‘Those keys must be driving you mad...?’

As I approached a runner all I could hear apart from the clacking of carbon shoes around me was the jangling of his keys.

‘What?!’ the runner said breathlessly to me with the kind of look that I reserve for my children when they ask for a snack, five minutes after barely touching their dinner.

I think I’d caught him at a bad moment.

We were about four miles into the Reedham Ten mile race and I don’t think my attempt to bring a bit of lighthearted banter to proceedings went down very well.

Or perhaps his keys really were driving him mad? Who knows?

I didn’t wait around to find out, but the exchange demonstrated that my own race was going pretty well.

When I’m approaching my limit, I can barely string two or three words together, but I was running at around a 6:40-minute mile pace and feeling in control – comfortable would be pushing it but certainly a little within myself.

Earlier in the week I had tried a tempo run at this pace for four miles and thought my lungs were going to burst out of my chest by the end of it.

Sometimes I just need the extra spice of a race to bring a little more out of me.

But this was going pretty well, I felt light on my feet and most importantly my niggly ankle was playing ball.

With the Barcelona Marathon now just over seven weeks away, I wanted this to be a good effort and offer a gauge of the paces I can look to train to over the next four or five weeks before tapering.

I’d held a consistent pace for the first nine miles and in the final mile I let the handbrake off a touch to see what was there. There were a few runners to pick off, which always helps, and I finished strong, which I needed after the Norwich Half Marathon debacle.

My finish time was 1:06:40 – technically a personal best but I’ve run quicker during a couple of half marathons before, so it feels a little hollow. It was at least quicker than my last 10-mile race at the Fen 10, which was an easier course, so I’ll cling to it as a sign of progress.

It also helped restore a bit of confidence after a period when a lot of runs since the turn of the year have felt a hardship. I try to tell myself how lucky I am to be able to run but I’ve found myself yearning for warmer climes when it’s much less faff getting out the door.

I’m approaching the part of the marathon training block when it’s crucial to get the long runs in and harden my body and mind for what’s to come in Barcelona.

There’s bound to be twists and turns between now and then but last Sunday was about celebrating that my fitness, relative to me, is in a decent place.

Sometimes that’s enough...

But maybe I won’t mention a bloke’s keys in a race in the future.

Record breakers 

I can’t finish the column without mentioning the incredible performances of both Logan Smith and Emily Ruane with both breaking the course records at the Reedham Ten. I had a sneaky feeling that Logan would sneak under 50 minutes being pushed on by second-placed Callum Bowen-Jones. It’s an incredible achievement.

Emily’s time was equally impressive – taking more than 90 seconds off her course record set last year.

Let’s hope it’s the precursor to some more awesome performances to come over the course of the 2025 Sportlink Grand Prix Series.