Sun - 08/09/19

This was the day of EMACS 2019 10000 metres at Eraclea. I was awake at 6am and did some chores then had another lie down. I drifted off and woke up again at 09:24. Breakfast is buffet-style. I no longer have any interest in the cereals or fruit. I just line the plate with thin slices of cheese and mortadella and have bacon and eggs on top. I only had one helping today. I am still having a couple of bread rolls and butter. The bread is probably not as harmful as UK supermarket bread but I would still like to cut it out. Buttery bacon rolls are rather nice though. The waitress, as soon as she spotted me, smiled and said “American coffee?”.

I noticed that Athletics Weekly was Tweeting about the cross country which was taking place in the storms which have already hit Caorle. I checked the start list for the M65 Cross Country. Elio Lepore is not on it. I tried hard yesterday to get him to check at the confirmation desk but he wouldn’t have it. I notice that he did not run. I should have frog marched him to the confirmation desk. A chance of a team medal for him and a couple more of my chums was lost.

My race today, the 10000 metres, was at 18:30 and was the last race of the day. It was held at the stadium in Eraclea, about six miles north of my base at Lido Di Jesolo. There is no cover at the track. The nearest shelter is in the nearby leisure centre. Throughout the day there were huge electrical storms blowing in off the sea. There were seven runners in my race and I knew that I was a couple of laps slower than everyone else. This was a day where my tail running skills would come to the fore. Towards the end I tried to use the runners who lapped me as a pick-me-up to drive me on. It worked to a limited extent.

In my race plan I had written down my goals thus: “I’d be amazed to get a time under 46 minutes. If the conditions are as bad as they are at the moment; my time could be much worse. So realistically, my goal is not to miss the last bus home”.

Like yesterday I went to the ticket office at the bus station and bought a €3.50 return ticket to Eraclea. Unlike yesterday I and other athletes with these tickets were not allowed on the EMACS bus. “Passes only” said a rude and grumpy ATVO driver and there were two heavyweight inspectors to back him up. Note that a weekly pass costs €24. I’m here for two weeks and I’m only doing three journeys to Eraclea. Buying weekly passes is hardly a cost-effective option. One downside of using regular public transport buses is the positioning of the nearest bus stop which is a 15 to 20 minutes walk from the stadium. The last bus leaves one hour and twenty-five minutes after the start of my race

The good news. Due to the atrocious weather conditions they have altered the schedule and combined some age groups including the M60s and the M65s. There would now be 21 runners in my race and I would not be the slowest!

(post-race comment) OK, I was last M65 but there was one M60 who finished behind me, and another who dropped out. My time of 48:14.15 was my slowest 10000 metres ever by more than 4 minutes. After I finished, I hurriedly collected my Sherpa-sized kit bag and briskly walked the 1500 metres or so to the bus stop where I arrived in time to visit a cash machine and get the last bus home. My goal achieved!

I had thought about wearing my Team Carthorse cap in this race but was dissuaded by the fashionista within me.

My arrival time at the Royal Oak was later than usual and the place was busy and buzzing. There was football on the TV again. This time it was Finland v Italy. The top teams always seem to get “the run of the green”. The other night Armenia had a player red carded in what seemed a very harsh decision. I didn’t watch this game so intently but I saw a lot of unpunished Italian thuggery and an Italian goal from a penalty. I didn’t see the incident which led to the spot kick. I had chicken strips tonight rather than my usual steak. At half time I wandered down the main street. I had a glass of red wine at “Al Morso”, a café-bar where the guys behind the counter were more drunk than the clientele. I carried on down the street and arrived at “Only Prosecco”. My chicken strips had not been filling enough so I went in and had a couple of small beers, a piadina, and some patatine chips. I headed back for the hotel, cwtched the hotel owners’ dog and retired to my room. More good news the TV did not come on at midnight – (unlike yesterday).