A strong head wind greeted me as I headed off for Cannon Hill Park this morning, making it easier to stick to the planned eight-minute mile pace! About 3¾ miles in a little over half an hour got me there with plenty of time to spare, but of course Joe was there ahead of me.
As James was happy to handle the timer I marshalled at Fergal's Corner in the absence of the man himself. Filling Fergal's shoes? That's a responsibility which I can only hope I discharged adequately! I did my best to encourage all the runners, though of course I had to give a little extra for all those I knew. Unfortunately I was relieved from my post a little early and missed the last runner. I apologised to Emma later and she didn't seem to mind. Warming my hands around a mug of hot tea I chatted with Roger and Gill, who were excited to be heading off to Canada and later Nepal. I'd be excited too, but I'll have to settle for the Lake District in July.
I was aiming for 8:30 pace, or about 47 minutes run. It actually took me 48:01, that's 8:41 pace, but that was in part down to stopping for a chat with some Sparkhill Harriers I came across on a cross-country training session in Highbury Park. Without that stop, I think I'd have averaged about 8:15. The Chairman, David, told me I was missed and tried to convince me that their subs were good value for money on the grounds of the races which members are entered for free. It was nice to chat to him and Craig, but I don't think I'll be going back in the near future. Perhaps when the cross-country season comes around I might be tempted!
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