Half Marathon? The race village was situated in and around the old airship hangar. What better omen could any plane spotter want? Din was there looking for an England Master’s qualifying position. Craig Batterham was there looking for good time on a flat course. The plan for me was to relax into a long slow run and enjoy the spotting opportunities.
Farnborough is 29.5 miles from Ealing. On Saturday the average speed on public transport was 6mph. The final leg was a rail replacement bus from Woking to Farnborough whose driver navigated by stars rather than road signs. Travelodge was functional, but rooms are 8/10th scale models of real hotel rooms. By 9pm I had a headache and a sore throat. I said, “I think this is 60/40 I do this tomorrow, and if it’s not working, I’ll pull out at 5k when the route gets back near the hangar”.
Awful night’s sleep. In the morning I didn’t feel great, but never do the first night away in a hotel; and told myself, ‘The headache and gritty eyes are normal, you always feel like this, it’s ok. If it were easy there’d be no point’. We had feared - 9˚C at the start, so the -5˚C seemed manageable in the ‘shelter’ of the airship hangar: almost balmy. Meeting other Eagles Vicky Chan and Lisa Watson at the baggage drop seemed another good omen, and at 9am we were off for a tour around the hi-tech business park, the airfield, and some army training areas.
I have never run in such intense cold before. For the first 5k my hands were so cold they felt as if they were being dipped in boiling water. My breath froze on the inside of my sunglasses, and for 12k until it warmed up to -1˚C there was frost on my arms. Like Din, I wondered for a couple of seconds why they had put ice cubes in the cups at the water stations; but all was still going well until it felt as though I were breathing powdered glass, and at 10k I realised I had completely lost my voice. I maintained much quicker than race pace for 15k just to try and keep warm, but after that it became too painful to breathe deeply, and I jogged home the final few k.
Mission accomplished.
Magical mystery tour home on the buses again; but started to look forward to week 4 of training after a deep night’s sleep. Unfortunately the cough started on Monday, and that night I had dreams of the cold at my upcoming track coaching intervals session. Tuesday, I felt awful, and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take a Covid test, as I was due to marshal at an ultra-walking event at the weekend.
Positive.
Headaches, persistent dry cough, blocked nose. Most telling of all: I haven’t left the house for 36 hours, have walked under 1k, yet don’t feel jumpy!
So I tell myself that I will get better. Lots of time to go. I also tell myself that Covid is serious if it is this bad after two shots and two boosters. Was I reckless at Farnborough? Did I make it worse, or did I demonstrate that being able to run at all for 21k in -5˚C - with what I now know were the early symptoms of Covid - proves that I am stronger than I think? Maybe, but not that strong. Perhaps, I thought, like the smokers around the airship, the thing’s too big to explode. One smoke won’t harm.
Positive news is that despite the cold [and a frozen Camelbak hose - D] Din got her England Master’s qualifying slot.
Until next time, and continued thanks for all your support.