Since twisting my ankle four weeks ago I was never going to have a good run here (that is, if I even made it to the start line). I had two weeks off of running, and the past two weeks Sharon and I have been away on holiday and although I managed to do some running (with no ankle pain), it was tough going in 30+ degree heat.

I ran the Bushy Parkrun (the new name for the Bushy Park Time Trial) yesterday in 19:41 which I was happy with (although my calves felt very tight) and my plan for today’s 10 miler was to aim for 65 minutes (6:30 miling pace), but I had no idea if that would be pushing it too much or not.

Unlike last year I actually set off at a reasonable pace and ran the first mile in 6:23 (which turned out to be my fastest mile). I have very little else to report on the race other than at about mile 3 my calves started to feel really tight again. I continued on but could feel them every step. My pace did slow down slightly, with the slowest mile from 4-5 (6:47 pace). I recovered from this and stayed strong till the finish, where I crossed the line in 66:02. My overall position was 170th out of 1482 finishers.

I’m happy with how I ran considering the build-up to the race, and this was as good as I could have expected. Following the race after cheering Sharon in for her finish (in just over 1 hour 46 - much slower than last year but she’s been training much less than I have and not feeling very well for quite some time) we hung around for the prize giving. After the main prizes are given out the two ‘spot-prizes’ were awarded, and low and behold I was one of the winners. My running number was drawn out of the ‘hat’ and I was presented with a brand new mountain bike! Can you believe it!

Not bad for a morning run.

Sharon and I will now be concentrating out training over the next few weeks with a focus on a half marathon we’re doing in seven weeks time. Here’s hoping there’s no illness, twisted ankles (although my ankle is hurting a little, so a few days rest will be in order) or other problems over the next few weeks.