running, reading, nonsense.
The Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty is the lumpiest training ground I have reasonably quick access to. As the sun has been creeping out, and the lockdown measures have been easing off, I’ve been plotting my return. There are a crazy number of runnable trails in the wide spread area, and a great number… Continue reading From Coombe Hill to Wendover Woods (A Run in Words)
Spring has sprung and a race has been run. It did not, to move quickly to the point, go exactly how I wanted it to. I did not run the time I imagined that I would. In fact, the pace that I did run (37:09, I was hoping to at least come close to breaking… Continue reading Small hills get bigger as the race goes on.
This time hopefully it is here to stay. Hopefully, alongside the hairdressers and the pubs and the restaurants, alongside our good health and lower infection rates, hopefully. About two weeks out from a race is when I have my doubts, and after such a long time without racing they have been more pronounced. I know… Continue reading and so racing is back, again.
This last week I’ve had plenty of time. I should have been away on holiday, but no one is going away anywhere so I’m just not at work. At first I was a little worried about having 2 weeks to do nothing, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of nothing going on. It’s April,… Continue reading Time Trail.
When running feels good, it feels really good. When it feels bad, it feels really bad. The order of things in running, the reason behind these good and bad feelings, can be difficult to fathom. Why did that run feel good? How can I capture that feeling every time I go out the door? You… Continue reading Brick Walls
Here is how my writing process goes: I have an idea about some subject that I’d like to broach via an experience, or perhaps something I’ve read, then I sit down to tackle that subject. From there a different thread will shake loose that I find to be more engaging than my original idea, and… Continue reading Of Badgers and Trails.
I’m sure there are some benefits to running in the morning, but I just do it because I have always done it; in the first stage of my running life at the weekends; and now in my second. I’ve heard some things about how morning running improves the way your body metabolises fat for energy… Continue reading Have I ever seen a sheep sleeping?
How can we run faster? How can we run farther? How can we run farther, faster? These are the questions that runners of all calibres ask themselves, have asked themselves, and will ask themselves forever more. Throughout history there have been visionaries, athletes and coaches alike, who propose answers with evidence to these eternal queries.… Continue reading Running to the Edge, and Stories in Running.
It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, or how fast you go, sometimes running hurts. Since Christmas my focus has been on the long run. Yes, the long run as in thinking long term about my running, but mostly I mean the long run as in the longest run in my week. So far I’ve… Continue reading The Slog
I like Strava. Like all social media, our relationship with it always has the potential to turn sour. Constantly comparing yourself to someone's online presence is inherently unhealthy because you don’t have the full picture. Right now, I just find it quite fun. It also does a decent job of tracking my training, but like… Continue reading Pen and Paper
