The Man from Hibaldstow - he say yes!

Gosh how many weeks have gone by?  I've been very slack with my blog.  Truth be told I've had some very mixed feelings about my running but I'm still out there.

First of all the North Lincolnshire Half Marathon on 4 July.  Well I was awaiting the opinion of my esteemed sports therapist on my knee situation and the upshot was that he reckoned there was nothing to worry about, just tight muscles in the thigh. So armed with that info I merrily went ahead.  Naturally the knee started to play up 2 miles into the race.  So the quandary of whether it was going to get worse and whether I'd have to pull out.  In the end I just gritted my teeth and carried on regardless.  Had quite a hilarious time gassing to a chap dressed as Darth Maul complete with light saber which was switched on and brandished every time we passed spectators.  And you think running with a water bottle in your hand is tricky? He has suffered kidney cancer and lost a kidney and is running for Pancreatic Cancer so that just about put my knee trouble into perspective.  The race is flat so that was a relief but it was still the furthest I had run since the marathon so I was feeling a little bit  nervous.  Then I spotted Scunny Bunny the Scunthorpe United mascot in the distance and who wouldn't want to run up to a fluffy bunny eh?  Last year I had marshalled this race and I knew the long straight at the end so when I was approaching it I knew how far was left.  I'm not sure if that helped! Anyway you can't beat a finish into a football stadium with members of your club cheering you in and your name announced over the tannoy as you cross the line.  What a feeling! And a PB of 02:14:19 to boot.

A mere week later and it was the Beverley 10k.  Though the weather had been bright and dry the previous week now it was cold and wet! Plus I woke up feeling like I was getting a cold.  Not a good way to start.  The race starts in the town itself and then heads out to the countryside before looping back. It was undulating initially before heading downhill for the last half of the race. The initial hills felt very tough but it was nice to know there were no more to come. Ten minutes before the end the heavens opened and everyone was completely drenched! My time wasn't the best but the second half was the fastest 5k I had ever run so that made me feel great!

Since then I have been running with the club and also running with other ladies, particularly the ones who are intending to do the marathon at Chester on 5 October.  A variety of hill runs, intervals and long runs are keeping me in the loop.  Long may it continue!