running, reading, nonsense.
In the heat of this particularly sweltering summer my writing habits have melted away. Thankfully, my running habits have mostly survived. My Strava progress chart is a steady mountain climb interspersed with brief, sometimes steep downhill drops indicating, probably, a heavy-ish weekend. I wanted to have a fun summer, and I have had one. I've been… Continue reading Summer of Run
Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash For my last three big races I have written out a full running regimen and with resounding consistency I have failed to stick to it. Life didn’t cause me to come unstuck from my plans...I just didn't really like them. I am currently training for a trail half in… Continue reading Packing on (running) Meat
The runners crashed by me, skidding on the loose rock trail, exhibiting tremendous speed and technical ability. I also ran. Just, not like that. Part of my interest in trail running is that it is beyond my comfort zone. I do not possess tremendous speed and technical ability, particularly not on steep downhills. Think less… Continue reading Downhills are Supposed to be Fun
I went away for two weeks and when I came back the seasons had changed. The heath where I go to run before work, and retreat to during my break, has sprouted. Its trees and bushes and fields are verdant, bright. The grass pops green, clashes with the yellow of the rape flower. Every year… Continue reading So Bloody Green
Time changes when you run somewhere new. I can’t say for sure whether it speeds up, or slows down, but it feels different. The explanation is probably as simple as: you don’t look at your watch as much; or you aren’t making calculations in your head based on landmarks because you have yet to commit… Continue reading Holidaying, Running, and Falling Out of the Stream of Linear Time.
ENDURANCE LIFE SUSSEX - HALF MARATHON - 2185 FEET ELV. The drive to Eastbourne was ponderous. I avoided the Dartford crossing, at my peril. It would have been worth the measly £2.50 to not get stuck in traffic, which is bleeding obvious in reflection. Things were looking up when I realised there was a Leon… Continue reading A Pink Moon
The idea of running with music has always been more appealing to me than the reality of it. In reality I find the music detracts from my ability to focus on the run, and I tend to not really be able concentrate on either thing, meaning I’m not really having fun running, or listening to… Continue reading Talking tunes again
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
Not every run is particularly good or particularly bad. Most runs are...what they are, and the more you run the more each individual run becomes more anonymous. This isn’t a bad thing, it is just a symptom of daily practise. Perhaps it sounds like a negative, but what it really speaks to is routine, and… Continue reading Eurus, God of the East Wind
run into words 