The triathlon season drew to a close, so Nick Shasha worked on his favourite discipline – the run. We all know that Nick has a killer run at the end of the triathlon, well this report explains why…

The continuing saga of off season all-sorts, I mean All-Sports!

After an exhausting triathlon season, I usually treat myself to a diet of running events. My focus on triathlon has taken me away from my regular 10k running, so I used the off season to throw in a mini trilogy!

First off was the Leigh-on-Sea 10k in Essex on a wet, windy and hilly coastal course. I managed to pull away at about 3k and took the victory in 33.45. Second off was the Brighton 10k, one of the most competitive 10k’s in the country, where the 3,000 strong field guarantees a great challenge. Again the rain came, but I managed to win the Age Group prize and get a good time of 33.03 into the bargain. Third up and the rain in Spain falls mainly nowhere near the Gran Canarian 10k. Here again I picked up the Age Group victory (V40) in an even tastier 32.48. Overall Ladies winner and V40 victory went to Paula Radcliffe!

A rare foray into cross country in November, saw me grab the Gold at the Essex Vets Cross Country Championships on a surface that I rarely feel comfortable on!

February and March has also seen me do some last minute speedwork before the triathlon season starts. I should add here that I am lucky enough to live 3 miles away from the World class Lee Valley Athletics centre, which is a U.K. Athletics base. In the last 2 months, I’ve raced 1,500 metres (Essex Championships), the dream mile (sponsored open meet) and 3,000 metres (British Masters Championships here. And guess what? I’m now ranked first in Age Group in the country at all 3 events and have made it onto the All Time V40 list (10th) for the mile: www.thepowerof10.info

The month of February also saw a return to some proper hard work: Duathlon! After a 2 year focus on Triathlons, I was fearful of the cramp inducing nature of triathlon’s slightly less glamorous cousin. Off to Dorney Lake for the Sprint Distance (5k/20k/5k) and I managed to come in 2nd after the first run, then put in a strong bike before, powering away on the final run to clinch Age Group victory and 2nd overall. I feel my form is in the right place. Watch this space!

All pro snaps courtesy of Jolekha Shasha