Finding My Inner Runner

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 -...

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...

Sometimes this running thing throws up occasional pleasant surprises; the unexpected additional distance or the unintended PB. Today's surprise was discovering that I'd managed the "holy grail" of negative splits. I wasn't aiming for a fast time; I'd already done a 7k+ session with my Sunday morning running group and this was simply a solo after-group session that has become my traditional "scenic route" home from the park where the sessions are held. The route is one that I have run many times (although usually in the other direction); a mixture of roughish forest path and hard packed dirt former railway foot/cycle/bridle path. I wasn't putting any real effort into it; just simply zoning out, plodding along enjoying my surroundings. I wasn't paying any attention to the timings when each kilometre split buzzed on my wrist. The was no "pressure" on me to achieve a particular time, pace or distance. The thing with doing a route that i...

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.

I suspect it's not the actual running we're missing; since many of us can just go out and run when the mood takes us so long as we are fortunate with our health and the COVID-19 restrictions in our particular part of the world allow us to do so. It's possibly not even being able to run in a group; since as much as I enjoy the social side, I tend to be a solitary runner. For me, what I actually miss is being able to have something to judge my performance against. Not my overall position on the weekly email (although that has its own value), but the arcane calculation that is the age adjusted performance and how it varies from run to run. Then I discovered that Running Heroes has a weekly 5k challenge. OK, so it's on a Sunday rather than a Saturday, but it gives you a leader board and age tables and all of those little things that turn a run into a "non-competitive" competition. It's not really the same, but it is nice to feel that you are part of gro...

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...

The accepted distance, by road, from John O' Groats to Lands End is 874 miles (1,407km). The straight line distance between the two is actually a 'mere'  603 miles but, since quite a lot of this route is through the Irish sea, which is not exactly conducive to running (and I'm a famously poor swimmer), I decided to stick with the road network for my virtual mission. If you take Monday 11 th March 2019 (when I commenced my Couch to 5k journey) as being the date I set out on my end-to-end odyssey, today I completed the final 10 miles that saw me traverse the full length of the British mainland from one end to the other. Given the current lockdown restrictions in Scotland meaning I'm supposed to stay within 5km of my home, it's probably just as well that this has been a virtual challenge or I'd probably be in all sorts of trouble (although I could try and claim I was testing my new (at the start) running shoes to see if they fitted me properly as my just...

That pretty much sums up today's run. The distance, 5k, was OK. The time, 32:15 was nothing special but by no means poor based on my usual pace. I certainly want trying for any form of PB either on terms of distance or time, but I still felt somewhat deflated after it. If it had been my plan simply to run 5k, I'm pretty sure I'd have been happy with it; box ticked, achievement unlocked, job done. The trouble was that, while I had no specific distance in mind, I had set out expecting, no, intending to run further but by the time I got to 5k, my enthusiasm had evaporated and I plodded wearily home as my 5 minute cool down. As I said, not a bad run by any standards, and one that I'd normally be happy enough with but today has just felt a bit flat; which, given that one of the reasons I run is for the lift it gives me, makes this one all the more disappointing. Ah well, I'm sure normal service will resume soon.

As I mentioned in my last post , my plan for this evening was to take my new shoes out for their maiden run. By some strange coincidence, today also happens to be Global Running Day. To mark this occasion, I decided to run the same route that I did for last year's event . The result was that this year I ran it a whole 7 minutes faster than last year. My time of 27:22 was a new 5k PB and was 37 seconds faster than my previous best, set at the end of March. How much of that improvement is down to the shoes, and how much is down to having had a break from running since I completed my #MilesForMind  challenge on Friday is a matter of conjecture, although they did feel decidedly springier than the pair they replaced have felt in quite a while. Anyway, it does seem like an auspicious start and hopefully it won't be the last PB I set in them.

After a little over 8 months and a little under 740 km, it is time for me, sadly, to send my trusty old Brooks Ghosts off to the great retirement home for running shoes in the sky... Fair thee well, faithful companions, your watch is ended... Tonight, in recognition of it being Global Running Day, it is time to take their successors out for their maiden lollop. It's fair to say they have a tough act to follow... The Ghosts are dead! Long live the Ghosts!

At the start of the month I set myself a #MilesForMind target of 75 miles. Having started my assault on that total on Saturday 2 May with a half marathon, twelve runs later, I completed the task tonight with a 5k in glorious sunshine to bring my total to 75.59 miles. It's not impossible that I might squeeze one more run in over the weekend to stretch my total further, but those will be bonus miles; the target I set myself has been achieved, and I'm feeling decidedly chuffed with myself. To anyone reading this who still has to reach their own target, good luck over the next few days. Happy running and stay safe. If you feel like "congratulating" me, please do visit my Just Giving page and give whatever you can.

Following my last run , I had 9 miles left to run to reach the 75 mile target I set myself for #MilesForMind . Tonight, I crossed off another 7 miles leaving me only 2 left to do. Tonight's run followed the route that I'd originally planned to do as my last run, but the high winds that I found myself running head first into on Friday evening necessitated a change of plan. The weather this evening was much more clement and what wind there was served to stop it from becoming uncomfortably warm, which made things that much easier. My pace was fairly relaxed as my hip, it seems, still isn't 100%. The result is I'm going to give myself an extra day off before attempting to close out my 75 mile target on Friday evening; a run that I suspect will be the final outing for my trusty Brooks Ghost 12s as, after 730 km+, they are beginning to show definite signs that they need to be retired. The end is very definitely in sight, and I'm going to get myself over that virtu...

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

If you were to ask me what the weather was on any given day last year then for 364/365 of them I'd be guessing. The exception was 7 May 2019. To narrow it down, it was about 5:30pm on that date. It was raining. Why is this fact etched so firmly in my mind? Quite simply, 7 May was the day I'd been building up to for two and a bit months. I'd been psyching myself up to it over the last few runs. May 7 was the day I was going to graduate from Couch to 5k; and it was raining! Not heavily, but it was definitely wet. Having been building myself up for as long as I had, I wasn't going to let some trifling precipitation dampen my spirits so I so off. I got to 30 minutes having covered 3.8km and, of course, I kept on running; running until I got to the fabled 5k mark . It took me 39:20. Yes, I broke the rules. The 10% rule was never going to hold me back that night. I'd graduated and I'd run 5k and I was supremely chuffed with myself (it would take another 40 ...

After the efforts of Saturday , today's run wasn't going to be fast, nor was it likely to be  particularly far. As it turned out, I managed just over 8 km/5 miles in a shade over 56 minutes. Another plus is that this run actually shows up on my Just Giving page , so that's good too. One thing I've noticed is that you know there hasn't been a lot of rain recently when you are running through a forest and you wish you'd chosen your road shoes for the extra comfort of their additional cushioning over the surefootedness of your trail shoes. Still, it's a nice problem to have under the circumstances. So my #MilesForMind  campaign is now well and truly under way. Runs: 2 Miles: 18.5