A good 5km race

As part of the build up to the big race, I wanted to do a 5 or 10km race this summer - and the only one that fitted in when I could do it was a 5km race tonight in Plymouth, near where we are staying this week.

It was part of a 5km race series for local runners, around the beautiful grounds of Saltram House. It was a gorgeous summer's evening but not too hot - perfect. I was a bit nervous beforehand that it would just be really serious (fast) runners and I would cross the finish line as everyone drove home, but when we got there I realised there were lots of different abilities.

There were about three hilly sections which I was quite proud of my performance on - all that training on the hill from hell in Stoke Park has done some good! It all began with a very speedy downhill so it was quite difficult setting a pace but worked it out and had a good, fast (for me) run. I really pushed myself and felt like I had worked hard at the end - it took me just over 28 mins.

Matt, of course, finished 5th with a time of about 18 mins and made it look very easy!