Adam in Runderland

Many things are inevitable in this life.  Tory leadership contests.  Manchester United promising that the next new manager will change the club's fortunes.  Brits moaning when it gets hot - in summer.  And running injuries. I knew I was treading a fine line. I'd been pushing my body so hard recently that the likelihood of me not getting injured was about the same as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss admitting that, actually the other one probably would be a better leader of the country.  Ironically I had only just published a blog post reviewing the last six months and giving thanks for the lack of injuries.  There was no warning, no subtle hints given beforehand; no niggles, soreness or tightness. In fact during last Saturday's 32 mile ultra I felt good. If you had told me an injury was coming and asked me to guess where it would occur, I might have suggested a recurrence of my hip pain that I treated just ten days ago. Perhaps a tweak of the knee or ankle due to...

It's time for my usual 6 month round up. How is the year going so far? Am I on track to achieve my goals? What have I managed to do? What now for the rest of the year? Firstly I have been very fortunate, and I am thankful, for the lack of injuries and illness in the first half of 2022. This is something I never take for granted. I seek to make the most of every run, and the opportunity to do so. My goals coming into the year were around self care. Stretching, reducing alcohol intake, meditation and core strength. While I have done well on the meditation and lower alcohol consumption (2 months off, one month on) the stretching and core work has been sporadic at best. Must do better. As the year progressed I began to form more specific goals. In the back of my mind was the usual run the number of miles in the year i.e. 2022. I'm currently over 1600 so that looks likely.  I then added PBs at every distance. So far the 5k (17:54) and Marathon (3:10) have been achieved. 10K and Ha...

London is full of sculptures. There are thousands, from the traditional to the abstract. Occasionally a new trail appears. Last week I ran the Mayfair Sculpture Trail . This week it was Sculpture in the City, 20 artworks scattered around the City of London's financial district. I ran the usual route to central London from Lewisham up through Brookmill Park to Deptford and then along the A200 to Southwark Park and the last mile along the Thames Path to London Bridge. From there it was just a short jog north to Liverpool Street Station. The pieces were all located between here, Aldgate East station and Fenchurch Street station. Here they are in the order I visited. Miss by Emma Louise Moore Burial by Alice Channer Nests by Victor Seaward Rough Neck Business by Mike Ballard The Garden of Floating Words by Elisa Artesero Untitled by Bosco Sodi Nests continued by Victor Seaward Earthing by Jocelyn McGregor Habitat by Pedro Pires In Loving Memory by Oliver Bragg The Granary by Jesse Poll...