Long runs versus racing - (30/1)

As mentioned recently my plan this year is to reduce the number of races before FLM which will hopefully improve the quality of the long runs.

Last weekend was the first time I would have normally raced (Northern XC Championships in St Helens), but instead chose to do a 20 mile run with Steve, Lee x 2 and James - it went well with a strong second half to the run.

It did however leave me with a tight left ham string which has meant that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week has meant no speed work and instead a combination of cardio vascular workouts in the gym, cycling and steady running instead.

Hopefully a massage this afternoon will mean I will be ready for the Alsager 5 mile road race on Sunday which i am hoping to break my five mile PB at (currently 31:14) - although the current weather forecast of sub zero temperatures and snow may put paid to that anyway.

Update - (22/1)

What happened to the last few weeks !

Very little racing as this was a conscious decision as part of my my London Marathon training for 2009 - last year I raced 12 times in 12 weeks which with hindsight was probably 6-7 races too much.

So far this year I have run the Derbyshire XC championships where Stockport Harriers men's team got Bronze medal and several of the team through to represent Derbyshire at County level including my daughter Amber.

Training has been hard and steady with 70 mile weeks for the last few weeks - with only one 'overtraining' issue last week which was soon resolved.

Next race is a five mile road race at Alsager next weekend and I'm looking to beat last years time of 31:17

The new job at Capgemini is everything I could have hoped for and hasn't yet (?) had an impact on training !