Adam in Runderland

I'm now entering my fifth year of running. I first put on a pair of trainers and set out to run for fun in November 2011 as I prepared for the London Marathon I had entered in 2012. Four years later and I have achieved so much more than I ever imagined. The last four years have involved: 2 Ultra Marathons 4 Marathons 13 Half Marathons 116 parkruns 5 OCRs 5 pairs of Asics trainers 3000+ miles 28 PBs The last year has seen my PB's shattered and my long term goals achieved: A sub 3:30 Marathon             3:24:30         5:30 under A sub 1:30 Half Marathon     1:28:25         1:35 under A sub 40 min 10K                     39:37            23 under A ...

As the year end approaches it is an opportunity to look back and take pride in what I have achieved. It has been another twelve months when I have pushed myself further and higher; my strongest performances so far. I had high hopes for 2015. The goals I set were ambitious. I wanted to see what I was capable of, mentally and physically. 2014 had been an impressive year with PB's at all distances and some strong performances. Now a year older could I push myself to an even higher level? It was a slow start as I was hampered by a lingering cold that arrived before Christmas and loitered into the New year. However with my eyes set on the Brighton Half Marathon in February I stuck to my training plan clocking over 100 miles in January. My core work was also paying dividends as I introduced a regime of 100+ sit ups every day. The day came and conditions were perfect which just added to my nerves but I was determined to give it my best shot on a flat cou...

One of my favourite events of the year is the Lode half marathon held in November each year. Lode is a small, picturesque village in the fens just off the A14 to the north-east of Cambridge. There is always a warm welcome, the hospitality is superb and marshals friendly and numerous. This was my third year and, due to the flat course, I was hoping to improve on my previous times and maybe secure a last PB of the year. I emerged into the morning mist at 7:30am to drive the hour's journey to Lode. Visibility was down to a few hundred metres and it was cool and still. Good conditions for a fast run, not so good for driving but I arrived in one piece and with plenty of time before the start. Clear signage and helpful marshals guided me to the field behind the church which served as a car park. A short walk through the village past the local post office led to the village hall and local park. The registration had been improved from last year with more desks and copious safety p...

  This week's parkrun coincided with Halloween and there were a number of the 342 runners who got into the spirit of the occasion as you can see above. There were also some scarily fast times at the front of the field and a frighteningly good 54 personal bests.     Gabby was our Run Director and she was supported by a great group of willing volunteers who offered support and encouragement on a chilly morning.     First place in both female and male categories were visitors from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club. Eileen Bradley finished in 22:24 and Ben Toomer managed to break 16 minutes which resulted in the marshals having their own mini race to get in place before he crossed the line! A special mention too for David Green who, fresh from a 6th place finish at the Snowdon Marathon last weekend, still managed a strong 4th place.   In the women's race Julie Evans managed to sustain her ...

It was a chilly, overcast morning as we gathered for the 182nd Northampton parkrun. The golden leaves were still clinging to the dozens of Lime trees that line the route; but on the day the clocks went back there was a definite autumnal chill in the air. Happy Birthday Gerald. It was a big day for a number of people including Gerald Billis who celebrated his birthday by running in his 57th parkrun and brought chocolates to share with the other 309 runners. Karen Young was running in her 50th parkrun and there were visitors from as far away as Reading and Isle of Wight. 22 clubs were represented and a team of 10 volunteers led by Race Director Jo Lee ensured the event ran smoothly. Jo Lee gets us underway Andy Green was the first male across the line and Rebecca Leadbetter was first female in only her third event. There were an impressive 48 PB's meaning that one in six people ran their fastest 5K, a great effort. 25 people joined us for the ...

Today I had my best run for six weeks. Since August I have struggled to find my running mojo. Runs have been laboured, boring and painful. It has been a mental battle as much as a physical one. My back and hips have been sore while my mind has done everything possible to sabotage me. I thought I had fallen out of love with running. The few runs I have done included the Northampton Half Marathon , a seventeen mile fundraising run around the town's churches and parkrun. It has been an effort to put my trainers on and get out. I have been relieved to finish each run and questioned why I do it. I did have to force myself out on this wet, grey, damp autumn day but once I started I soon found my rhythm. After the first mile my breathing was settled and my mind began to relax. I started to notice the incredible colours of the trees in Abington Park. Bright yellows, deep reds and russet browns. There was a gentle breeze and, despite the lack of sunshine, it felt...

This Saturday I was due to attend a course at St Mark's church in Peterborough. As it started at 10 o'clock I thought I would squeeze in a tourist parkrun beforehand. The city is around 40 miles from Northampton and takes just over an hour via the A605. The journey was uneventful as I made my way through the early morning mist covered meadows. As the fog cleared a stark blue sky revealed itself. The air was cool, an autumnal feel to match the vibrant colours of the trees, their fiery extremities flashing in the sunlight. I was heading home. Peterborough was the place of my birth almost 40 years ago although my parents moved when I was less than a year old so I have no recollection of the place. I arrived at Ferry Meadows Country Park with time to spare. It was well signposted and had plenty of parking available. I noticed a visitors centre, a café and was impressed by the immaculate toilet facilities. A small crowd began to form outside the café while I took a...

It was too good to be true. As September approached I began to believe that I would make it through a whole year without injury. Eight months of pure running pleasure, six of those making a century of miles, and I was feeling that I had finally cracked it. Consistency. Then I ran the Northampton Half Marathon - hard - and decided that I'd be fine to do a sponsored run of 20 miles just six days later. Some people never learn! After ten miles I was knackered, mentally and physically I was at such a low. At one point I stared at the hill before me in dread, turned around and ran in the opposite direction. I should have known then that something wasn't right. Not right mentally but also not right physically as my hip began to get sore. For the first time since I started running three years ago I thought about giving it up. The next day my hip was agony so I was sensible and rested. Well that is what I should have done. Instead I went out for a three mile...

  The Northampton Half Marathon has become a regular fixture on my running calendar. I have entered on each of the three occasions the race has been in existence. In 2013 I finished in 1:39. A year later I knocked 5 minutes off with a 1:34 and so in 2015 I was aiming for a 1:30. It is a great occasion as so many local runners take part with great support from those marshalling too. It brings together parkrunners, PJR members, NRR members and other clubs from near and far. Every year the course is adapted and this year was the best route so far. The start was once more at the Guildhall. Over 500 people lined up for the start at 9:30 after a strange registration process that involved receiving your finishers t-shirt before the race had begun! We set off along St Giles Street heading out of town. I had started near the front to avoid any hold ups and set off at a strong pace. Turning left at St Giles Church we then took a right onto Abington Street in the direction of A...

You learn a lot when you get into running. None of it particularly useful in any other area of life but interesting none the less. Here are twenty things I now know because I run. The exact point at which I am one mile from my home, in any direction. Fartlek is a Swedish word for a speed training session. Wearing tights feels really good. Stretching is essential before and after running. Always spit downwind. Where to apply Vaseline to prevent chafing. Nothing beats an endorphin rush. I am ridiculously competitive. A taper is the process of resting before a long run. Sweat tastes like the sea. A marathon is 26 POINT TWO  miles. I feel more tired when I don't run that when I do. How fast I can run 5K, 10K, half and full marathons to one hundredth of a second. The foods with the most carbohydrates. How to drink water while running without choking. My body is capable of much more than I think it is. I can do mental maths when it involves split ti...

Doping is back in the news. A new set of tests have implicated dozens of athletes from the 1990's of taking performance enhancing drugs. No names have been released but you can sense a scandal about to break. Of course it's nothing new. Doping has been a problem for decades in many different sports. I've just finished reading a book on the history of the Tour de France. It's painful reading especially when you reach the 1990's with scandals surrounding the Festina team, Jan Ullrich, Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis and others. A decade of winners wiped out. Then of course you have the most famous drug cheat of all Ben Johnson who 'won' gold in the 100m at the Seoul Olympic Games after taking anabolic steroids. Other drug takers were discovered including Marion Jones, and Tyson Gay. Sadly clean athletes become tainted by the scandals. Everyone comes under suspicion especially if they achieve anything special. Witness Chris Froome in this years tour ...

Many of my posts have mentioned parkrun. It is the centre of my running life. It is the event that, more than any other, has contributed to my love of running. It has become a fixture of my week, provided me with good friends and been a fantastic barometer of my improvement over the three years I have been attending. It also lifts my spirits to see people take on the challenge and then come back every week, getting faster, fitter and happier. When I started running the three mile course I was finishing just outside the 21 minute mark. The target was clear, I wanted to break 20 minutes. Every week I attempted to reduce my time to one in the teens. After 34 attempts I finally cracked it with a time of 19:42. I thought that was it, my aim achieved. I would happy if I never ran that quickly again.....for about 5 minutes before...... Best Annual Achievements Year    Best Time    Best Age Grading    2012 00:20:46 63.88% ...

It's a fine line between being competitive and just plain crazy. Must....beat...Nick..... I think sometimes I cross that line with my running. There is something in me that can't seem to resist a challenge, even one I have set myself. I see this when I'm running alone but also when I'm with others. It happens during race conditions and also when there is no organised event. There is always something I can find to push myself that bit harder. Sometimes the competition is against the clock such as the lunchtime I went out for a gentle 3-4 mile jog and found myself sprinting the last of 6 miles to get under the 45 minute mark. On other occasions it is against a person (they may not even be aware that I am competing against them). I spot them ahead of me and can't resist trying to pass them. It happens when I see an unknown jogger on the path in front of me or when I'm doing fartleks with the running group. parkrun is the worst for this. I have lost c...

I'm pleased to report that I succeeded in this year's challenge to break my PB's at all distances with time to spare. In fact plenty of time to spare. If this was a football match it would still be the opening minutes of the second half! Having achieved a new 5K PB in February, a half marathon PB in March and a marathon PB in April I only had the mile and 10K to go My first opportunity to tackle the mile came on 20th June at the Magic Mile event. Tactically I volunteered at parkrun beforehand to save energy and gave my all which was enough to secure my first ever first place finish and a new PB of 5:38. Shortly after this I went on holiday for two weeks and due to the heat was unable to run at all. The Saturday after we returned I had signed up for a local 10K but wasn't sure whether the enforced rest would help or hinder my ability to go under 40 minutes. My only other 10K time was a training run of 42:30 but I had yet to set a time under race conditions. The...

It has been a good month for me. A hatrick of parkrun PBs has seen my time fall from 18:48 to 18:27. This was followed by a new one mile PB of 5:38, fifteen seconds faster than my previous best time. In between I also managed a Daventry parkrun PB of 19:09 beating the 19:57 I set at the inaugural event. I also managed to join the 100 club on June 7th. parkrun results Where has this sudden spurt come from? What have I been doing to find the extra seconds after months of treading water? The honest answer is I'm not sure. I haven't made any major changes to my routine or added any new techniques. As I pondered the reason for the progress I have seen I came up with five things that may have helped. Rest. After five months of 100 miles a month marathon training I decided to have a few extra rest days. This meant that I only ran on Monday and Saturday giving my body plenty of time to recharge and recuperate.  Press ups. Since the New Year I have been doing a minimu...

My first and probably only marathon of 2015 was due to take place in Manchester. I had booked to run it in 2014 but won a place at the London Marathon which occurs during the same month and wisely decided to defer my entry. So it was that I began my training for the event in January having just managed to get rid of a heavy cold that lingered throughout Christmas and the New Year. My plan was to increase my mileage to 100 miles a month and steadily up my long runs to 20 miles a few weeks before the race. I planned in a couple of half marathons in February and March with an eye to a new half marathon PB but also to keep my speed training in line with my endurance work. It was a tight schedule but I knew everything had to go to plan if I was to hit my target. I wasn't taking any chances. During Lent I also gave up alcohol for seven weeks so I was probably the fittest I have ever been over those first months. Eating well, training hard, not drinking and making time for re...