Ski Legs ... and an unexpected PB :o)

Last week took more out of me than I thought, and until Thursday my legs felt like lead pipes and all my runs were sluggish and laborious. Most days, I had trouble cracking 10mm pace even on net downhill miles. But (crosses fingers firmly) I think normal service is being restored and my shin has been fine.

I ran well on Thursday afternoon. On Friday I didn't run at all, but swam just over a mile (of which more later). Then on Saturday we had one of the main events in our racing calendar. The Fetch West Midlands Mile.

Fetch Mile events are organised all over the country, and this is the third one we've had in the West Midlands. They're fun, family-friendly events, designed to get groups of local runners who might otherwise only "meet" online together to run short track races (focusing on the mile) and then have refreshments and a chat. Leon organises the running aspect of the event and I co-ordinate the catering - which mainly means that I provide a table and plates for the gorgeous cakes that people bring with them.

After the kids' 400m race, in which participants ranged from Leon's 13-year-old son (who strolled home almost half a lap ahead of the next runner, in 73 seconds) to baby Oliver being pushed in his buggy by his mum Clare, we had four separate mile races based on anticipated time. I lined up in the third race, for 7mm-8mm runners. Although I wasn't confident of my ability to run a mile in less than 8 minutes on the day, my previous track mile times (7.39, 7.31 and 7.23) suggested that this was appropriate, and I thought it would help if I had people to chase. Besides, I was planning to run with my 10-year-old daughter in the slower-than-8mm race.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found myself out at the front right from the start and working very hard indeed. I heard Leon counting "thirty-one, thirty-two" as I went through half-way, and knew that I would be struggling to break 7 minutes but had a good prospect of a PB.

I finished still at the front, in 7.05, only three seconds ahead of the next runner. Had it been a 1,700m race, I would probably have been fourth.

Several of the children (including baby Oliver, with his dad pushing the buggy this time) joined in the last mile race. I toddled round with my daughter Annabel, who, like me, enjoys physical activity but is not a natural athlete, and she ran all the way in 10.52, a good PB for her.

We finished with a series of 100m races. I surpassed myself in suckiness. 21.39s by my Garmin. I should hate 100m, but what's to hate about a race that's over that quickly?

The cakefest back at the house was possibly the most lavish ever. In the style of a Biblical miracle, I provided some hot pizza and sausages and was left with so much cake that we'll be bringing some with us if there is another 10 Marathons in 10 Days Challenge training weekend.

Yes, we haven't lost sight of our target event for 2009!

Training this week:

Running: 40.79 miles total. 39.79 miles at an average pace of 10.02mm, and 1 mile raced at 7.05mm.
Longest run: 10.09 miles, at 10.43mm pace.
Cross-training: Swimming, total 3.14 miles.
Niggles: Crocked my right arm on Friday carrying big sheets of cardboard to the recycling bin after the doorstep collection had failed to uplift it.
Sofa-spud days: None.

Ah, yes, the swimming. At the beginning of the month, I noticed that the Fetch Swimming League was limited to people who had recorded at least a mile a month of swimming in their training log, and set myself a mini-target of logging enough swimming in January to keep me on the league for the whole of 2009 even if I didn't swim another stroke all year. That's 12 miles of swimming. Did I mention that I hate swimming and take more than an hour to swim a mile? I'm nearly there, though. One more hour ploughing up and down the smelly pool is all I need to do.

Next week I shall run more than I did this week. And so will Leon :o)