Sub 3h15

 Poacher/OO/Speedy  Beandell Beach this morning.

Minni - How could it have turned so ugly? Seems impossible, looking at those photos.

Speedy stuff from RFJ and KR. Good effort, lads.

Just a 6.5-miler for me this morning to check out the state of my leg after the bashing it took from the physio yesterday. Sore, but not tight is the verdict. Unsure what to do tomorrow. I had originally planned to do my first 20-miler (previous week's LSRs have been 14, 16 and 18 miles), but that seems a bit unwise. Maybe I'll do 12 and then see how the leg is?

Gul - You're not a Norwich fan, are you?

Will read back after dinner, but quick Midlands XC report.  Conditions were not good, to say the least: quite a bit of snow when we arrived, but by the time of the senior ladies' race, a sort of mud slush puppy to run through, which was very deep and very challenging.  Ended up with 41st, which is fractionally better than my previous two attempts (45th in 2010 and 52nd in 2008).  Nice to see Speedy and sorry you had a tough day, too.

Sounds tough at the XC ladies, very well done. And well done Minni I bet you loved it really. For snow to settle on the beach it must have been bloody cold.

Well WB parkrun did go ahead in spite of 3 inches of fresh snow Gul. Hard going but actually very enjoyable. Just below 20 mins but 3rd in a reduced field of a hundred. Young Miss OO struggled in snow and was 3 mins. down on her PB. I added 4 plodding miles after taking me to 30 so far this week. If I can get a good long one tomorrow it should be near 50.

Good luck to those out on LSR's tomorrow. 

Stunning Minni. It's not bad down here, but I am very envious of the inspiring scenary where you run. 

Nice photos Minni. My photo of the day was a lot more ugly. I did 21 tough miles, very very slow. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing the best shoes for the occassion and fell face first into mud 3 times, and countless times on my arse. The first few tumbles were amusing. Not so amused later on, and got a few looks of concern running back through the town centre. I shall remember this LSR with fondness.

AlsoRan, you look like you ran the Midlands XC with me and Jools! It was hideous. I had an absolute shocker. 58th place and didn't feel like I actually ran a step of it. My legs were just sliding in all directions and it was essentially a battle to stay on my feet and not have a giant tantrum. Other girls came past me seemingly skipping over the mud, while I sank in it up to my knees and ran at an angle like a wonky shopping trolley.

Its getting a bit dirty here tonight. 

Good XC running from the ladies. 

AR - You need a bath!

Minni Nice photos

XC Sounds very tough.

AR These runs are the one we look back on with fondness. Also the ones why other people think runners are mad.

Jools, Speedy and Minni, that sounds like a really tough XC. Well done for toughing it out and proving your capabilities. I'm glad I wasn't there, it sounds like it was too tough for me.

Who asked? er, I'm planning a half IM in June (Cotswold 113), and a full IM distance at Challenge Henley in September. For an old git I need a bit of a lead in....

SD - nice recovery pace! As for speedwork, the plan is to aim for somewhere around 10k pace, whereas I usuaully do them not too far short of flat out.
KR - Sounds like you had a lovely time in the park. I'm planning to do the GEAR 10k (King's Lynn) on 5th May. I have put together a 14 week schedule - cut back the mileage a bit first and graduaully build up the tempo and speed sessions, and hopefully peaking just at the right time (or at least that's the plan).
Minni - well done on the 21 miler. Beautiful pictures!
Ant - yes, probably best to play it safe. Norwich? Not a great footie fan. Occasionally go to see the lowly Linnets (King's Lynn Town) with my younger daughter, but don't really have a team. One or two people in for a ribbing at work tomorrow I suspect though after yesterday's shocker!
FINgers - I'm sure it was just a blip (that you've forgotten about already).
Jools - well done; sounds like a mudbath.
OO - envious! Well done on the podium place.
AR - tough one by the looks of it! Well done.
Speedy - good effort; bit of a nightmare XC all round.
FW - some miles in the bag at least.
Blisters - and plenty of time to recover too?
No running in slush here. The lovely fresh snow which I ran in yesterday has all but gone with the rain. Odd puddle here and there. The only problem will now be flooding in the park for Tuesday's intervals. Hope the conditions are better for everyone today. Happy running.

AR - You're right. That photo is pretty darned ugly. Well done on braving out those 21 miles.

Speedy/Jools -  Ooof, don't fancy the sound of that XC. I suspect I would still be out there, looking for my shoes and socks, squelched off by all that mud. Well done for sticking it out - it's good for strengthening the legs, they reckon...

Lorenzo - That cyclist you overtook was obviously "clean".

A bit of a dilemma for me today, what to do after an injury scare and treatment (physical abuse) from the physio? In the end after 12.6 miles I found myself near my house so decided, in the interests of sensibleness, not to push my luck and leave it there. The leg was fine. Pace was a steady 7:54mm, HR was av 133bpm.

I felt really slow out there today. I find that if I start slowly it's really difficult to pick up any sort of pace later on. If I start a bit more sprightly then I'm o.k.. I did manage  a few quicker kilometres in the final stages, but the general feeling was one of a sluggish plod.

43.7 miles this week which is  a miracle considering three runs were effectively recovery test-out-that-niggle jobs. neext week I should keep the intensity down a tad still, but I think I'll see about quickening the cruising speed. This has gone from 4:35-4:40/km to 4:50/km.

*Edited for rubbish typing.

Lorenzo Nice 20, it always feel good to over take cheaters on a bike.

Ant Very nice to hear about the new sensible you.

8 miles today. Not a good day at the office. Plan was 15 steady. After heavy rain last night, all slush had gone and perfect running conditions. 3.5 miles in all very comfortable. Then a**e over t*t onto my already sore right shoulder. I also had my phone in my pocket and I assume I landed on this as my right thigh felt tight/bruised. I gradually slowed and lost all interest. 8 miles at 8:40 pace with last 2 miles nearer 9 min pace. 

Feeling slightly sorry for myself. Positive is I went over onto a main road, but because it was early there was no traffic about. I think I just caught my foot on a lose tree root on the central reservation. Rest day and travelling back to work tomorrow.

Blowing a gale here in the North East. We had a hail storm on this mornings run followed by sunshine but strong winds. Hung in there for an 18 miler at 18;30 pace. 48 for the week.

Put that one down to experience Speedy- so glad I gave up on XC this year .

Glad I'm not doing your laundry AR.

I know you like to run your LSR slowly OO, but 18.30 pace is stretching the boundaries of actually 'running' don't you think? 

Long, slow, 18 miles this morning in a howling gale at a faster avg pace than my 6k 'race' yesterday.