What a month! I think this one definitely takes the biscuit for most events in a short time frame! February, March and April had 2-3 races across each month – May had a grand total of 6! I had a pretty poor (ok, very shoddy) start to the month in terms of motivation – and I think I only really got that back mid-month. If the weather stays as it is tonight however I fear I may not make it out again! It’s blowing all the trees sideways and raining worse than it did for the Sunderland 10k! Good old British summer weather. Still, at least it’s getting dark earlier with the clouds and I may put myself to bed at a reasonable time!
| Races | Runs | Workouts | Total Distance km | Fastest Pace min/km | Longest Distance km | Longest Duration mins | |
| Feb-15 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 63.07 | 06:31 | 11 | 85.4 |
| Mar-15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 92.42 | 06:50 | 16.1 | 113.6 |
| Apr-15 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 87.6 | 06:14 | 18 | 117.2 |
| May-15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 94.28 | 06:22 | 18 | 128.7 |
With all the events I had booked, my total number of trainers-on-out-the-door sessions have been on a par with the rest of the year – between 10 and 14, but I haven’t done any workouts at home at all, so my total exercise sessions for the month have been down by approximately one a week. My pace has been a bit slower in May, not really surprising with an almost 3 week slump and with the weather being warmer – I seem to be adding 5 mins onto my time just for temperature at the moment, that or I keep finding tougher places to run than I’m aware of! I have managed to hit 18km again – which was a great mental relief if nothing else! There’s now less than 2 weeks left until the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and I really needed some reassurance I could get close…just need a decent dinner and breakfast, and a good night’s sleep and I will make it round 🙂
I’ve made it back to Run England near the end of the month, after an absence of several weeks which I really missed, but I haven’t made a single ParkRun this month – to either run or marshall. I’m going to start making a real effort to hit either the ParkRun at Blackhill or the Great Run Local at Gibside each weekend for June, with the exception of my half marathon weekend, where I will have other concerns than fitting in another 5k!
The thing I am quite pleased with for May – glossing over that big blank white space in the middle of the first three weeks – is my running for the last week, where I did 40km in a week, and 3 runs over 8km in 3 consecutive days, both of which have to be new personal records for me – though I fear my legs may never forgive me! My duration graph is also starting to take a nice little rise back up over the last 2 weeks too, after its nosedive as soon as we got into May.
May certainly has been a memorable month for events if nothing else. The bruises from Gelt Gladiator have still not faded completely from my leg after more than 2 weeks! The Pier to Pier and George Ogle Memorial Race I think will become regular calendar features as I really enjoyed both of these – and will enjoy the Pier to Pier more next year if I remember to wear trainers that don’t let in quite as much sand… I’m also looking forward to seeing what else the new Washington Running Club organise as the year continues, and also wondering what the Trail Outlaws race in September will feature as I suspect they were involved with setting the course for the Washington Bottom’s Up Cup! I see more hills in my future…and I’m not sure I’m happy about it!
Once I get the next three weeks out the way – with four events and a day of hiking in the offing, I will be putting my feet up for a bit and sticking to the casual local running sessions. The calendar’s looking much calmer for the summer so far – let’s see if it stays that way! Much of it will depend on whether or not I can find anywhere to pootle along in the shade with a gentle cooling breeze…or I may try becoming nocturnal, which can only fit in well with having a daytime job!
Blue Runnings 
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