racing..

so i cut through the crap in about five minutes this morning and got myself entered for the Orpington 10k on 4 July. it's also my daughter's best friend's birthday party that day, but i should be back in time. Orpington's no distance from our place, so it should be easy to get down there and ready for the 11am start. now to see if i can get my running mates to enter too. the course is multi-terrain, which is new to me, but as it's a mid-summer race, it shouldn't be too disruptive. i've put myself down for 37min, but i'll try to get as close to 36 as possible. that'd be a big jump from my 38:08 best, but i think it's on the cards, as long as i focus into some intensive training now.

i think that's all that was needed. i need goals. without goals, i'm still very keen to train, and beat myself up for not getting out there, but i lose the initiative to aim in on some specific routine. 4 Jul is five and a half weeks off now, which is ample time to get myself in the right shape, even with the holiday coming up and the trip out to the States thereafter.

don't think there's a suitable half in late July - early August to fit in with everything else. however, i might go for the Serpentine 5k at the end of July to fill that gap. maybe i'll find a half i can do in August. there is a late August 10k that's a possibility too. knowing what i know now - that i need these races to focus - i'll book myself in soon. i knew this last year, when i entered four races straight after the marathon in Paris. i already had the Stratford half booked (1:27), so i added the Beckenham 10k (38:18), the Dartford half (didn't start), the Serpentine 5k (19:05) and the Cancer Research 10k in Crystal Palace (38:08). we'd also already entered the Run to the Beat O2 (1:24) half in September. it all made for a good year, and i don't know why i've not been as active this year. let this be the start..