My middle name

Hubris. That's my middle name. If I've learnt one thing recently, it's that I should not expect to be able to race a 10k four weeks after a marathon and get a PB.

To be honest the number of runners didn't help either. The BUPA London 10k is very popular and thousands of runners turned up. I was in one of the first few waves released but that didn't give me any advantage. Nor did the fact that the course had been rerouted due to roadworks on the Embankment where the course normally runs. This meant that the course went up the Strand which is a lot narrower than the Embankment and I found myself zig-zagging for the first two or three kilometres. But my legs weren't ready for the race either. By the end of the race they felt very heavy.

The weather conditions were perfect and the organisation was excellent as you can see below.

A lovely day in London, perfect for running

Lots and lots of runners getting ready

The streets were crowded with loud supporters and the odd band or two. I do recommend it for anyone wanting a great day out with a race included. Just don't expect to post a brilliant time.

In the end I managed to run 45:16 which was just over two minutes short of my PB and my hopes of getting under 43 minutes were pretty much dashed from the get go due to the amount of runners, heavy legs etc. etc. (see above!).

I was hanging on at the end and as I passed the 100m to go sign I checked my watch and saw that I needed to run it in less than 10 seconds to get under 45 minutes. I'm certainly no Usain Bolt and I think even he would have struggled with that after running 10km. To be fair my watch said that I actually ran 10.25km in total so morally I got under the 45 minutes for the 10k but my race result is what matters.

I've been away in Madrid on business for the last week and wasn't able to fit my running kit into my carry-on luggage so haven't run for six days. I went out for a 7 miler this morning to blow the cobwebs away and felt fine. With the Swansea half marathon next weekend I'll have to add a few more sessions before then including a tempo and interval session. But as I have learnt I am not now expecting to beat my PB and will run it for fun. I'm hoping to get in under 1:45 which is basically my marathon pace so am hoping that won't be too taxing. Anything better than that will be a bonus and it will be nice to run in Swansea. The last time I did was four years ago when I got my 10k PB. It's a very flat course along the seafront and if the weather is good then it will be an absolute joy.