Another week, another Race

Since getting back, things have been going reasonably well on the training front. I have been trying to mix the training up, some walking, some running. I even managed to run up North Barrule (local fells) last weekend from the Verranda and back. I was delighted to get up and down in 1 hour 20.

I went for a longer run in the dark along the Leeds/Liverpool canal on Wednesday night. I trod on a round stone and rolled my ankle over and ended up hopping along cursing at myself for such stupidity. After limping back to my flat in Leeds I was forced to rest until yesterdays race.

I got down to Ronaldsway happy that my ankle was feeling fine and feeling fresh from a three day break. I managed 69:12 at St Johns before Christmas so I was determined to set a SB (seasons best is probably the best way for me to describe things from now on) . The course was 10 1k laps. I went well on on the first two laps but somehow got myself into a dip in the middle of the race. I was apprehensive of going too fast and ruining my chances of finishing. I am still struggling to find my pace properly. I got into a good battle with some folk I caught up with but then my food went numb and I had to stop and readjust my shoes losing valuable seconds.

The stop probably helped me as I got anger with myself for not having got this detail right at the start and chased off at a much stronger pace. With three laps to go, Marie Gilbertson caught me up. Marie is faster than me on paper so I decided that I was going to catch a tow and stay with her until I collapsed. Luckily I didn't and this propelled me a further 6 places up the field and I finished in 5th place in 67:46 beating my previous time by 1 minute 26.

Given the fact that I am STILL 87 kilos and I had a rubbish month with little training I am content with the time. I know that the weight is a significant factor in my performance at the moment. The next race is the 10th of Feb. I want to go under 65 mins. my research into these things tells me that 2 kilos should be enough to secure that without getting any fitter.

My current plan is to try and train 5 times a week for the next fortnight and concentrate on the weight thing as a priority. I am off for a weekend snowboarding in the alps next weekend so, logically, my other aim is to stay in one piece!

I wanted to say a quick thank you to Michael for showing me some very useful ITB strengthening exercises. They are harder than they look!