Golden Weekend

Well, I have to confess to being a bit of a blog skiver these last few days, it's been a bit hectic this week though & I can't believe it was Wednesday since my last post. It was a wishy-washy training week, with a good session Tuesday & then half easing down but half not for the rest of the week. M and I journeyed to Birmingham on Friday for a stay in a very cosy hotel so we'd be ready fresh faced for the XC international on Saturday. M was overjoyed to have permission to eat a full English whilst I settled for a meagre boiled eggie on toast, (sausages and racing don't mix). We then set out to pick up 'Old Man' Teasey; M's pa travelled half way across the country to join team Runningbear this weekend. We arrived at Alexander Stadium in time for kit collection and team photos which I deftly avoided.

A truly wild, wet and windy day made for a hard core cross country outing. Complete with the rather frightening red England pants I shivered my way to the start line, along with my England team mates for a competitive 6k race in rather wild and wintry conditions. M and Old Man Teasey were a great support as I trundled around the course, second behind super Vet Debbie Walters (who was running in the W40 category) and just holding off the first W35 Ireland counter. I think I maintained the pace into lap #2, building a bit of a lead but reached the final lap feeling pretty spent with a hard training week in my legs. I was relieved to hold on to the lead for the W35 race and great runs from fellow team mates brought a convincing W35 England team victory and gold medals for us all. No pics sadly as I forgot to show M how to use the pocket camera or maybe he just got distracted by the fetching red pants...anyways, I really enjoyed a proper cross country race with real mud and rain and plenty of windy gusts to battle.

After a welcome refuel in a fine Italian joint and some good running chat with M and his pa last night we were both out again for a long one this morning, my longest ever in fact. It felt wondrous to run under expansive blue sunny skies for the full 20 miles, taking in 9 miles of trail and finishing with a tarmac loop into Ilkley and home again. The pace averaged 7.29 and reflected a conscious decision to run these long ones a bit slower to leave room for more fun at the track on Tuesdays. M ran 18m and seemed to cope better than ever with the distance. I'm keeping my eye on him for Thirsk 10m, some very good racing and PBs are definitely on the menu these next few weeks.