17/08/10 - Ceres 8 (01:19:44)
Whissendine on steroids!  The Scottish 8-miler is listed as "undulating" - rather an understatement!  This was a hard run, as you start climbing right from the start.  Apart from a couple of minor downhills, the first 4 miles is a steady and rather steep climb with over 500' of elevation.  The finish is a steep descent.  Finished OK (and not last!).

08/07/10 - Whissendine 6 (00:58:29)
Another tough course, but an enjoyable one.  This is my Club's handicap race, so we had a big turn out of runners, and morale was high.  Conditions were pretty good, given the heat wave, and I was looking to finish around 00:59:30 - slow compared to previous year's, but sensible given recent runs.  I got off to a decent start and once up the first steep climb out of the village, I was quickly able to settle down into a steady and comfortable pace.  I completed the first half in around 28 minutes, so was pretty confident of achieving goal of sub-1 hour.  The final 3 miles is the toughest part, though, as there is a long 1 mile climb followed by a couple of steep ups and downs before the final sprint down to the bottom of the village.  Was very pleased with the time, given where I am currently at, and again no injuries other than a sore ankle from a slight twist in training a couple of days previous.

13/06/10 - Abbey 10k (00:59:30)
This was a hard run!  Very warm conditions prevailed again, and this is a course with very little shelter.  I started running with Mandy and Mike P, hoping to keep with them at about 9 min/mile pace - this was not to be.  I managed to stick with them to around 4.5k, but was then struggling to get my breath and heart rate was climbing, so I had to back off somewhat and let them go on ahead.  From 5k you leave the road and have a fen drove to negotiate for around 3k - broken concrete and shale - and I really struggled with the heat.  Once back on the road I managed to pick up the pace, but the damage was done.  Bearing in mind this is my PB 10k course, I finished in a poor time, though thankfully sub-1 hour.  No real problems, injury-wise.

09/05/10 - Eye 10k (00:57:22)
First race since VLM so was not expecting much.  Blustery conditions were not ideal, but thankfully not as warm as in previous years.  Kept a good steady pace throughout, but HR was high (ave 164, max 175).  Finished under the hour, wghich was my target, and no after effects.  Overall, pleased with outcome.

25/04/10 - Virgin London Marathon (05:25:34)
First ever marathon, and it was hard and painful!  Not a good start as we got totally soaked by a heavy shower just as we entered the start pens - muscles started to cramp up in the cold.  As we started the race, the rain stopped and it then felt like we were running in a sauna.  Eventually settled down after a few miles and then felt quite comfortable for a while.  Target time for half marathon distance was 2:15-2:20, and I went through in 2:20, still feeling good as we headed out towards Docklands.  However, HR was starting to rise, which was causing me concern.  The wheels then fell off in Canary Wharf at around 19.5 miles (the dreaded "wall"?).  My HR had peaked @ 168 and i was feeling shattered.  I was also concerned at seeing people at the side of the road on oxygen.  Having just picked up an energy drink, i decided to stop and transfer the contents to my drinks bottle and give my HR time to subside.  The problem was, when I then tried to start running again, the legs did not want to play.  The result was that for the last 6 miles I was alternating between slow jogging and walking.  I was also very sore from chafing underarms (had drawn blood on both sides) as well as on my front and back.  Finally crossed the line in a disappointing time, as I was aiming to go sub-5 hours.  The support all the way around the course was superb though, and really kept me going.

14/03/10 - Silverstone Half Marathon  (02:13:42)
This was my first race in nearly 3 months, and because of my real lack of pace in training since Christmas, I was not expecting much from this race.  Although we did not have the hail storms of previous years, conditions were again very blustery and cold.  Once we got under way I felt surprisingly good, and my pace settled down quickly to 09:30 pace for the first 6 miles.Between 6-8 miles there are a couple of bridges over the race track to go over, and then there is a long haul uphill back uo to the start straight - my pace dropped steadily to 10:00 - 10:30 pace and I could feel a nasty blister forming on my left insole.  The final mile or so up Hangar Straight to the finish was straight into a very strong wind, and this really hurt - I was glad to eventually cross the line.  I am  reasonably pleased with the time - one of my faster runs for a few months, although the tail-off over the last few miles was disappointing.  My right knee felt OK throughout and afterwards, but the right insole was very tender.  The blister on the left insole (about the size of a 50p piece and full of blood!) is rather painful and I will have to watch it to make sure it stays infection-free.