Doing the best that I can, at writing, running and living
So … that actually went better than I thought it would. Okay, so I was last Pensby in, and I was twelve minutes slower than last year, and I got pipped at the final post by a guy who evidently had more than jelly in his legs. But … the weather wasn’t too bad at… Continue reading Helsby Half 2024
I had been half hoping that this week’s snow would cause Helsby to be cancelled, which is a terrible thing to wish for I know, but I’m just not sure I’m up to the task of completing it. I had felt bullish at the beginning of January, assuming that all my miles in 2023 (over… Continue reading Helsby Prep
'Thwack ... pffft.' The metal flap of our letterbox slammed back as the thin, white envelope dropped on the door mat. I was having a quietly crunchy five minutes with a cheese and salted crisp sandwich when the delivery woke me from my reverie. Inside the envelope was my Four Villages (Helsby Half) race number.… Continue reading How’s That Training Going?
You know that you have really let yourself go when you see a thin layer of dust on the top of your running shoes, and have a sports kit drawer that’s bulging because there are zero clothes in the washing basket, or drying on the line. There are twenty one days, including today, until the… Continue reading Running … again
Day One of trying to get my running mojo back. This is a very quick blog. Quick for me anyway. I’m writing it to make myself accountable to myself. It doesn’t always work that if I say I’m going to do something, I do it. But you have to try everything. I haven’t fallen out… Continue reading Dragging Myself Out of Homer-Mode
The moon is full tonight. By rights, if I am in concert with the supposed characteristics of its phases, I should be at the zenith of my activity, yet the last couple of weeks has seen a distinctive waning in my activities. I had wanted to make November my kick-starting month, because of NaNoWriMo, to… Continue reading Waning Energies
‘Welcome to Skem’, a marshal called out with a smile, as she braved standing in the pouring rain, close enough to being spattered by large globules of mud churned up by mad people. Indeed. This part of Skelmersdale would actually have looked rather nice on a warm dry day with the sun on your back.… Continue reading Beacon Park XC Race
It’s a misty autumn morning and I’m getting out for my first long run since the Yorkshire Marathon, just under two weeks ago. There’s hardly any wind and I’ve picked a route that isn’t too hilly, which is good because I’m attempting to keep my heart beating at around the 135 mark. Ever since I… Continue reading Zone 2 Training
It’s always hard to (kind of) reach your goals for the year and then wonder what to do with yourself for the last few months. Having been here before, I knew that I was liable to have a little unfocused slump, so I've made a (sort of) plan. Kind of? Sort of? What’s all this… Continue reading One Week On
My two marathons to celebrate turning 50 are now complete. I got to the end of the Yorkshire Marathon this Sunday in a small PB of 5:18:29, and more importantly perhaps, an actual negative split. I’ve never before had the second half go faster than the first thirteen miles. Granted, those first miles were quite… Continue reading Yorkshire Marathon 2023
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