Hello to all of you who take the time to read my posts and all those who commented last time , I know the blogging has been a bit sporadic but I am trying to post at least once a week and before I forget everything ! Another positive week of running mainly evenings and a nice 11 miler on Sunday . I say nice but it didn't start out that way because for one reason or another i got myself worked up over nothing and I don't think I was in the right frame of mind at te start of my run , so the first three miles felt crap to be honest , heart rate bouncing around and I just felt weak in the legs . It crossed my mind to cut it short and i guess I relaxed at that point and suddenly I was in a rhythm and the following 8 miles were great . I was running at a quicker pace but keeping the heart rate to 145 bpm , and all was good . In fact despite the cold it was very enjoyable , i picked the route that takes me along the canal towards Slapton , which is a very rural and quiet area and I hardly see a soul along this stretch. When the sun came out it was perfect . I was wrapped up well , gloves hat , leggings and three tops and while i was moving I didn't feel the cold at all but boy did I notice when I got home and stopped to do my 20 minutes of stretching. The wind was cutting right through me. Just shows the importance of wearing the right clothing for the conditions . When I look back at the stats I can see that I have already made a big improvement in my aerobic fitness since embarking on this heart rate training method. On my long runs I am currently 45 seconds per mile quicker at the same heart rate over a period of 7 weeks . I am really pleased with this but there is a fly in the ointment because Reading is only 4 weeks away and I need to break from this plan a little sooner than I would have liked to run at least one faster session per week. I will still run within the correct heart rate zone on the majority of my training runs but i am excited to see what effect it has on my fast session and if I can even maintain the speed I was achieving in the past . 

I recieved my race number ( with my name printed on the front which is a nice touch ) and instructions for Reading today. I am starting in the first 3 sections . The whole thing seems very well organised , I even have Mizuno wrist bands for the VIP area . i am not so sure Mizuno will be impressed with the state of my Wave Riders - I will have to give them a quick scrub !! For the first time I am getting that nervous excitement that comes before an event. I love this running lark . With only one other event booked I need to get a wriggle on and look through the listings for some more of 'em. 

Happy running everyone