running, reading, nonsense.
And so, slightly belatedly, I find myself reflecting on last year. Because of this wonderful thing called recency bias we tend to pick songs, films, tv shows, games, races, from the latter part of the year as our favourite thing of the year. This is how I find myself, as I reflect, thinking of the… Continue reading Backwards, Forwards.
Image by Matt Seymour, from Unsplash.com The North Midlands Cross Country league is sort of the premier event for endurance runners at my athletics club, but I’ve never actually been involved before. The combination of recurring lockdowns and my previous job consistently eating up my Saturdays has prevented me from ever being able to turn… Continue reading MUD
I’ve worried about time quite a lot. In relation to running, I often worried about having enough time to run. In the process of applying for new jobs I’ve considered how the positions which I am applying for may impact the time I have to train. The thing is, I realised it doesn’t matter. Time… Continue reading Always Time
Last year it was the lockdown which restricted our running routes, this year - for me at least - it has been this little fuel crisis which we’ve been undergoing. Although, I suppose it’s not a fuel crisis at all, it’s a HGV driver crisis (which sounds considerably less dramatic, although clearly that’s unfair) -… Continue reading Close to Home
With the transition of the seasons comes a transition in training. It isn’t exactly a new year, or a completely clean slate, but the gradual shifting of nature’s palette has encouraged me to take stock and consider what might I do differently in the year’s final chapters compared to it’s long open, and sun-stunted middle. … Continue reading To Watch Less
Back in 2019 I was feeling aimless so, in a grasp for purpose, I decided to go whole hog on running. The sport has been in my life for a long time but I had never really given it full commitment. It had always been a passing, but familiar, acquaintance. I imagine quite a few… Continue reading The Half Marathon and I
No one wants to make a habit out of giving up, but it is something which I think is unfairly maligned. I recently read Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way, a kind of practical guide for applying Stoic philosophy to your life. Suffice to say it is a book full of interesting thoughts, written… Continue reading Obstacles, Acquiescence.
I followed up the blissful smoothness of my last long run with a low volume day of run/biking, and then had an absolutely storming track session. It was one of my best, ever. I felt in full control of my stride, was able to hold something in reserve on the longer efforts, and then push… Continue reading Present Sense
I started out in the drizzle. The light grey skies were not burdened with the weight of heavy rain, just a constant, mist like, precipitation. It was a bit like running constantly through one of those fan/spray contraptions they put out in theme park queues on intensely hot days. The route was new to me,… Continue reading Back to the Long Run
The pine trees at Thetford Forest stand soldier stiff, and stifle the sounds of the outside world. They provide a green peace, an overwhelming sense of tranquility. They also seem to capture the moisture of the air and generate a great amount of humidity, as one might suppose a forest does, but I discovered that… Continue reading Relaxed Racing
run into words 