Today is my first blog for the new RUNNERSLIFE site. Thanks Simon for asking me to join the team.

I trained today by myself as my training partner Owain Matthews has a slight hamstring and back problem. My session was in Pope's Meadow, which is a grassy park, about 850 metres long hilly loop in Luton. The training was based on 8 x 1 lap then a recovery of a minute this took about 2.25 per lap. At different points I picked up the pace as per Des's (coach) training schedule. I felt pretty good after the session, legs were still a bit tired from the Norwich 5k. Then I went out for a short 30min recovery run this afternoon.

My last race was the Norwich 5k on the 11th July which is a road race up and around the lanes and streets in the city centre. I enjoy doing this race even though this is too short for me, but the course makes up for the lack of distance. Under starters orders and Moumin Geele was in the lead position, (I'd seen him warming up earlier and new he would be the favourite even though Nicola (fiancé) told me not to be negative!). He went off at a very quick pace, with the 1st kilometre at 2.50, I was a little behind in a group of three including ‘Welsh Wizard' Simon Jones at 2.55. At 3km Geele's lead was growing, and I went through at 8.53, with Craig Hopkins and Matthew Gunby all fighting for second. I felt strong at the 3km mark and pushed on and made a gap at 4km of about 25 metres between me and Hopkins. As always my sprint finish let me down and Hopkins speed up at the last 100 metres. Overall happy with my finishing time of 14.48, which is the quickest I've run over the last three times I've entered this race. Geele won at 14.25. Bring back cross country!

Not sure when my next race will be, looking around for options at the minute.

Thanks for reading my 1st blog and I'll give you an update next week...........