Ouch! I've spent the last 2 days in lots of pain! On Thursday night I did my 1st track session in about 4 years. I expected to maybe have tight calves on Friday but the pain I've got in my left hamstring is much much more than expected!! I did a long run this morning and going up hills was quite nice but coming down the hills was very painful and just to add to things I have now tightened up my back!! I am feeling happy though as I had a really good session and ran much faster than I thought I would. Lets just hope that tomorrow's long bike ride sorts me out!!

I did my first duathlon race of the year on Sunday. It was the North West Champs at Parbold and I came 1st! I was really pleased as its a very tough, hilly course. I did a course recce the day before with my coach and a few other athletes so I was feeling a bit nervous on the day at having to climb Parbold Hill 3 times on the bike - although I was more worried about the down hill that followed!

I came through on the 1st run in 1st place and somehow managed to stay in the lead for the bike. I was really expecting to be caught on the bike. Hopefully this means that my cycling training is paying off. I then relaxed (if you can do that) going into the 2nd run feeling pretty sure that I wouldn't be caught. I felt quite tired on my 1st run so I was surprised again when I saw the splits as it was quite quick! It was exactly 5k too as I'd measured it on my garmin the day before!!

Just back from a 10 day training holiday in Sardinia. It was so nice to get away from work and the cold weather for a while. It was quite windy out there which stopped us from cycling on one of the days but apart from that managed to get some good cycling and running training in. It was lovely to be able to go out running in vest and shorts! The roads were great for cycling - hardly any cars and lovely smooth tarmac - and some good hills!!

I'm really not liking this cold weather at the moment! Its this time of year I start wishing I lived somewhere like Australia! For my run session on Tuesday it was -4. Was hard work getting my legs to move! Then spent the whole week on the turbo for my bike rides as I'm not risking coming off on ice again. Borrrring!

I was quite lucky(ish) with the weather for my 10k race on Sunday though. It was freezing when I went for a run on Saturday morning but come Sunday it had warmed up to a tropical 10.5!! But with this came the wind. Had an ok race - came first. An enjoyable course - quite undulating.

Now for a few weeks of good training before the next one! I also have my tri coaching course to look forward to in 2 weeks.

I took part in a little 5k race in Manchester on Sunday. It was freezing cold and when we got there the ground was icy! I ran a fairly cautious race – some tight bends with icy conditions meant slowing into them. I came 1st though which is always good, just would have liked to have been quicker as my running is going really well at the moment. I'll just have to put it into my next race at the end of the month.

I also had a little accident earlier in the week! Whilst on my bike on Wednesday morning I skidded on ice and came off! A bit bruised and shaken and a tight neck but all ok now. I really should have been on my turbo instead of chancing the conditions – lesson learned!!

On Sunday I competed in the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k. During the week building up to the race I checked the weather forecast a few times and it wasn't looking good – lots of wind! I don't mind the cold or light rain but really didn't want it to be windy as I wanted to get a good time.

For the 6,000 or so of us taking part in the race we really lucked out. Cold but sunny and no wind!! Great running conditions. (Apparently it was grim everywhere else)! I had a really good race and got within 1 second of my pb clocking 35.53 and finishing 13th. I started off a bit too quick and went through 1k in 3.20! Luckily it didn't mess me up too much. I'm really pleased to get so close to my pb on my first race for almost 3 months – there's definitely a lot more to come.

Had a good break from training with a nice week away in Portugal. Tried to surf but not very good - had a lot of fun trying though! Managed to squeeze in a few morning runs on the beech!!

Back into full training now and have a 10k planned for next weekend in Leeds. Looking forward to it as it attracts quite a good field. Had a great training session last Tuesday so feeling confident.