Hannover-Celle marathon is a point-to-point race between point A somewhere on the outskirts of Hannover, and point B, which is somewhere in Celle. I didn't see much of the latter place (I was concentrating) but I got the impression it wasn't really big enough to have outskirts as such.

The German for "weather" is "wetter", but after seeing somewhat mixed forecasts, I'm happy to report that atmospheric conditions in Hannover yesterday were in fact "drier". Bit slippy in one section which ran under trees, and a fierce wind which was with us for the first half - skating at 38km/h didn't even feel like work - and against us for the second - suddenly, we were skating at 28km/h and it felt a lot like work.

I got on what I think was probably the front pack at the start, which was too fast. I lasted about, oh, ten minutes before the guy in front of me dropped off, and despite pullinq out around him to chase them for a while, didn't really have spare energy to close the gap decisively. After a while I found myself in a line of three and we alternated leads for a few k before the second pack caught us, so I jumped onto that and was able to relax for a while.

I stayed with that pack for the rest of the race, doing probably more than was sensible on the front - I don't think anyone behind about tenth place ever took a pull - before a pretty short but quite satisfying sprint at the end. And then just had to wait for my vision to clear.

Finished in 29th place with 1:17:06, which is technically a PB, but Lille was actually faster. It's more or less what I was expecting after Berlin and Lille, so though it's good to have that confirmed, it's not a cause for massive celebration.

That said, the other way of looking at it is that I finished less than ten minutes behind the winner, and that I'm quite happy about.

Next marathon target 1:15 - I know I was racing at that speed in Lille, so it's attainable. Next stop Preston (though it's unlikely to be where I break 1:15), and then no more racing for three weeks until Le Mans. Time to start getting some hills into my training.

No race report from last weekend, because I didn't race anywhere. I have three weekends off (now two) between Preston on the 4th and the next event, which will be Le Mans on the 1st July, and I spent the first weekend of the break ... well, having a break. Went for a beer or six after work on Friday, woke up under my desk on Saturday, remembered why I don't do that too often. Then Sunday morning I was up with the lark (the specific lark I have in mind is quite a tardy one which only rises at about 9am) for Mike's 500m sprint sessions on the Mall - should have been on South Carriage Drive, but that was closed due to a sponsored run going on in the park.

I'm going to complain, as usual, about my armswing, although it's starting to feel more natural and from time to time it even seems to be making a difference. But it's still something that I do to accelerate and then start feeling rather self-conscious about as I reach top speed and my cadence slows.

And then we were moved on by the police after only about 5 sprints, who didn't like it that we'd left our bags in a neat pile by the side of the road. Bah.

So, headed off to find a quiet corner of the park in which to practice rightward crossovers (Le Mans is a clockwise circuit) for a while - until I found the angle at which my wheels don't grip any more, and stacked. Need more knee bend - wouldn't have stopped me stacking, but need it anyway. Then idled away a few hours until the Sunday Stroll by which time the weather was mostly too hot to go all-out but in which I had a few fun moments zipping through the crowd nevertheless.

Other stuff I am thinking about lately

• New boots are reported to be in the post. I am checking the office mailroom excessively often.
• My anklebone (inner, right). It was pointed out to me recently that most of its size is not actully bone, and after some prodding I have to admit this is the case. The bone itself may be marginally bigger than it used to be, but most of the size increase is in the soft tissue covering it. Much fun reading about heterotopic ossification (used to be called myositis ossificans, but that's not the best name considering it can happen in non-muscle tissue), and wondering if it will go away on its own when I get some boots without this silly builtin cant (see above, any day now) or should I take a break from putting any kind of pressure on it at all and if so for how long. In the meantime am playing with topical ibuprofen gel to see if that makes any difference. Obviously, the "complete break" option is not preferred with Le Mans only three weeks away ....
• The LFNS this week which I am leading. Consed up a draft route this evening subject to RC tomorrow: it's got a goodly chunk of Regents Park (which at this time of year would be much lighter and less slippery than it was back in winter) and the famous downhill on Kensington Church St.
• I need some new wheels. Or perhaps I don't really, but I want them anyway

Perhaps a bit faster than 8mph. GPS trace is here (it doesn't start at the beginning because I didn't give it a chance to find satellites before moving off) and demonstrates that a fair amount of fun was had at the front - more so in the second half. Somewhat hobbled, metaphorically speaking, by my ankle - there was no full-on sprinting to be had, but a good skate anyway. Pictures on the London Friday Night Skate web site.

I have a new toy. No, sadly, I'm not talking about my boots (which are stil not here whine whine where are they whine I need them for Le Mans whine whine), but yesterday when I left work I was feeling somewhat under the weather (probably a viral thing: today I'm actually off work with a throat that feels sandpapered and a headache and my temperature is all ovet the map) and decided on some retail therapy at Decathlon before going home - so, now I have a great big inflatable Swiss ball. Which is more fun than ab crunches by a factor of 10000 per cent, and even if it's only a tenth as effective in principle (I have no idea if this is the case in fact), on the basis that I haven't been doing any core exercise at all, is bound to be infinitely better for me in practice. I hear there are some people around who actually approach training in a disciplined fashion, but I'm really truly and emphatically not Mr Motivated when it comes to anything I don't enjoy doing...

And I'm still mostly refusing to wear my speed boots again until either the new ones turn up or it becomes obvious that they won't. Teh suck.

NEW BOOTS!

(Crummy photo. Sorry)

I suspect there's a fair amount of crossover between readers of this blog and people who skate in London, and therefore this may be news no more to a significant number of readers. New boots arrived last Wednesday, and have been used on a LondonSkate, a Stroll RC, and the Stroll itself. (Unfortunately, two days after new skates arrived, my cold returned, so I was in no fit state to skate on Friday)

So far, they're great: no ankle pain at all. A small blister on the back of my left ankle, which I think was a problem with the sock I was weearing (which has a seam just there) coupled with a slightly off frame placement. Mike helpfully suggested I might be toe flicking, which advice I received with the same grace and equinamity I preserve in the face of all accusations that I molest goats.

What else? I think I'm over the cold, which is nice. I've spent a little more time messing around with bicycles lately, but this is not the time or place to talk about that (it does remind me though of another advantage of skates over bikes: less grease). And my abs ached for a whole day following the first use of the swiss ball, and not at all following the second. Hrmm.