Nothing to report

It's been a whole month since I last wrote anything on this blog.  If there are any regular bleeders out there, then sorry (and if not, then I don't need to say anything anyway).

But there's a fairly good reason why I haven't written anything - there's been so little to write.   So, I can do it in summary form.  Since last month I've:

- had about three different colds (the first week after the marathon was expected and pretty much guaranteed - it's kind of the price that everyone pays after running a marathon)

- been too busy at work (and with putting together the NHRR quiz on 21 November, which seemed to go well) 

- been on holiday for a week to Madeira (very nice - there aren't many people I wouldn't recommend it to) 

- done almost no training (mainly due to the above), but done 4 races: 

1) The cross-country at Wing.  I remember this in the past as being a race where we ran in a field alongside excitable horses.  This year we ran in the same field as excitable cows, which was rather more scary.  At one point I decided it was in my best interests simply to stop and wait for a couple of the herd to get out of my way.  I ran OK, but was affected by a cold.  If my legs had done as much running as my nose, things would have been far better.

2) The first Stevenage 5k.  This wasn't long after the marathon, so I was quite pleased to be able to get round in under 18 minutes.  It was a new course - hilly but not necessarily slower than the old course, and Ollie was pleased to beat me in a photo finish... even though, I claim, I wasn't really racing that night (until that sprint finish, of course, which I lost)

3) The second Stevenage 5k.  I felt quite good for this one, and went under 17:30 (of course, last year I went under 17:00, but that was never going to happen this year).  Ollie was back in his rightful place, a few seconds behind me.

4) The third Stevenage 5k (spot a trend?).  Very cold!  This time I thought I'd go for the tactic of 'go off as fast as I can and see how long I can keep it up'.  Interestingly, this made absolutely no difference, and my split times for each kilometre were almost exactly the same as race 2.  No sign of Ollie this time - he tweaked his ankle early on and didn't really recover.

Why all the mention of Ollie?  Well he started it.  He's getting very competitive, and seems to take pleasure in running faster than me.  Which cannot be allowed, clearly.  To be honest, it won't just be him - with James and me getting back into training, and Ollie and Statto improving all the time, there could be a fun little rivalry going on.  Now if only we were all Steve McKeown's speed that would be even more exciting!