Adam in Runderland

Tangled limbs unwind Toes testing the air to find A sign of some kind A reason to tuck back under the covers. And remain blind To the dawning of a new day. But the desire to run smothers Any physical ease The mind already focussed on the run The physiological tease Paired with the need to Be outside and see The first rays of morning sun. Breaking the horizon Like a surfacing titan A blinding Poseidon Lifting his head from the sleepy abyss   Drawing me from my slumbering bliss Not wanting to miss The sun’s first kiss Witness to the day breaking The view as breath-taking as the effort My heart is making To pump blood to my lungs Inhaling, exhaling Always exhilarating. I seek the satisfying toil The stretch of muscles and sinews as they uncoil Lungs filling with fresh sea air Cleansing body and mind Legs turning in time

This year I have finally embraced Streaming. For years I bought and listened to all my music by CD, but I now only use Spotify (other music streaming platforms are available.) This has the added advantage that I can listen to tunes while running. Combining these two passions of mine not only means that I am more up to date with new music but I also have a soundtrack to my runs. I created a number of playlists for different situations. One for general runs, one for hard, fast runs, one for my September challenge, and a general 2019 one. So what tracks have accompanied my runs and made it into my 2019 Top 10? 10 - Notes from Ewer Street by Suli Breaks Laid back beats and a chilled delivery. This hypnotising track features brilliant lyrics such as "Some mornings I wake early just to listen to the sunrise" "Try to tell my cousin that she can take pictures that ain't for the gram, that these moments still happen even if people don't see them, but she's young so

It's that time of year when everyone is making a list, clothes, books, gadgets, perfumes...hoping that Santa will pop what they wished for under the Christmas tree. My wife has explained that she is happy to have a list from me as long as it doesn't contain anything running related. Mainly because she knows the whole list would be exactly that, but also as she says correctly, that these items are what I spend my money on the rest of the year. Fair point. However, what would my list look like if she hadn't added that caveat? And yes this is a good excuse to share some ideas for anyone who wanted to buy me a present.... I'll do a top 10 because that's what you do at Christmas. 10 - Compression socks - No matter how often I trim my toe nails I still seem to get a whole in the big toe every couple of months so these are always in demand. 9 - Gloves - From November through until March these are essential both before, during and after a run. 8 - Shades - In the summer

I’ve enjoyed getting back to the longer mileage this month after taking it easy in October to recover from the Run the Date Challenge. It was another 200 miles completed towards my year-end target of 2500. I need to run 175 in December to reach my goal. As long as I stay healthy that should be achievable. It has been enjoyable mixing up early mornings with lunch runs and night runs. For the first time I’ve started regularly listening to music too which has been really enjoyable. Achievements : 200 miles run Mile PB of 5:21 Marathon 11/12 and a PB of 3.23:31 Goals for December: 175 miles Finish 12 marathons in 12 months challenge on New Year’s Eve Try for a 5k pb? (weather dependent) Highlight: Without doubt my highlight was beating my previous marathon PB. I kind of had two; the official one of 3.28 and the unofficial one that I ran at Manchester in 2015, but was scrubbed due to the course being short by 200m – this was 3:24. I didn’t set out to break it although i

Here are a few shots I took while running in the hills above Folkestone recently.

What are your favourite conditions for running? I love those balmy summer days when you don’t need to worry about layers and can jump in the sea to cool off. Spring is another wonderful time with so much to see as the blossom, leaves and flowers emerge from their slumber. Snow running is fun too. Hats, gloves, meggings and base layers, the steam pouring from your lungs and icicles forming on the end of your nose. However, autumn has to be my favourite. The November rain, wind and mud were the perfect conditions for a long run this weekend. My usual Saturday morning run wasn’t possible, and so I ended up going out on Sunday. I had considered a local race, the Brett Owler Half Marathon but couldn’t really justify the cost when I could run locally for free. I headed out with no clear idea of where I would end up. All I had done in the way of preparation was ensure I had my bank card in case I needed to refuel. The choice was to head east or west. East would take me through town and

parkrun Venn Diagram 1 parkrun Venn Diagram 2 parkrun Pie Chart 1

October was a strange month after all the excitement and effort of September. I needed a rest but became quite down and lost my running mojo for a few weeks. It also meant that I got out of the habit of stretching and eating well. By the end of the month I was wanting to be out again though. I was even a little nervous when I turned up for my October Marathon but ended up running well and with no injuries or lack of fitness. I felt that the long distances had improved my stamina and speed. Achievements: 101.5 miles run Ranscombe Marathon completed 10/12 Goals for November: Thames Meander Marathon 200 miles No alcohol Daily stretching Highlight: A strong run at the Ranscombe Autumn Marathon led to finishing second on a beautiful Autumn day. The route took us through woodland and fields. It had rained for a full week beforehand and continued the day after, but on the day of the run it was clear and dry. Best run: A 17 mile bimble alone out on the hills around Folkest

The forecast was for 45mph winds and lashing rain - again. For the third month out of the last four, I’d signed up for a marathon in storm conditions. November was the 11th of my 12 marathons in 12 months with John. We had chosen the Thames Meander which starts in Kingston-Upon-Thames and winds along the river towards Hammersmith and back. The journey there was eventful. We had a coming together with another car on a roundabout just a few miles from our destination. Thankfully there was limited damage to either car, and we arrived at 8:30 in the pouring rain. The marquee where we collected our bibs was being buffeted around by the gusts. Our plan had been to arrive before 9am and run the Kingston parkrun before the marathon itself. (Un)fortunately it had been cancelled, and so we headed to the gym next door to watch the start of the rugby World Cup final instead. The room was soon crammed with runners in lycra and bin bags. At five minutes to ten everyone started exiting