Run Kingston

Well, a very successful trip to Kingston - I achieved all of 5 of my goals and finished with just under 75 minutes on my watch.

I somehow ended up right at the front on the start line with all the "greyhounds" so was overtaken by what felt like the whole of humanity in the first mile. I'd planned to set off slowly but I was carried along by the crowds and passed the first mile mark in 9:15.

I consciously tried to slow down after that and did mile 2 in 10:25, although I think the mile markers might have been a bit out as I then did mile 3 in 8:10 without noticeably speeding up ! However after that I settled down to a pace of around 9:10 per mile and kept that going for the rest of the race.

Approaching the finish I saw I was on target to beat 75 minutes so I put in a bit of a sprint finish and crossed the line with about 8 seconds to spare on my watch.

It was a great feeling to finish with a bit of extra energy left and although my legs were getting a little heavy over the last mile it gives me confidence that I can ran further.

The weather turned out to be pretty ideal - cloudy and cool with some light rain - and the support from the spectators was really good. In a way its nicer in a smaller event - the support seems more personal.

Nice also to run in a race for runners - very few people walking after 800 metres, no barging at the start, not too many iPod wearers wandering all over the road. The course was a little disappointing though - the first section along the barge walk was lovely, but the remaining 3/4s of the race were along the side of main roads.

However, overall it was a really enjoyable day - all four of us ran well, and I was delighted with my time and fitness.

So... another 8.2 miles onto the total, bringing me to 423 miles for the year.