A post about how how I celebrate my achievements, even when they are small compared with other people’s performance.
This is a bit of a catchup post, talking about the last three weekends, but there is a common theme, focusing on participating, rather than racing. On each of the last three weekends, I have participated in races.
In this post I will share some thoughts about what I am calling ‘comfortable running’. The impetus for this way of thinking about running came from two sources. First, back in mid-January, I had a try at the Spine Race, running 169 miles in just under four days, and this resulted in my being tired, stiff, and with my running pace much reduced. Secondly, two of my friends in my running club have just come back to running after a pause and are signed up to run a half marathon on 7 April, and they wanted a plan to be able to do this.
My recent Spine ultra has had a big impact on my regular running. In this post I look at how I have started my road back to normal running.
Over the last few days, I have been taking part in the hardest event I have ever attempted, the Winter Spine Race. The Race is 268 miles (431km), along the Pennine Way from Edale in the middle of England to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland. I was not able to complete the full distance, but I ran further in winter conditions than I had ever run before, and it was a magnificent adventure.
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A great day on Kinder Scout
Yesterday, I took part in a 24km social run on Kinder Scout organized by my good friend and clubmate Pete Henley. It was another wonderful day on the hills with lovely people. Running can be quite solitary, but it can also be a great social activity. Thirty of us met at the car park in Edale and headed up towards the fells.
I run every day, I have done it for five years, and here is how I fit it into my schedule – and why i do it.
Over the weekend, I took part in one of my favourite events, the Ranger Ultras Peak District South and North. This race can be seen as a two-day, 93km stage race or as two standalone races (50km on Saturday and 43km on Sunday). If you run just the Saturday or just the Sunday, it is a standard fell race. If you run the Saturday and Sunday, your times for the two races are added together to give you your total time.
I am lucky enough to participate in a wide range of running events, including marathons, cross-country, fell races, track races, ultramarathons, and relays. But, without a doubt, my favourite runs are social, i.e. runs where I head out with like-minded people to run, enjoy the conversation, appreciate the scenery, and explore new areas.
I have written before about my notion of ‘running within myself’. In essence, this means listening to your body and ensuring that you do not go ‘into the red’, i.e. not pushing too hard. Following this course of action, I have been able to: run every day for nearly five years, take part in a wide range of events (from 100 metres to 440 kilometres) without injury, and (bar one lapse of concentration) without getting into distress or difficulty.