a game of 2 halves

I won the Tal Y Mignedd midweek fell race a week ago. It was my 3rd time doing the race, and my first win. The guys who won in the years before were both having the evening off after competing for GB in Italy, testimony to the quality of the racing here at the moment.

I got picked to run for Wales in the Snowdon race, which is in 3 weeks time, so have been putting more hills in my runs, and have run up Snowdon once already, feeling pretty good.

We went down to London last weekend to see my sister’s little baby boy, making me an uncle for the first time. He is extremely cute and a red head, so likely to be a real handful if my little red head is anything to go by!

I put my name down for the Watford British Milers Club 5000m. I didn’t expect to get an entry, but I did. On the day of the race, I really didn’t want to run. I had picked up a cold from Jim, I had been working hard under a hot sun all week, I had not had enough sleep, and I hadn’t set foot on a running track for a month. But I turned up and ran anyway. The 1st km wasn’t too bad, but then I fell tragically behind, and just got further and further from the bunch. On the starting line I had promised myself I would finish the race, so I just had to put my head down and endure it. There is nowhere to hide on a track and it was quite humiliating being in last place getting lapped infront of everyone. I finished the 5km in 15.56, I normally run 10km races at a much faster pace.

Andre Agassi was asked after a match, if he had considered lightening up on a particular player, after he had just annihilated him 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. Agassi said he could not deny his opponent the experience. He himself had been on the other end of a similar beating early in his career and it was the catalyst for his improvement.

Winning one race and then finishing flat last in the next one is quite a feat, so my head is spinning abit. I have to take my experience and turn it to my advantage.