Running free: running happy

Despite the grimace on my face in the picture above (cut me some slack – I was running uphill!) I have never felt in a happier place with my running.

2018 is my marathon-less year and I have been wondering how I would cope this year without the structure that my marathon training plan brought to my running last year. I’m nearly two months into 2018 and I have to say actually I am coping pretty well indeed.

The year started with a bang. With two parkruns and a run between them on New Year’s Day, meaning that I covered 12 miles on that very first day of the year. The first of those parkruns saw me cross the line with a course PB which I was more than happy with considering I was chatting with my friends the whole way round, attempting to take it easy in preparation for the remaining 9 miles of the day. This wonderfully positive day was followed 3 weeks later by the Canterbury 10 Mile Road Race in which I flew round in 1:23:23, more than 6 minutes faster than the previous year’s time and 3 minutes faster than my 10 mile PB from 2016. Then last weekend I ran my final long distance race of the Winter, the Deal Half Marathon. Another PB bagged and faith in my running ability sufficiently restored.

Now that the Deal Half is done I have deliberately chosen not to plan in a load of races for the remainder of the year. It all got a bit much last year. I trained for one race, then the next. Never really recovering properly and never giving myself time to reflect on my performance, good or bad. Deal was an incredible experience, despite it being a tough, hilly course which was made only tougher with more than significant head winds throughout. It showed me that I am capable of so much more than I allow myself to believe. It also reinforced the idea that I get carried away on race day. I am never able to achieve that pace outside of race conditions. I still can’t fathom how I managed it, even a week later.

There are lots of reasons why I am still running loads during a normal week despite not having any races booked in. I wrote a post a little while back Why Do I Run? which explains many more reasons why running is so important to me. I like to stay healthy, I still want to lose a bit of weight and ultimately it is a brilliant leveller in terms of my mental health.

I fully intend on racing over the Spring/Summer as traditionally I tend to run better when the sun is shining but I will book in some local 10ks nearer the time. This is my new, relaxed approach to training and racing. Running for the sheer enjoyment of running rather than having to got for a run because the plan says I must. I don’t want to get all stressed out about PBs, pacing, fuelling strategy, bla bla bla. I will book a half marathon for around the Autumn time too as it will give me a reason to continue going out for my long runs over the summer months, but I will worry about that nearer the time.

I have enjoyed running so much more this year because of the lack of structure. And I don’t know if it is a coincidence or because I am fully fit now but I have noticed real improvements in my running in terms of both speed and endurance. Sure I still have the odd ‘bad run’ but these are few and far between. Ultimately I am so much happier just doing my own thing, it is like a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders knowing that I am running because I want to not because I have to. And actually if I wake up on a Sunday morning and decide I would rather stay in my pjs and eat pancakes with my kids, that is absolutely fine! My running will never be entirely without structure and this is with a massive thank you to my incredible running club, the Canterbury Harriers, who I train with on Tuesday (speed work) and Thursday (longer runs). The Harriers have experienced coaches who are always able to offer the best advice and steer me in the right direction when needed but it is great to run with a fantastic, supportive group of like-minded people.

I am using this year to try out some new things with my training too. I have already started doing some more strength and conditioning work in the gym, something that I would have previously been too scared to do in case it impacted on my training plans for the week. I want to go out and run more trails, knowing that the runs may be shorter and slower but that is absolutely fine too because my aim is to enjoy it and there is nothing more enjoyable that being able to run and explore at the same time. Mileage isn’t the be all and end all. I am also going to use this race-less time to focus on chipping away at my home parkrun time. You never know 2018 may even be the year I break through that mythical sub 25.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support. Keep smiling!

Sammy-Jo
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