Since last Sunday when I ran a bad (in my opinion) 10k I returned home and spent the rest of the day in bed. My stomach was not in a happy place. I managed three days at work (just) before taking Thursday off and going to the doctors. Come Friday I was feeling a lot better and managed a very gentle 2.5 mile jog with Sharon after I got home from work.

I was feeling better still this morning, although not perfect, that’s for sure. Conditions at Bushy Park were fantastic, and the was an impressive field of just over 400 runners, with some good fast guys there to keep the front of the race exciting (well, if you ignore the winner who finished with an almost 30 second lead!).

I had a good first kilometer (maybe this week of enforced rest helped!) and for the rest of the run stayed strong and ran close to friend Mark G. We drifted past a few other runners throughout the race which was good and the only person who overtook me was Allan B., who sprinted past me just before the finish after I edged past him at about 400 meters to go.

I finished 22nd overall with a time of 18:31 which I was very pleased with. This is my fourth fastest time ever (in 67 races) at Bushy Park and I last ran quicker at the start of October last year when I set my 5k best time of 18:04. Now that I’m 35 years old (it was my birthday earlier this week I’m now listed in the “Senior Male 35-39” category).

I plan to get a good long run in on Sunday and aim to salvage my marathon training which has had far too many interruptions over recent weeks!

Sharon had a pleasant run and finished in 27:54 and ran with friends Kirsty and Liz for much of it.

Finally, congratulations to Danny, who got another personal best at Bushy Park this morning with a time of 16:29. Congratulations also to Faye who smashed her previous PB and also to Claire who got a PB at the Richmond Park Time Trial.