It's a little quiet largely as i'm enjoying putting my energy into training and racing at the moment, however, I miss you folk, so thought i'd have a few words about what occurring!

So I've been trying my hand at a few short fell races more recently, mostly as I would like to get better at settling into and warming up in a race quicker than the usual two hours that it currently takes me...tsk! I am enjoying the new challenges, these shorter races are fast, oh my lord, my lil pins don't know what's hit them. On the one hand I like that i'm pushing out of my comfort zone and on the other hand, I'm not very good in them.





Both the Long Mynd race and more recently the Cloud9 race were great for something different, and certainly I'm having to use all the tricks of the trade in order to compete at this level. It makes me appreciate just how amazingly strong the fell runners at the top of their game in the UK are. These athletes I hold in awe and aspire too. These folk at the top end of the field are 'untouchable' and I take a bow to their talent. which i'm sure has taken many hard years of training to  nurture and should not be viewed flippantly.



Prizes from Cloud9

Otherwise, I've taken a turn with working hours at the moment and I now get three days off, which is amazing in terms of how I can train. So this Monday saw my first long training session after a weekend of racing and training. I did a 19 mile fell and trail run in the Roaches early doors and then in the evening I did a plodding road road run of 12 miles.

I was accompanied by a chap with a lot of potential if he focuses on running in the future, Jake, he's a loose wire, climber, cyclist, swimmer, runner, skater boy and entertainer! He's crazy enough to attempt a run of that distance with a fair bit of a climb with absolutely no idea of what he was letting himself in for. He did great nonetheless, and managed a couple of hours before he had to rest. I legged it on for another hour or so and came to pick the lad up from the tea rooms. I'd like to say he was sat there sipping English breakfast tea served with a smile and a comforting pat on the back from the hosts however far from it. He tells me that he was practically kicked out of the joint in his broken state.













Monday evening and I hooked up with a friend who i'd describe as a completer not a competer (I may have made that word up). Hazel, she's a lady I met last year in a gym!! She is a quietly spoken unassuming girl who completed her first half marathon last year and now and then I share some running time with her as it helps to keep her motivated and helps me to take it easy now and then. So we undertook 12 slow road miles and boy was I feeling it. It was a novel experience for me to do four hours in the morning, rest, then another couple more hours in the evening. I'm sure racing on Sunday played a huge part in my tiredness, however for the first time ever I was a little 'spaced out'. It's great having these new experiences, I adored every new moment.

Happy days folks happy days

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