I was off in the first race, but looking before the start at the others I knew that I would be orphaned off the back soon after the start and this meant that I made my primary aim to avoid being lapped. My fitness is currently down on last year and I knew that at my best I would just manage to go sub six minutes.

The first two laps were, I think, 91 and 92 seconds – roughly on plan. Then I struggled with the third lap, as is often the case. I think this was around 100 seconds. The final lap I managed to pick the pace up again and finished in 6:15. Slower than I would have liked, but not as slow as I feared it may be.

I borrowed dad’s camera during the second race and took a pile of photos.

For the third race I was pacing mum. We started a bit too fast, but managed to keep a good pace and finished exactly on the goal time of 9 minutes.

Then there was the question raised of who wanted to race 100m. Of course I instantly said yes – I never seem to remember how painful such a short race can be. I was happy with my time – I ran 14.5, which is roughly equal to my PB. All that remained after this was to eat some cake and there were plenty of tasty cakes to choose from!

I spent a good chunk of the rest of the weekend working on the garden. It has been sadly neglected for some time – the year I have lived in the property and, probably, for a few years before that. We cleared out nearly all of the ivy and took care of the weeds. Seven trips to the tip to get rid of the waste, though that is partly because of the car being small. It now looks much better and it is now possible to actually use the space to sit out and relax.

From the start I went off at an easy pace, accompanied by R. The first five miles were completed in 40 minutes, at an even pace. We then slowed, and ran the next five miles in 43 minutes, though this section of the race included most of the uphill sections and parts of it were into the wind and rain.

At the ten mile point R went on ahead, finishing in exactly 1:45. I took it more easily and finished in 1:51:14.

I had a reasonable run. I started slightly too quickly, but kept a reasonable pace throughout. I finished in 25:19 for the 3.5 miles.

On Sunday it was the Reading Half Marathon. I had originally intended to run, but I am feeling the effects of the Duchy Marathon and dropped out a couple of days before. Instead, I spent the morning on the university grounds, watching the runners come through.

The first few miles were OK. They were slightly slower than planned, but I felt reasonable. I made sure I was not going too fast at the beginning. The first eight miles passed in 75 minutes.

At the eight mile point the course turned a sharp corner and we were then running into the wind for the next four and a half miles. Included in this part of the course was also a fair amount of the uphill. I slowed and went through halfway in about 2:10. I stopped for a quick chat with my mother and resupplied with energy gels.

I was back on the earlier part of the course now and out of the wind. I tried to pick the pace back up, but my legs were feeling heavy and the pace was just not there. The next seven miles went through in 79 minutes.

Then it was back into the wind again and from here it was just a case of getting to the finish. I had to walk most of the stretches into the wind – I was being blown backwards if I tried to run. The last part of the course took 85 minutes. I did manage a bit of a sprint into the finish!

Overall a time of 4:53:30, which is a PB by nearly 29 minutes.
The race organisation and marshalling was good. Afterwards we got a Cornish pasty, which I waited quite a while to eat. As the race HQ was a hotel, I was able to have a shower before heading for home.

The weather, when I arrived back in the UK, was cold and wet. While standing the in baggage drop line I did ask my friend quite why I had decided to come out for the race and not gone and slept. However, just as we started running the sun came out and the conditions were ideal for running.

My race data shows three distinct phases. For the first three and a half miles I was running at about 8:40 per mile. For the next three and a half miles I dropped the pace to marginally quicker than 10:00 per mile. At the seven mile mark I start moving faster again and went at 9:00 per mile, or quicker, to the finish. I even manage a decent sprint finish – overtaking quite a few people in the final stretch.

My legs felt heavy the whole way round and the tiredness meant that it was easy to let the pace drop. I finished in 1:58:02 – almost exactly a 9 minute mile average, which I was pleased with. The two people I had travelled with finished in front of me and I am glad they found me at the end, as I almost walked straight past them.

On arriving at seafront there was a cold wind. The course is an out-and-back, so we were going to be running half the course into the wind. Then, with about fifteen minutes until race start, it became colder and started to snow. I did wonder why I was there at this point! Fortunately, it stopped snowing a few minutes before we started and the wind also lessened up shortly after we started running.

My legs were not as fresh as when I ran a PB last month. I completed the first half only marginally slower, but I was not able to maintain the pace on the way back. I finished in 20:25, which equals my second best 5k time. Not bad at all.

On Saturday I joined the SWJS – the south west junior orienteering squad – for a track session and 3k time trial. We did an good range of running drills and the group of us that had run the night before then paced laps for the others doing the time trial. It took a couple of practise laps to get the 90 second pacing correct.

Sunday started early. I wanted to fit a twenty mile run in and had to finish before my nephew, and his mummy and daddy, arrived for lunch. I ran a route through the villages close to where my parents live. A really good run and it is so nice to run out on quiet roads. Then there was time to have a quick bath before meeting my nephew!

Positives for the year
I completed my first marathon.
Reading Half – 1:34:53 – a race nearly exactly to plan.
Yateley 10k – it was the hottest day of the year, but I ignored that to run my best paced 10k of the year and sneak a small PB.
Swiss Orienteering Week – one week of orienteering in the Swiss hills. Nothing bettered the views of the third and fourth days.
Boscombe 5k – I’ve wanted this PB, and the sub20, all year and finally got it at the last chance. Also, it completed the PB set for the year.

Things to improve on
I’ve not run often enough and I’ve not done enough long runs. Next year should come with more miles.
The balance between work and anything that is not work.
Racing too often – either I need to attend races and not go flat out or enter less races. I am not sure which of those will be easier to achieve.

Goals for 2010
PB at every distance I run.
Run more.
Continue to enjoy running and orienteering.

With a few days to go it was beginning to look as if this was a bad choice. There was a forecast of snow and high winds. Fortunately I was able to travel out of Reading easily on Friday lunchtime and there was no snow further west. On arriving at the seafront, the cliffs nicely sheltered us from the northerly winds. So it was chilly, but it seemed ideal for a good, fast run.

I warmed up well, but managed to leave my Garmin on autolap in miles and forgot to clear the warm up before starting the race. I started at a good pace and managed to keep the the pace up. I got in with a small group, just behind a much larger group and used these people to help me keep moving at around the right pace. I went through halfway in exactly ten minutes – perfectly to plan. On the way back I managed to keep moving well and managed a small sprint finish.

I was certain it was a PB, but I did not know if I had got under twenty minutes. I knew it was close, but I had to wait a few days for the results.
19:56

So that means I have PB-ed at all distances this year! Now thoughts turn to next year!

On Saturday I went and ran round a snowy track. 5:57 for the mile and some cake eaten.

The course can be split into three parts: seven and three quarter miles of fairly flat running; a big hill; and a mile or so of flat into the finish.

Part 1 – The Beginning
The start was chaotic and stupid. The start banner was a few metres wide and they had us line up by standing in a massive area nearby. When we started those in and around me moved nowhere for a few seconds and then started to move slowly. I was well past the start line before I was running at a decent pace.

The first few miles were run using the Garmin pacing. Get to the right speed, keep to the right speed – neither too fast or too slow. Consistency was the key and that was what we achieved.

Part 2 – The Hill
Then we went uphill – 1.5 miles of uphill; a really steep start to the descent; and another mile, or so, of shallower descent.

For the uphill we maintained a good, strong pace. During this section we overtook a lot of people. My heart rate climbed a bit, but not excessively – suggesting that we were at the right pace.

The first part of the descent was steep and quite tough. It seemed to be turning the legs to jelly. The less steep part was welcome and allowed us to push the pace back up.

Part 3 – Into the Finish
Then it was just a case of keeping the pace up and running to the finish. Annoyingly R got ahead of a pair who were running slowly in the last part where the course was tight. During this chunk he got 50m ahead and I never caught him. I believe he got a 90s PB. I finished in 1:40:45.

Now for a rest in front of the TV, following the large recovery curry I had earlier.