Running in the heat can be tough. For this particular race I was also coming back from injury and dealing with weight issues. It was a humid 25 degrees Celsius and I could still feel my sore foot after a good three months of easing back in, but an old trick picked up from the mountains in Mexico would help me put in a decent race time and pick up a nice trophy as a souvenir of my holiday.

Back in October of 2014 I’d injured my foot on the track and made it worse by trying to come back for the Shanghai 10 bridge half marathon. I visited two doctors to try and assess the situation. The first doctor advised that I take some pain-killers and rest a bit. That didn’t work so well. The second guy reckoned I should hang up my trainers and pack in the running for good. And he made quite a convincing case. It was already about a month after the original injury and the x-ray showed some calcium lump on the back of my heel. It felt like I thought might be plantar fasciitis, and it looked like a heel spur on the x-ray. In any case, I would have to consider the possibility that I might not be able to run well, for a while at least.

And so it came to pass. November, December and January I could only manage five or six kilometres a time before my heel and the bottom of my foot forced me to stop. It was damn frustrating. Getting changed to go out, jogging a few k around the block, then hobbling back home worrying that I might have set the injury back. I ran less, ate more and put on a fair bit of weight over the Christmas holidays.

By the time my holiday in Thailand rolled around I was feeling a bit more confident. I was at the stage where my foot would feel a lot worse after a run, but not any worse again before the next run. A lot of people would recommend waiting until you can’t feel your injury before running again. This is probably sensible advice for most folk, but I’m not so patient and long periods of rest without activity don’t seem to work well for me. In any case I never really feel that a bad injury really completely goes away. Occasionally I’ll feel an old injury coming back, but it seems they lose their bite over time. At least, I’ve never had one come back stronger or anything like that. Before the Don Bosco race I managed a few half decent training runs and could feel I was on the road to recovery.

We’d booked a hotel a couple of kilometres away from the start of the race and should have arrived in good time the night before to have dinner and get to bed early the night before. This wasn’t accounting for the terrible traffic and the two hour ride from the train station out to the suburbs. Supposedly this was because of Valentines day.

As it turned out, by the time we’d checked into our room, nothing was open and I’d have to buy some noodles at the seven-eleven. Not the best pre-race nutrition, but at least I wouldn’t be going to bed on an empty stomach.

The race was due to start just after 7am in the dark. I’d slept in so had to run through the park to arrive in time. Luckily the start was delayed, so I managed to push a bit toward the front and catch my breath. Although it was still dark, the temperature was starting to climb and I was already dripping with sweat. By the time the gun went it was around 25 degrees Celsius and very humid.

We set off along the red carpet at the start at around 7:10 and pretty much immediately went into the first of a series of 90 degree turns. I’d take the first couple of turns with the pack but breaking away after the first kilometre allowed me to take the racing line on the corners.  The course would skirt the perimeter of the park then turn back on itself after 5k to follow the same route back to the beginning with aid stations every couple of kilometres.

I could feel my injured foot quite strongly after the second kilometre but it was more of a weak ache than anything more serious. If I could push and hold onto the runners around me I might be fine. My pace was around a 4:10 kilometre and the sweat was running out of me like a tap but the sun still wasn’t over the horizon. At the first couple of aid stations I took a mouthful of water and pored the rest over my head.

The turnaround at 5k was both a relief and a scare. I was relieved that I’d managed to pass half the race without injury, but I could also feel the temperature rising and was worried I might overheat and run out of energy before the end of the race. The back of my legs started to ache a bit but at least the foot was holding up. The runners running towards me (running back towards the turn-around) looked in good condition. I’d need to work hard to hold my position.

By the time I reached the 6k aid station it was really starting to heat up, so I grabbed some ice and fired it down my keks. This is an old trick for running in the heat I picked up in Mexico. The crotch is an important part of your circulatory system, so applying ice to this area helps regulate the overall temperature and stop you from overheating. It’s also mighty invigorating and helped give me the kick I needed to stay in the race for the last four kilometres.

I pretty much kept up my pace until the last kilometre, and the home straight, where my pace dropped down from 4:20 to 4:40 kilometres. This was down to a combination of the heat, tiredness and my injury, but I managed to to hold on and pick up for a sprint finish crossing the line in 42:08. A good time considering the heat.

I actually finished fifth in my category and picked up a handsome trophy. The award ceremony was pretty impressive. The five of us lined up to be awarded our medals and were asked to bow to the flag and a portrait of the king. One of the other medal winners was an Australian. Another guy was Japanese and one guy actually ran barefoot. A very international race.

The trophy was also cool. Big enough for sure. And the hospitality after the race was very impressive. Plenty of food and drink for everyone. The whole race experience was a pleasure from start to finish and I would certainly look forward to running another race in Thailand. I was especially happy to have put in a decent performance after such a bad injury and was looking forward to picking up my running with an ultra trail race in Dalian.

Back on track!