Doing the best that I can, at writing, running and living
Good things I managed just over twenty-seven miles this week, and as I haven’t done that since the second week of November last year, I’m quite pleased. By virtue of two races – alright Parkrun isn’t a race, but you know what I mean – I managed two quite decent threshold runs. There was an… Continue reading HM Training – Week 1 of 9
As much as you know you’re booked in for a race, when that envelope flutters down to the doormat with your bib number it feels more real. I still get butterflies for the big races when my number comes, and this one is the biggest I will probably do. There was a nice symmetry about… Continue reading Less Than Two Weeks To Go
I am a sucker for statistics, but I like to think that I’m not beholden to them. I use them to find patterns and correlations in a slightly more scientific manner than the augurys of old. At the beginning of March last year, I was able to complete a 20-mile race in three hours and… Continue reading Damned Lies And Statistics
You know, when it takes over five minutes to get a little house key into that tiny back pocket of your leggings, that things aren’t going to turn out as hoped. And given that I had managed to waste another five minutes running back to the house to retrieve my barcode, it was almost inevitable… Continue reading Not A Parkrun Sandwich
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?
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
Well, how did that happen? I thought I had loads of time over the rest of spring and summer to do a few different things before training for the second marathon this year but the time has whizzed by, and I’m already at the end of Week 1 of round two! More like fell walking… Continue reading Yorkshire MT – Week 1
It seems like an age since I’ve talked about running and it has been an age, or at least a good three months since I’ve run in any systematic way. But the beginning of this week was officially the ‘seven weeks to go’ mark of my half marathon race in Scotland. That run that I’d… Continue reading Seven Weeks to Race Day!!
theleadlesspencil 