Rosedawn Ramblings

The Clayton 10k Medal The latest in my NSRRA events was the Clayton 10k on Wednesday 15th May - it was the first time I'd taken part in an evening race for a while and it coincided with a day of meetings in London... it was going to be a long day and it started with torrential rain and a soaking, as I made my way to the station. In fact, I almost missed my train as I had to detour back along Leek Road to avoid being lost in a very large and deep puddle. Travelling south, the thought of a 10k race later in the evening did not seem a particularly appealing prospect. However, I was encouraged by a new 5km PB achieved at South Manchester parkrun on the previous Saturday - 29 seconds faster than my best ever time at Hanley parkrun but there were no hills! Regular updates throughout the day confirmed the rain was continuing unabated and then at about 4 o'clock, just as I was boarding the train to return to Stoke, the first sign of improvement in the weather came through in t

On Sunday, I accidentally ran a half marathon, a very hilly and very tough half marathon, in Uttoxeter. After the wonderful but exhausting experience of the Greater Manchester Marathon , I should really have been resting - my right foot has some nasty blisters (and now blisters on blisters) and my left calf is a bit tight. I'd set myself up for a rest for a couple of weeks and was aiming for the Clayton 10k as my next real effort - at least that was what I wrote on my blog post last Monday. On Tuesday, I went out for a "recovery" run with Bobbie and Liz at Potters Trotters - I didn't feel too bad as we chatted are way around a very easy 5 miles. Someone asked about the Uttoxeter Half Marathon - not a good idea I thought to myself, even though it was the next NSRRA event and 50 points were up for grabs in Group W (I'd managed to be first home in Group W in my first two events at Alsager and the Newcastle 10k ). By Thursday, my energy levels were increasing aga