Super Summer

The return to full fitness has been slow and methodical, but, with due diligence and willingness to listen to Andy Walling, has meant that this has enabled me to focus on the important things. Ultimately, the return to full fitness was my ultimate ambition and although I have found it painfully slow, its now that I see that things are looking up and the times are coming down.

Having seen my outing at the Castle's Relay prove invaluable for my confidence following my collapse at Wrexham, I decided to enter a 10k at Newtown in Powys which saw a 1st overall. This again all helps to restore confidence but I really struggled with this after Wrexham. More importantly, it also led me to focus much more on the importance of hydration and diet with the former now playing a hugely important role in my training diary.

The difficulty is, knowing which information to digest and then act-on. However, the knowledge and experience given to me by Andy is Bible True. I trust both his integrity and enthusiasm for my cause and he acts as both a mentor and a coach for me. Having said that, the Wednesday night curries that Neale and I share with Andy and his wife Helen, also act as a good reason to train that little bit harder on a Wednesday evening at Treborth with the guys and gals of Menai Track and Field. I travel every Wednesday to the track full of trepidation, as the sessions are both long and fast. If I'm honest I also sometimes question whether or not they help me with my speed. However, both Neale and Andy tell me that they are beneficial and have seen me improve markedly.

My real tester for fitness, was a last minute entry to the North Wales 10km championships held at Caernarfon at the end of August. Andy felt that it was about time for me get into a bit of serious competition and I was happy to oblige. The conditions on the day were horrendous, the wind was absolutely awful and in fact Arwel Lewis of Eryri Harriers, was seriously considering running the race in the opposite direction in an attempt to shield the runners a little. I enjoyed the race, and whilst I was unable to match the pace of Andrea Roberts (Eryri) and the 2Nd placed lady, I was over the moon to come into third place, without any niggles or injuries.

Then next on the agenda, was a visit for the third year in succession to the HSBC Cardiff 10km road race. This is where I gained my 1st Welsh vest in 2007 and I enjoy the course very much. Although altered a little for 2009, it still remained fast and the weather was fantastic. I was over the moon with 3rd Vet 35 and again, I finished un-injured and in high spirits.

The only scheduled race on the agenda, was the Vrynwy half marathon and although, I was unable to complete the full training programme that Andy had set me due to a few little problems. Race day dawned absolutely perfect if not a little warm and the class of the field was a little daunting, including five national vest holders including my good friend Nellie Sanders who frightened me by telling me that she had trained very hard for the event. I settled into the race comfortably, choosing not to go with Nellie but just see what happened. I managed to catch and pass several women who have beaten me over the last 12 months of my injury and I can honestly say that I finished the race strong with plenty in reserve. Seventh overall and 1st lady Vet 35 was better than I ever dreamed to hope for and a time of a little over 88 minutes was a PB by nearly 5 minutes. I feel more than confident of being able to reduce this time by at least another 3-5 minutes before the end of the year and I must say that I am so enjoying my running again.........