A.M. Despite adequate sleep my mind was rebelling at the thought of a long run this morning. Outside it was grey, cold and wet with snow-rain and for the first 5k I was full of negative thoughts concentrating on my own discomfort. I know that I can think my way into a bad workout so I tried working some postive imagery into my mind. Remembering some good races helped, I subconsciously picked up the pace. Concentration on form also helped, don't sit in a bucket, don't tense my shoulders, relaxed running technique is the key. By 10k I was feeling more positive, time for the next weapon - smile, show people this is a sport to be enjoyed. At 14k I was enjoying myself, the weather's not that bad really. The kms then went quickly and I soon had only 10k to go, with a couple of hill climbs. Don't fight the hill, flow up it smoothly, this went better than last week and then I wanted to push the last 6k. I increased the effort but to my disappointment I was getting slower while my breathing was getting more ragged. The last downhill 2k felt easy and helped me recover for a 1/2k dash at the end. Total 33k in 2:35:25, av pace 4:43/k, 7:35/mi. | 