I decided last night to run the Sri Chinmoy run at Burnley after eating a million hot cross buns the previous day and consequently feeling fairly flabby and evil.

I made it there by about 7:30, just in time to register, stand in line for 10 minutes for a pre-race bog and then jog up and down a bit to warm up the calcified muscles.

There were the usual bunch of Cool Running types, PJ and Tiger Boy, but curiously no Em who seems to have given up running for a life of alcohol-fuelled debauchery. As you do.

Aside from being manhandled by Tiger Boy, I felt the usual SC-type relaxed atmosphere and wasn’t worried about the race much.

My first 5k felt pretty restrained – I was running on feel as I forgot to note the time at the start. I started to feel a the pace a bit at 6 km and then felt my technique getting a bit ragged between 8 and 9km but I brought it home relatively strongly in 38m 12seconds. It was a PB for me, but slightly disappointing.

On the plus side – I was overtaking people the whole way and wasn’t overtaken. On the minus side, I felt my technique was woeful, and I’m sure I could have strolled home at this pace 7 months ago.

I do think I have a 37 or even 36 minute 10k in me if I prepare at all well.