Finding My Inner Runner

Miles for Mind has always been important to me, so having 4 seasonal challenges this year instead of just the traditional May version has given me even more reason to flex my running muscles. Across the 4 challenges, I clocked up 757km (470 miles) which has been a huge contribution to my target of running 2021km this year (only 16km left to do it at the time of posting). While the physical health benefits of running are obvious, for me, it is the boost to my mental health that is by far the biggest motivator to get me lacing up and heading out in all weathers and just going for however long/far feels right at whatever pace suits the run. 2021 may not have been the easiest of years, but it has definitely had its highs as well as its lows. Let's all celebrate the victories, big, small, and in between that we've achieved this year. If you feel like supporting my efforts by donating to Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) , you can do so by visiting my JustGiving  page .

Yesterday was my second Edinburgh 10k, my first being in 2019 (last year's event got cancelled for some reason...). My stravas of both are attached for comparison. Same route, pretty much the same conditions (it chucked it down prior to the start, but was dry and bright albeit decidedly chilly, with a gentle breeze throughout) and the 2km climb from 4.5-6.5km was still horrible. When I did the 2019 event, I'd only been running for 8 months and has only run 10k about a dozen times before. The official chip time of1:03:52 that I set on the day was a personal best at the time. Skip forward to yesterday, and another 250+ runs of 10k or more in the intervening 2 years and I posted an official chip time 54:17, which is currently my second fastest 10k time (the fastest being 53:43 which I ran during my HM at the end of September). Taking my official times, I knocked 9½ minutes off my 2019 time with yesterday's run; despite moving up an age band category in that period. On the who...

I've been having something of a hectic time, so haven't had time to share this one. Last year, I clocked up the 1,000 mile mark on 30 December. This year, I hit that particular landmark on Saturday. I'm not running more often this year, still typically heading out 3-4 times a week; the difference is the distances. Last year I was averaging around 30km each week with one run being 10km or longer, but the rest being much shorter. This year, I'm averaging around 40km each week, with 10km being my starting distance. My average run distance this year is just over 12km compared with 9.5km last year. My goal is to run 2021km this year and I currently have a wee bit over 350km left to go. As an "after work" runner, I'm now moving into the night run season, which brings its own challenges. The Hi-Viz vest and headlamp have been dug out of the drawer (haven't been needed yet, but I suspect by next week they will) and the merino base layers have already ma...

Back in March last year, when parkruns got cancelled and lock down started, I was a year on from starting C25K and my average distance per run was around 8.75k. Skip forward to today and my average over May, June and July (so far) is now about 12.5k/run. It has, in fact, now been over 6 months since any run has been under 10k. I don't say the above to brag, simply a recognition of the fact that for someone who just wanted to keep his fitness up between rugby seasons so that I didn't dread August rolling around each year on account of increasing age and it getting harder to pick up again each season, I really am amazed at how far (literally and figuratively) I've come since deciding to give Couch to 5K a try back in March 2019. I have had the good fortune to be active and have a reasonable degree of fitness all my life, but it's fair to say that now, in my 50s, I'm probably in the best physical shape I've been in my entire adult life, and it's all down to me ...

  Yesterday, I completed my third "Miles For Mind" challenge. My first, in 2019, was the month that I completed Couch to 5K and my total of 66.75 km/41.5 miles, while modest by the distances I cover today was, not surprisingly, the most I had ever run cumulatively in a single month at that point. It was a month that, not only did I graduate the C25K programme, I also ran my first 5k and my first Parkrun. Skip forward to 2020. Lockdown was upon us and the distances I was covering during my 3/4 weekly runs was increasing. My target was an achievable 50 miles for the month. I started strongly, bringing my half-marathon time under 2 hours 15 and, over the course of the month, I totaled 122.75 km/76.25 miles. In October, runr also set the "Leave Nothing But Footprints" challenge. That month was also the month that I turned 50, so I had a fairly obvious target to aim at. Another half-marathon brought my time below 2 hours 10. A 10 mile run later in the month took my time...

  Or, possibly more accurately, nature getting too close to me...  As runners, we're used to picking up minor injuries: strains, pulls, twists, scratches and stings; they are pretty much an occupational hazard. Getting strafed by an pissed off buzzard, and being left with a light talon scratch on your scalp is, however, possibly one of the more exotic and "you really had to be there" injuries that can befall us.  The buzzard in question is rather specacular and has a reputation for providing close encounters with unwary ramblers and runners in the vicinity. There are quite a few buzzards around where I live and I often encounter them flying quite low through the woods when I'm out on the paths around Pencaitland and the surrounding area. I can't deny, having one fly at eye-level just a few feet in front of you is an amazing experience. I could, however, have done without the insight into how its prey must feel when it's hunting.  

So, first evening run after the clocks going forward, so I set off secure in the knowledge that I had plenty of time to do my run and not have to worry about losing daylight. Actually, in all honesty, that's been true the last couple of weeks, but the clock change gave me an extra hour of buffer.  So, with that in mind, did I go for a long, leisurely plod (which is kind of what I had in mind when I left the house)?  No, for some reason my legs had other ideas. Long story short, a new 10k of 56:04, knocking 2:15 off my previous time. I've been averaging around 6:15-6:30/km recently, so no idea where this burst of pace suddenly came from, but it would definitely be churlish of me to complain about it.  Anyway, hope you are all staying safe. Happy running...

Two years ago, having finally shaken of the tendonitis that had put paid to my first attempt at the Couch to 5k plan, I finally put all the excuses behind me, laced up my shoes that had been gathering dust since I unboxed them at Christmas, and started my running journey in earnest. There were a couple of "training runs" along the way, but I completed the programme in May 2019 and quickly moved on to JuJu's 10k plan which got me to 10k on 1 July that year. Before 2019 was finished, I'd get to 10 miles in October and my first HM in November and, by the time the bells rang in 2020, I'd clocked up over 500 miles. Then, 2020... Well, actually, from a running perspective, it turned out better than anticipated. Yes, OK, so the final parkrun was a year ago this weekend just past, and all the organised events I'd entered were cancelled or postponed until some indeterminate point in the future, but running, it seemed, was an escape and helped my cope with the whole...

I realise that there are still a few days left, and I need to squeeze in a 30 minute challenge run before the year is out, so my total will probably edge up a little further, but yesterday I hit the 1,000 mile mark for running in 2020. It has, for all of us, been a very different year from the one we were probably looking forward to at this point last year. For me, I suspect running is one of the things that has helped most in getting me through it. Back at the start of 2020, I set myself some goals: See how much lower I could take my 5k PB below 28:38 Get my 10k PB below one hour from 1:03:49 Get my 10 mile PB below 1:45:00 from 1:49:29 Get my Half Marathon PB below 2:30:00 from 2:30:23 Complete the equivalent of John o' Groats to Land's End (874 miles) by the end of the year. As the year passed, my runs increased in length and duration, and I ticked the goals off one by one so that they now stand at: 5k - 26:36 10k - 58:19 10 miles - 1:34:29 HM - 2:05:46 John o' Groats -...

Was I feeling in the mood to head out today? No. Did I head out and run anyway? Yes. Safe to say, was feeling a little flat and could have safely stayed on the sofa watching Boxing Day films all day, but that would almost certainly have added to the flatness of my mood. So, instead, I got myself up, changed and headed out with no expectations other than the knowledge that anything was better than nothing. 67 minutes (so pretty average time) and 10k later and I'm definitely feeling better for it and it made a nice change to be running in daylight again for once. Anyway, to anyone reading this, I hope you had a good Christmas. Still time to get a couple of runs in before 2019 becomes history...

I opened my 2020 running account on 2 January with a fairly leisurely 10k. It was only 10 months after I'd started my Couch to 5k Journey but, having already completed my first Half Marathon distance  and getting my 5k PB below 30 minutes in November, I was pretty chuffed with the progress I'd made so far. My plans for 2020 didn't really come to much at that point. This was before many of us would discover just how important running would become over the course of the year, but I had some vague goals; keep chipping away at my 5k time, get my 10k under an hour, bring my Half Marathon time under 2 hours 15 and, in addition to Parkrun, take part in a number of the organised events locally. The  distance/time goals would be achieved, but sadly every event (including Parkrun) would be cancelled. The one thing that was becoming obvious was that both my pace and stamina were definitely increasing. I had set a very vague goal of averaging around 100k per month, but I was exceeding ...

Like a lot of people, back in May, I signed up for Miles For Mind , organised by runr , and managed to push myself to 75 miles for the month. I had actually run slightly further than that in both March and April this year, but this was the first time I had set a target for the month that I was essentially accountable to anyone other than myself for achieving and I did it with a little over a mile and a quarter to spare. The team at runr  decided that this year they would organise their first autumn challenge, #LeaveNothingButFootprints . Yet again, this would be in aid of the charity, Mind UK . Now, while Mind  are a fantastic charity, they don't currently operate in Scotland but, because mental health is a cause that's important to me, I wanted to get behind this so, instead, I dedicated my fundraising efforts on behalf of the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) . October 10th was World Mental Health Day and, by a spooky coincidence, October was the month where I cl...

They've been through a lot. Since I first laced them up on 11 March 2019 and set out on my Couch to 5k adventure, to their final 10k tonight; covering every distance from that first one minute "jog" all the way through to a half-marathon. In total we've shared a shade over 500 miles/800km together, but now their race is run. We've had a lot of good times up to this point, and a few not so good ones, but they've always got me safely to the end of whatever run I've been on with them. The cushioning may be a distant memory and my big toe has rather assertively made its presence known through the top of the tight toe-box but I think it's fair to say that they owe me absolutely nothing and can now enjoy what time they have left as those trainers I use for pottering around in the garden. Enjoy your retirement...

Tonight's run was one of those unremarkable in every way runs. It wasn't especially fast, or slow, the weather wasn't in any way notable, good or bad; everything about it screamed average in every way (obviously it didn't actually scream as that would have been notable, it was more of polite volume, but you get my drift). Runs like this are sort of bread and butter. Not every run needs to be, or even can be a personal best; the majority of runs are just about getting out there and enjoying (if that's the right word) the feeling of just getting out there and putting some time and distance into the legs. Trouble is, I am a bit of a stat fiend. So when I logged tonight's effort I couldn't help notice that this otherwise unremarkable run was the run that took my 2020 distance to date over 1,000km. Given my average monthly distance, I knew I was likely to get there at some point, but I was pleasantly surprised that I did it tonight. So, it turns out that tonight...

On Saturday, a twitter friend was celebrating having got up early and smashing her 10k PB. as it was nearly lunchtime when I read her post, I congratulated her on her achievement and commented that given the temperature, there was no chance of any PBs happening on the run I was about to head off on. It turns out, I lied. I ran only my second ever sub-60 minute 10k, setting a new PB of 58:19. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be the understatement of the year. Tonight, I went out for another run; 10k again. There was less elevation, I was deliberately taking it slow, but dearie me it was a tough one.  I was well rested, well hydrated; it was actually cooler than Saturday, but I was obviously still experiencing some sort of hangover from my weekend exertions. Not to worry though, it's still another run in the legs and under the belt, taking me to 55k so far for the month.

Actually, it was only meant to be 7 days, 4 runs and 40k, but, annoyingly, I got the start date of the challenge wrong and so the first 10k didn't actually count towards the challenge. I wasn't going to let that get in my way though, so today, with rather weary legs, and between the showers, I set off to complete the challenge and run the final 10k. Having had a quick recce earlier, the problematic riverside stretch that I ran on my first ever 10k turned out to be no longer submerged, so I decided to rerun that first 10k run from 1 July 2019. So, despite it being decidedly squelchy in places and my poor trails shoes having had another 350km on them in the intervening year, the difference between then and now was just over 15 minutes. Now, I think, I'm going to give my legs a couple of days off while I work out my next challenge.

. On 1 July 2019, I ran my  first ever non-stop 10k . I qualify the "non-stop" bit because several weeks earlier, before I'd even completed Couch to 5k, I'd covered just over 10k  refereeing a rugby 7s tournament . It was stop start, spread over six 14 minute games, but I still include it in my distance totals. Anyway, I digress; 1 July was the day I completed  Ju Ju's Magic 10k Plan  over on  Health Unlocked's Bridge to 10k Forum , so that's the day I'm counting. The time that evening was 1:19:36. Tonight, one year on and not including the rugby tournament mentioned above, I completed my 58 th run of 10k or more. When you consider the that 4 of those 58 runs were half-marathon distance, I've actually completed the 10k distance 62 times in the last 12 months. Tonight's time was 1:04:51, which is a bit off my PB of 58:58, but that wasn't what I was aiming for tonight given the conditions underfoot following several days of rainfall incl...

At the beginning of the month I set myself the fairly arbitrary target of running 75 miles on behalf of Mind UK as part of the #MilesForMind challenge. The logic, such as there was, behind this target is that this year I have been typically running in the region of 120 km each month so, as long as I remained injury free and the UK lock-down response to COVID-19 didn't become any stricter, 75 miles seemed achievable. Ten runs and 24 days later, I've chalked up a shade over 66 miles so far, meaning I have just under 9 miles left to go to complete the target I set myself. Now, in theory, I could potentially do that in one run and, traditionally, Mondays are my long (10-12km plus) runs. There is of course a slight snag; I currently have a niggling strain in my left thigh. It's not debilitating, it's not even especially painful but I am aware of it, so rather than going for broke on my next run, I'm going to give myself another couple of days to recover and break...

There was almost nothing notable about today's run. The distance, 10k, was fairly average in terms of recent runs. The time was pretty relaxed, the weather was fine, the route was a mix of paths that I've run many times before. It was all about just getting some miles in the legs. At one point I noticed I was being watched rather closely by the deer in the field that I was running along side. They seemed quite interested and totally unfazed by my lack of grace and elegance, and didn't bat an eyelid when I stopped briefly to take their photo. That was the only thing that stood out in any way; the rest of the run passed without anything further to comment on. Sometimes it's the uneventful runs that are the best runs. Today brings my totals to: Runs - 4 Miles - 27.8

I know I've been pushing towards it lately, and having reduced my 10k PB down to 1:02:07 l ast time out , and having not had the best couple of days, the last thing I expected was to go out and better that time tonight. If truth be told, I wasn't even sure I was going to run that far tonight but, once again, my legs seemed to have a will of there own and as the kilometres clicked by, I realised something was going to happen, and when I reached 6k in a shade over 36 minutes, I knew it was potentially on. The final 4k flashed by in just under 23 minutes and I "broke the tape" at 58 minutes 58 seconds. The result of this means that my PBs are now: 5k - 28:04 10k - 58:58 10 miles - 1:44:54 HM - 2:21:21 I'm not quite sure where this new burst of pace has suddenly come from, but needless to say I'm absolutely delighted with it. I need to set myself some new year end goals, but that's a nice "problem" to have, I guess...