Good luck Jean and I hope you get as much from them as I do (such as filthy socks and black toenails!). For years I never raced because I didn't want to get in the world of comparing splits and personal bests. Now I do race but the talk is all about the routes and whether it snowed or not! I've just done one race where the times were fast because the weather was good - that is, the snow stopped after the first hill!  Yes, this is less than two weeks ago...

After my poor performance at my 10k in May, I gave myself a good talking to about reasons why I run Tosh-the positives far outweighed the negatives.     I love the feeling of being able to do it at my age when many people cant, the scenery, trying new routes & sharing even minor achievements with my running buddy.    Since I started training for my trail run later in the year,  following a structured 12 week programme,  I am amazed at what I have been able to achieve.     I'm not talking times here, I am talking being able to run up several steep hills in my run sessions when I used to avoid them, increasing my distance but feeling comfortable with it.    My run pace is pretty much the same, still slow, but even though my best time for 10k has not improved, in a way it has because it is now being achieved with several hills included.      I dont think I actually enjoy the flat runs any more, coz they are too monotonous.    My advice to anyone getting downhearted with their performance, or getting fixated on achieving pbs,  would be to mix things up a bit, get off road, find new routes, find the biggest, longest hill & beat it !