LSD Ruined My Life

Posted on June 4, 2013 by James Clay

No, not the hallucination inducing drug so beloved by the flower power generation, but Long Slow Distance runs.

And maybe ruining my “life” is a bit of an exaggeration, perhaps it would be fairer to say ruined my “short term Juneathon goal”.

You see, LSD has made me lazy. I know I can go out and plod ten miles and in doing so barely miss a breath, but when I try to run fast…well my lungs want to escape through my chest, my blood boils in my head and my legs burn like I already have both feet firmly in the pits of hell. Running fast takes a whole new level of determination and willingness to suffer that I’d forgotten about.

So, with my goal of a Parkrun PB in 2 weeks this sudden shift to sprinting kilometre repeats and powering up hills has caused me untold misery. Of course, and being a fellow runner you’ll know, this misery is short lived. When I can’t take another breath or another step and collapse in a heap it’s only minutes before I’m up again and ready to do battle once more.

5 times this morning I couldn’t take another step. 5 times I rested for 90 seconds and 5 times I ran the next kilometre in under 5 minutes. Up and down the footpath I went, striking terror in to the hearts of all who saw this hulk chuntering towards them, spittle flying with each stolen gasp of precious air, sweat running from his brow like a tsunami of effort. Anyone unlucky enough to see me at the end of each run, bent double, cursing and heaving, you are welcome to bill me for any subsequent therapy you may require.

But I did it. I covered the distance in the time I wanted, and all that remains is to reduce the rests until in 11 days time I can string those 5 kilometres together and speed to a sub 25 minute Parkrun.

And that’s why I will be out again tonight, doing hill reps, dancing with death…

The things we do to call ourselves runners!

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Manners Cost Nothing

Posted on June 3, 2013 by James Clay

Just been out for some interval work and for a change I avoided the quiet cycle path I normally use and went out on the mean streets of Cheltenham.

That was a mistake.

Firstly the pavements of this town are no match for the glass smooth path I usually do speed work on. It was more like a trail run in places; tree roots, raised paving slabs, pot holes. It’s not easy to concentrate on speed when you’re also concentrating on not hitting the deck face first.

The other issue I encountered was people. It still amazes me how people refuse to give up any precious pavement to runners, being far more defensive than if I had merely been strolling towards them. It’s almost a matter of pride for people that they forced a runner sideways/in to the road/to stop and wait. I comfort myself by blaming it on their jealousy and insecurities, that just about stops me from letting people know exactly what I think about their manners…

…which reminded me…

…a few weekends ago I did some events, a 10k trail run and a cross-country mountain bike ride. I got overtaken quite a bit in both, I wasn’t racing, I was there for fun. But what disappointed me is that NO ONE who went passed me gave any indication they were doing so or acknowledgement when I moved to let them go.

I’m sure this is a reasonably new phenomenon, I remember events of old where the shout of “on your left” or “when I can” from behind was almost a soundtrack to the race (which shows you how used to being passed I am!). Certainly at mountain bike events even the lead riders were courteous enough to bellow “lead rider” as they came flying up to and past you.

I don’t know where that etiquette has gone, but maybe WE can be the people to start putting it back? So I implore you, dear readers, if you are ever lucky enough to be overtaking a slower runner on a thin trail or squeezing between flailing elbows in a city marathon, let them know you’re there. It takes seconds to shout “on your right” and even less time to throw a “thanks” over your shoulder as you float away further up the course. It will make your progress easier, your heart happier and as it will more than likely be me you pass, cheer me up no end!

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The Marathon Stopped Me Running!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by James Clay

I’ve been lacking in running mojo, and unable to figure out why.

The weather has been better, I’ve had plenty of time on my hands, there’s been no injuries…I just haven’t felt compelled to hit the streets.

Then during yesterday’s Parkrun it struck me…marathon training starts in 2 weeks and that’s why I haven’t wanted to run!

Not because I don’t want to do the marathon, or more specifically the training, and not becuase I’m avoiding injury or anything, but because I made the mistake of writing in my diary in big letters “TRAINING STARTS”. If training starts on June 17th what’s the point in doing miles today? If I’m committed to following a plan that will start with me running well below my potential and building slowly why go out and push myself now. Anything I run in the next two weeks is the very epitome of ‘junk miles’.

So I have found a short-term goal to aim for. After yesterday’s Parkrun in 27.50 a whole 2 minutes slower than my PB, I have set myself the goal of going quicker than ever around the 5km course on June 15th. That gives me two weeks to focus on going shorter and faster. Sprint repeats, hill reps, track sessions…the aim of the game is to go sub 25 minutes in two weeks…after which I start training for something else entirely!

Today I started with a gentle morning to work out a 5k route from home, tomorrow I try doing something fast.

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Juneathon Begins

Posted on June 1, 2013 by James Clay

“There’s a wise saying that goes like this: A real gentleman never discusses women he’s broken up with or how much tax he’s paid. Actually, this is a total lie. I just made it up. Sorry! But if there really were such a saying, I think that one more condition for being a gentleman would be keeping quiet about what you do to stay healthy. A gentleman shouldn’t go on and on about what he does to stay fit. At least that’s how I see it”

Wise words there from Haruki Murakami in the foreword to his book ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’.

And it is with these ringing in my ears I embark on Juneathon, a month of completely ignoring Haruki and telling you all about what I’m doing to stay fit! The aim is simple; 30 days of consecutive exercise, 30 days of consecutive blogging. In order to keep it interesting for both of use I am going to veer away from the norm of running every day and experiment with a few other forms of exercise. Over the course of the month I have two days of mountaineering, a walking marathon, some Insanity home workouts, a zumba class, a crossfit session and more planned. I will try my hardest not to claim “bouncing along at a Leveller’s concert” or “building roads on a festival site” as exercise…but I make no promises!

Whilst most blog posts will be short and sweet, I am already working on some content that I hope will keep you interested enough to keep coming back and following my progress through the month. If you have any suggestions of classes or trainers in the Cheltenham are who I could speak to about trying something new then please let me or them know, this is my month for experimenting before marathon training starts proper!

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Today’s activity was my local Parkrun. You can read more about it here, but today I did it in a gentle and enjoyable 27:54

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Two Things Tuesday – 28th May

Posted on May 28, 2013 by James Clay

(apologies for the late post, technology is not always my friend!)

1 – Runner’s World Trailblazer 10k – Forest of Dean

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A good race photo at last! (but still not worth a fiver!)

Saturday saw my last running event before the start of marathon training in a few weeks. From now on everything is geared towards running 26.2 miles rather than running fast (not that I could ever be accused of running fast!). The last event was a goodie, a 10k trot around the beautiful Forest of Dean on a wonderfully sunny Saturday morning. Bright skies and dry trails make such a delicious change to what we’ve been used to, and already we’re back to ankle deep mud and Arctic winds. Being a Rat Race event the organisation was typically excellent. A big event village made registration easy, the tech t-shirt we were given with our race numbers is fabulous but I chose not to wear mine to run in. I much prefer to keep them fresh until I’ve finished, showered and can wear them proudly for the rest of the day! After my mini rant in my last post it’s nice to get some proper bling after a race too, medals make it all worth it! The run itself was on some of the same trails as the Wild Boar Chase ride last weekend. Wide, hard forest road so lots of ruts and stones but no mud or roots. There was a hellish climb that dragged from 2km up beyond 4km, never steep but never relenting, and plenty more undulation over the 6 miles too, but I got home in just under 57 minutes and I’m happy with that. It wasn’t cheap, but for newcomers to running I’d definitely recommend it as an introduction to racing or trail running.

Decent Race Bling!

Decent Race Bling!

2 – Running Free Magazine

Anyone read Running Free Magazine? My local running shop (Up & Running) stock it and I sometimes pick up a copy, but I’ll be making a special effort this month…because I’m in it!

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The story is horribly misquoted (I’ve never run in Worcester and I had no intention of setting up a Parkrun in Cheltenham!) but it’s a nice photo and let’s face it, as a blogger you can’t be averse to a bit of self promotion! I’m off to Snowdonia in a few weeks with Trail Magazine so I’m hoping for more column inches and photos after that too.

Have you ever got yourself in to a magazine? Or is there one you’d particularly like to feature in?

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