I had really targeted November as being an important month and an opportunity to try and set some new pb's over the 10k and 10 mile distance, whilst also trying to defend my hometown title at the Wesham 10k.
The first parts of those targets couldn't have gone any better of course, as I managed to set big personal bests in successive weeks. The final part of the challenge was to win this weekend's race, and as such I wasn't really bothered too much about the time I recorded as such, but more just about getting the job done.
I was a little bit wary coming into the week about how well I would be able to recover from the ten miler in time for racing again 6 days later, and a third tough race in as many weeks. It is something that I have tried to avoid doing too much this year, as I have tried to be a little bit more selective and sensible about my race choices - but there was no way I could miss my club's home race on our big day, with our end of season dinner dance on the evening of the race too.
Therefore I decided to be very careful about the volume of training I did during the week. I took the Wednesday off completely, and reduced my mileage and intensity of all the sessions on the rest of the days. I also avoided doing any speed work as I was aware that I was feel in a tad leggy and wanted to make sure I was fully recovered and fit to race.
Steven Gore and his team have done an exceptional job of promoting the Wesham 10k this year - it was the first sell out since 2009 and there was a real buzz about the event this time around.
Conditions were cold, clear, but also frosty in some places, which made for a slightly tougher course than it would already have been. I do think that the race team have put together a fast course now and hopefully the numbers and times will continue to improve year on year.
I had targeted running around 32 minutes, and couldn't have gone much closer - running on feel and crossing the line in 32:01 to take a good win.
This November has been a dream for me and such a contrast to the disappointment that the month brought me last year, I think it is fair to say that I have got my approach and training a bit better this time around and have been rewarded with the results I was looking for.
Now I will look to drop back into training, with a view to possibly returning to racing for Ribble Valley 10k at the end of December if I feel that I have got back into decent racing shape again by then.
The Wesham Road Runners Dinner Dance and presentation evening is always one of my favourite nights of the year. It is an opportunity to get dressed up and out of the work scruffs and running gear, and don my suit for a change. It is great to see everyone in a different and more relaxed environment away from the stresses of every day life, for some reason this night always seems to signal the start of the Christmas season for me. I was fortunate to be given the club's road race championship trophy for this year, whilst I was immensely proud to be able to see my mum be named the most improved female of 2016 - a just reward for all her hard work since joining the club!
Total mileage for the week: 57
Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:24
Total mileage so far this month (November): 246
Total mileage so far 2016: 3077
Average miles per day 2016: 9.32
