Finding My Inner Runner

So, it's been far too long and, while it wasn't a parkrun, it was, quite literally, a run in a park, trying to keep up with guys more than 30 years younger than me. The conditions were perfect and, as you can see, the game had me pretty much covering the pitch. It did seem a little harder than I remember, but I'll put that down to Sunday's HM effort and nothing to do with being 15 months older than the last time I forced myself out of bed on a Saturday morning to do this kind of thing...

So, given that as recently as Tuesday, I wasn't sure if I'd be fit to even start the event, my goal was really just to try and ease myself round without aggravating my back which had, thankfully, pretty much settled. The "easing" bit, of course, went out the window as soon as I passed the start line, and I quickly settled into my familiar internal shouting match where I kept telling myself to slow down and get a grip of my pace. It had been predicted to rain, but thankfully that held off and the conditions were almost perfect, about 15°C, dry and only a light head wind for part of the second half of the run. The event bills itself as "Fast, flat & picturesque". Despite that, there are a few gentle inclines. The "picturesque" I can't argue with as it's the part of the world I live in and the start is less than 3 miles from my front door, but, to be honest, I wasn't really taking the scenery in as it all went past in a bit of a ...

Having given last week a miss on account of the fact that my legs were still feeling a bit sorry for themselves after taking on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks the day before, today it was back to my familiar stomping ground of Vogrie Country Park for the second time since Parkrun returned to Scotland a fortnight ago. Last time out, I set an all-time Parkrun PB of 25:58; this week I was a wee bit slower at 26:49 but, actually, I was happier with this run. It felt better, my pacing was much more consistent, and I wasn't dead on my feet in the finishing funnel. Maybe it's something to do with running in a group (which I almost never do) but it's funny that I can comfortably pace 10k - HM, but 5k often catches me out. It possibly also has a lot to do with the fact I seldom run less than 10k and today was only my fifth run below that distance this year. Anyway, I digress. It was a lovely day. The early autumn sunshine was pleasantly warm, the track was generally dry underfoot and, all in...

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 ...

My run today was my 100 th run of 2021. It brought my total distance for the year to date to 1,192.9km (741.25 miles), making my average running distance this year 11.9km (7.4 miles).  My pace today was nothing especially noteworthy at 6:46/km, but that is pretty standard for my long, easy paced runs. The point for me being that, as a rule, I don't pay any attention to my pace until after I'm finished. Unless I'm taking part in an event or actually pushing myself for a PB, mostly I'm running on the basis of what just "feels right" In the current temperatures, the pace I set felt OK and allowed me to get a good distance in my legs. It is strange, in a way that, while I can (and sometimes do) run faster than I could this time last year, by and large, a lot of the time I'm actually running at around the same pace. The difference is that it running at that pace means I'm left with much more in the tank at the end of a run and I am averaging 2.5 - 3km/run ...

  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...

Last year's Edinburgh Kilomathon (13.1km run) was cancelled, strangely enough, and this year's one is due to be a virtual one on 11 April, which I was scheduled to take part in. Today my big blue envelope dropped through the letterbox telling me that I get my first dose of the Covid vaccine on 9 April. Great news on the vax front, on the run side of things, possibly not so much. Granted, I can actually do it any time in the next 12 months if necessary but I decided that I would get a "contingency one" under my belt today, just so I have it to fall back on if necessary. Hopefully, by the time next year's one rolls around, we'll be able to do more than just virtual events.   

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...