Just got back from a frostbite friendly cross country league race, representing Cambridge and Coleridge athletics club. It was such a lovely course, although there was a bit of mud and a few hills, but that’s what cross country about! I paced it quite well, meaning I was doing the over taking rather than people over taking me! There were about 400+ runners in the field so there was lots of competition. I finished 2nd woman and 46th overall, I’m pretty pleased with the result and the race made for decent training as well!

I also raced yesterday in the Anglian Schools cross country Championships in Corby. That was tough! It was so windy, that at some points in the race everyone was fighting just to keep moving! The course was quite a contrast to today’s; it was flat, super fast, less that half the distance and not a bit of mud in sight! Everyone shot off the start like mad, I was ready to stop after the first 100m but of course that’s not an option when you’ve got more than 150 other girls charging at you from behind! I finished second which I thought wasn’t too bad considering I’m not really a runner! I tried to catch up the girl in front but she was just too good. It helped me learn how valuable the spectators’ support is. It was the main reason I got round to the finish in one piece!

Next week I’ve got the Cambridge cycle club 50 mile reliability ride to look forward to! I can’t wait to get out on the road without 50mph winds blowing everyone about!

This weekend I competed in the national cross country championships, held at Alton towers. It rained continuously from 7 in the morning right through until 2 in the afternoon, so I expected it to be muddy, but the condition of the course was much, much worse than anyone had anticipated. So much that the organisers had to alter the course for the later races because of health and safety!

I decided not to walk the course, as it was very cold and wet so trekking around in wellies for half an hour was not really going to be great preparation for the race. I accepted that everything on the course would have to be a surprise!

As I had just completed quite a big week of training, I was not sure how I would perform on the day, but it turns out I did a lot better than expected; I finished 24th out of 210 finishers. It was the sort of race where 20 seconds could mean 10 places! I really enjoyed the race in a weird kind of way, despite the unpleasant weather, it was tough but that made crossing the finishing line even more rewarding.

Overall I was pleased with my position but of course there is always room for improvement! I only have a few more cross countries before the tri season kicks off so I’m going to make the most of them while I can and hopefully they’ll have helped with my race preparation.