Summer is here!

I love this time of year. We've had fantastic weather for the last couple of weeks, it's been getting lighter in the morning and at night, and now that the clocks have changed it will get even better. I couldn't believe how good it was last week to be back out running in summer gear. Long may it continue.

Since the Blackpool Marathon a couple of weeks ago I've done 2 more races. Last Sunday I went through to the half marathon at Alloa, and yesterday I went to Grangemouth for the 'Round The Houses' 10k. The target at Alloa was to try and help Sandra get a PB which I'm delighted to say was achieved: she crossed the line in 1.41.30, which was 75 seconds better than her previous best time. She had hoped to go for a PB at Grangemouth too, but had a bit of a niggle in her hamstring last week and decided not to risk it. We went through to Grangemouth anyway and I ran, pushing myself fairly hard all the way round but finishing in a slightly disappointing 43.13. I have meant to do this race for ages, especially as I used to live in Falkirk, but it always seemed to clash with marathon training or some other long run. I'm glad that I've now done it; it is a long established race and very well organised by Falkirk Victoria Harriers, with an excellent finish in Grangemouth Stadium.

Things continue to be busy with work, WHW race organisation and life in general. This is the last week of our financial year, which is always a busy one. On top of that I have a couple of dinners on Tuesday and Thursday night, followed by a long WHW training run on Saturday, and then a trip with Gordon to the Newcastle v Liverpool game on Sunday. I've really enjoyed the Newcastle games this season. They have done better than anyone would have imagined, and at the moment are sitting in 6th place in the Premier League with 50 points, the same number as Chelsea and 8 ahead of Liverpool. We've seen some great games and had some great days out. We're going to renew our season tickets for next season, so hopefully it will be more of the same.

Last Monday night was the West Highland Way Training and Inspiration night in Edinburgh. There must have been more than 100 people there, which was a brilliant turnout, and I really enjoyed hearing the advice from all the speakers, Ken and Sue Walker, Dr Chris Ellis, Adrian Stott, and Dr Andrew Murray. It's also a great chance to have a chat with people who are doing the race, particularly those who are doing it for the first time, and to pass on some hopefully useful hints and tips. There is no doubt that the period from now until the end of May is the crucial one for those training for the race - it's now the time to get in some long training days and some serious time on the feet. I'm doing the Cateran Trail race in the middle of May so really need to start taking some of my own advice and get out there for a few long runs!

I've just heard the forecast and it is predicting a high in Edinburgh today of 19 degrees. 19 degrees in March, incredible! Better go and pack my running stuff and make sure I get out a run at lunchtime...