"Wythenshawe Park XC"

As I sit here typing, the snow is starting to come down again finishing off a week that has seen the country in the grip of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Running conditions both on the track and on the pavements have meant that my running shoe soles haven't touched firm ground all week! A track session on Tuesday on what felt like an ice skating rink coincided with the toughest session of the winter. On a night when the coach was stranded on her farm in the foothills of the Peak District, a group of half a dozen of us self coached a session of 1 x 2 miles plus 4 x 1 mile with two minute recoveries. With a warm up and cool down the session covered over 8 miles and there was no-one else left on the track by the time we had finished with the snow started to fall again!

The 30 mile week was focussed on the final round fixture of the Manchester and District XC League at Wythenshawe Park. This was the race that required everyone to be at peak performance to help the club stay in the top division for another year. Although I love this fast flat course the only time you get some respite is through the wooded section of the course where concentration is key to both staying on your feet and not breaking an ankle! After years of having this section of the 6 mile race pre-programmed in my head, this year the organisers totally change the trail taking the athletes through several ditches that saw you up to two feet deep in mud if you took the wrong line through them. Several athletes did and paid the price, namely retirement! I for once stayed under control and took the best lines through I could and despite coming in behind two of my nearest club rivals managed to shake off my friend and fiercest rival Jack from Salford Metropolitan AC who took a fall in the final lap and finished a totally different colour than he started! He has vowed revenge during the track season!

So another good training and racing week where I finished by leaving everything out on the course yesterday, always a great feeling, especially as it's now only two weeks to the biggest race of the season the English National XC.