After work today I popped into the supermarket. I didn’t need too much, but as it was mostly cat food that a certain furry member of the household required I did my best to disguise this fact by buying a load of other things I didn’t need immediately.

So I felt a little smug letting another customer jump ahead of me at the tills with the three tins of cat food. I could at least pretend that wasn’t the reason I was there and rather  it was part of a wider scheme of shopping……

Yesterday I must say I was nervous about the race, moreso than I remember being for any other. I think it was due to the energy issues a week earlier. Still I did all the right sort of eating and basically trusted to luck that everything would work as normal.

Thankfully it did, and I ran a very measured Macclesfield Half-Marathon. I know last year I struggled on the hills but this year they didn’t pose a problem at all. My race time 1h38m28s was some 3 minutes faster than last year – mostly due to not having to do any walking – but it may be realise that perhaps I’d gone out a bit too hard last year, resulting in the stops yet still posting a time that wouldn’t look out of place compared to the 8 others run this year so far.

So we continue – Congleton is the next race in 6 days’ time. Last year the race pace I set myself was much more measured that Macc 2012 resulting in a time just shy of my then-PB. So it gives me a dilemma as to how I pace this years’ race as I always like to show an improvement but the risk is going out too fast and being slower overall as a result.

When I’m racing, 10 miles is the second milestone I look out for (after the 10k mark) leaving the last 3.1 miles ahead – which due to fatigue is usually the hardest 3.1 miles of the race. After Congleton that’ll be the 10th half-marathon of the Challenge. So getting ever closer to the final finishing tape but with so much work yet to do.