It’s always good to be told you have an ‘itis’ that you can barely spell, isn’t it? A trip to the physio today for a routine sports massage to maintain my poor stressed calves turned into something a bit more sinister. I told the physio I’d been experiencing small amounts of pain in the bit of … Continue reading An Actual Pain in the Arse
As Thursday got closer and closer this week my trepidation increased.... I'd been given an enforced week off by my coach to get some sleep, get my iron levels checked and just basically get some perspective. No runs for me since last Friday morning, with the plan being to break the running vacation with a … Continue reading Back in the Game – JLL 5k 2016
My usually not that strict coach has decided I need a few days off. Mainly I think this is because I'm struggling to be particularly nice to people at the moment because I'm too tired to put up with their rubbish. Or their opinions. Or their breathing. Between us we think I might be suffering … Continue reading Resting State
At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon was won by Dorando Pietri of Italy. However he did not take home the gold medal. Pietri had started out at a steady pace but sped up in the second half when he realised his main competitors were struggling. In the final 2k, he began to … Continue reading Organised Masochism – Why Do We Run Marathons?
This weekend, an occasional colleague happened to notice I was wearing my Garmin with my civvies (ie my non-running kit clothes) and straight off asked me what I was training for. The watch was a dead giveaway to this guy that I must be a runner. It got me thinking; there are lots of ways to spot other … Continue reading Tribal Markings
During marathon training, my coach encourages his coachees to choose a reward that they're going to give themselves when (not if, that's important) they complete their race. Mine arrived today. For Rome, my optimistic early choice was a new pair of fancy designer shoes. Of course, if there's one thing marathon training does its to … Continue reading Running Rewards
When running and trying to get stronger, It helps to run uphill for longer. You'll puff like a train, As you beat the terrain.... ....and despite the fact you know it's doing you good you'll hate every single solitary second of it because running hill repeats sucks and only total masochists actually enjoy it (largeglassofred, … Continue reading A Short Post in which I Express My Intense Dislike for Hill Training
You can have a bad mile. That's ok. That doesn't mean it was a bad run. I've just completed the first 18 miler of my New York plan. It was only due to be 22 degrees today but it is still really muggy out, so it felt very tough. I even had to stop and … Continue reading A Bad Mile
I always hated sports day at school. As far as I remember it, we never actually did any running or athletics training during PE lessons beyond some half hearted javelin flinging. So when our form tutors went round every year to demand that we sign up to run around the grass track on the school … Continue reading Burning Up the Track
Being the youngest child of a teacher, I have always had a bit of a tendency towards overachieving and being a bit of a Teacher's Pet. Yesterday's run gave me ample opportunity for this, as it turned out....! After a bad couple of runs last week, including a wheezy midweek 9 mile stagger and a foolish pre-parkrun … Continue reading Teacher’s Pet
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