This weekend’s Norwich Half Marathon has an end of season finale feel to it. 

Of course, there are lots of other races still to be run up and down the country before the end of the year but I’m looking at Sunday as a chance to wrap up what has, in the main, been a successful running year, personally. 

I’ve never run this event before in the various guises it has taken but when speaking to people who have, there have been a few sharp intakes of breath and words like ‘tough’ and ‘undulating’ uttered. Apparently, it can all get a bit bumpy around mile 11... we’ll see. 

It perhaps speaks to my current mindset but this kind of language around it certainly isn’t getting me going. I know when I feel ‘in form’ that I won’t care what the course is like or the conditions. I’ll just run at my absolute limit and take whatever I get. 

I’ve been checking my weather app over the last few days in the hope the gale-force winds forecasted hold off. No such luck so far. 

It’s quite difficult to get up for what you know is going to be a tough race when a PB isn’t realistically on the cards. 

After running 1:25:03 at the Cambridge Half Marathon earlier in the year on a flat course in PB friendly conditions, I know that I’m not going to better that on Sunday. 

That’s not being negative, it’s just the truth. Hopefully, in a few months’ time with the right training I can challenge that, but I need to be realistic, which means reframing my goals. 

This has to be about setting another benchmark for where my fitness is over a longer distance to set up the start of another marathon training block, which kicks off in a few weeks’ time. 

I’d like to go under 90 minutes but with the conditions likely to be challenging there are going to be parts of the course to push on and others just to survive. When you’re running into a 40-50mph wind, it’s not about trying to maintain pace, it’s about keeping the effort level at a sustainable level. Yes, I’ll naturally slow but it’s important not to beat myself up mentally as a result. 

So the goal is to come out of the race in a positive frame of mind. I’ll take a bit of time next week to relax and take the running volume right back down before hopefully getting some good training in between now and the end of the year. 

Thoughts are gently turning to preparing for the Barcelona Marathon in March. I’ve really enjoyed having nearly a couple of months when I’ve been able to have a less structured approach to training. It’s been great fun just running a parkrun without worrying it’s going to take too much out of my legs for the next session or running with mates without thinking of average paces and/or splits. 

For me, it’s important to have a break from all of that but there’s also a comfort about getting back into marathon training. I know what my training week is going to look like – it's hard work, especially in the latter stages of a block but we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we? 

I like doing hard things, certainly when it comes to running. It can certainly make the hurly burly of everyday life seem just that more tolerable. 

Good luck to anyone that’s running on Sunday – and to any of you wonderful spectators who plan on braving the elements – you have my ultimate respect... but please be kind to me if I’m struggling up mile 11...