Sock it to em.

Burn Valley Half Marathon - This week I was wondering what the weather would be like for today's race and after thinking many things I didn't have hot,windy, drizzly, breezy cloudy and sunny on my forecast prediction list. I had no race plan today but had been feeling quite good running wise the last few days so I decided just to roll with it. I took an early lead and tried not to push it too hard to soon but the strong wind made it bloody hard work which is not what I had intended. By three miles Fergus Meade running for Leeds City caught me up and passed me which was a surprise and as I picked up the pace to his speed I was thinking that he was going well today but luckily another mile later I had pulled clear. The problem with the Burn Valley Race route is that even if you want to take it easy it's still bloody hard, and those hills are relentless as you even start to imagine that there will be a hill to go up in the town centre when you get back there. I tried to keep my effort controlled and to make sure I didn't need to crawl the last few miles but at the same time being very cautious of someone catching me. I upped the pace over the last few miles but not too hard as I seemed to be suffering when deep breathing. I was glad to see the finishing line and even more glad to win the race for a fourth time. Alasdair Tatham NYM.AC took 2nd and Meade finished 3rd.
The tight chest is usually an early sign of a cold coming on so I should know by Wednesday.
The Compression socks - I know I wasn't at max effort but I have never finished the Burn Valley with my calf's in such good condition. I will definitely be testing them again next week at the Kilburn 7 road race.