I’ve not posted an update for a while. I’ve seen the same thing with many bloggers over the last 18 months. Lockdown brought many changes for many people. As I wrote about in March, the urge to write and post constantly has lessened. I only want to post about things I’m really interested in or think are of help to others and not just post for the sake of it.
As the main theme of the blog is running, we’ll get into that. As ever, it’s swings and roundabouts. For the non-British readers, that is – “a situation in which different actions or options result in no eventual gain or loss”.
As everyone should know, consistency is the key. If you do something a lot, you generally get better at it. So my pace, or the ease at which I run, which for me is a better predictor of fitness levels, improves the more regularly I run.
Weight (for me) is an important factor too. My weight can fluctuate by 5 kgs over a few weeks, depending on how I’ve been eating and drinking. When I’m at either end of this fluctuation, the ease at which I run, and therefore the speed, is very noticeable. As well as the jiggle!
Parkrun is back! I hit Wimbledon Common with the wife 4 weeks in a row. My time improved each time by sizeable chucks, sometimes by up to a minute. Travel and illness (general colds) have meant a few have been missed, but I need to get the wife back on the horse again and get back.
I’ve done a few events. As a posted after the London 10km, going to events on your own sucks, so I took my own advice and ran a Mabac event with Wimbledon Windmilers. Mabac is a running league in Surrey and SW London. The events are free to enter with your club. The Wimbledon Common one was horrendous (physically), muddy and included a very long hill. Twice! (See below). I hope I earned my club some points. There was a beer and a packet of crisps at the end to enjoy in the late summer sun.
The other event was the River Relay. The marathon distance event is organised by the Stragglers Running Club and split into 5 legs running along the Thames from Windsor to Kingston on Thames. I ran the first leg with some guys and girls I train with on Saturday mornings (see picture at the top of the post). Taking the first leg was a blessing as the early September weather peaked at 25 degrees C, making running in the heat of the day, thirsty and sunburn avoiding work. The River Relay is a super event. Much of the work goes into ferrying your team around, to drop off and pick up runners and get to the next changeover before the runner does. You also have to navigate yourself, so there is plenty of opportunities to take a wrong turn! The team finished middle of the pack, after some of those wrong turns and one of the team courageously doing back to back legs. It was great fun.
The other thing I’ve been up to is Made for Moving SW19. This is a “bootcamp” focusing on building cardiovascular fitness and strength through sprints, longer anaerobic runs and bodyweight exercises. As Chris, the organiser, perfectly put it – “like pre-season rugby training”. The sessions are held within walking distance from my house and can be fitted in before work. The guys at Made for Moving have been very welcoming and are forming a great little community.
I will possibly strive to speed up, but the very cliched reason to run is to just get out the door and enjoy it for both your physical and mental health.
Happy running!