2019 – A year of challenges ahead

Apologies for the lack of blogging last year – that is all set to change this year.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I only tend to blog when my running is going badly or when I am not enjoying it as much, in some last ditch attempt to make things seem more positive. In all truth my running couldn’t have gone any better last year. As a bit of an update – I had some health issues in 2017, following my first marathon in May that year, and I had managed to get on top of all this by the beginning of 2018 meaning that my running just went from strength to strength. I entered 8 major races last year, varying from 10k to half marathon, and managed personal bests in 5 of them. In addition to this I not only cracked that somewhat mythical sub 25 minute parkrun time but went on to smash through the 24 minute barrier to finish the year with a 5k PB of 23:39. But it is not all about the numbers. Clearly I am over the moon that I am noticing improvements but I have also regained my running mojo and I am enjoying running once again.

Now time for a rare glimpse into my non-running life. Those of you who know me in ‘real’ life will know that 2018 was not all butterflies and rainbows. I have gone through some major personal life changes which I won’t go into as they are not particularly relevant to this post. Only to say that running is now more important to me than ever. It is the shining light on my darkest days, a reason for me to get out of the door and a vehicle for me to make friends and meet new people.

What will 2019 bring? There is no better time than right now for me to take on some massive challenges. This year I have decided to take on not one, but two marathons and the small matter of two ultra-marathons. They are as follows:

April – Magna Carta Marathon
June – Weald 50k
September – New Forest Marathon
October – Stort 30 miler

These challenges may seem a bit extreme given that I have only ever run one marathon and that was 18 months ago. But this is definitely what I need. It is these challenges that will keep me focused and really drive me forward this year.

I am incredibly grateful to have the love and support of my wonderful partner Paul, who many of you know as being an awesome ultra-runner himself. He’s a brilliant source of advice and has always believed in my abilities even when I haven’t believed in them myself. Paul will be there running beside me for the final 3 races but the first marathon I have to do all on my own because he’s running a 50 miler the weekend before.

Given that my first marathon of the year is only 14 weeks away I certainly have my work cut out for me. I am entering training for this first race with a positive attitude and some decent race experiences behind me. Anyway, I can’t wait to share this training journey with you all. The highs, the lows…and the cries for help. Let’s just hope I can get through this year without injury, minimal drama, and a massive smile on my face (mostly!).

Thanks for reading…i’ll be back with an update real soon.

SJ

x

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
x

Being competitive and OWNING it

Within the space of a few days I have had more than one accusation levelled at me that I am competitive.

When I heard this my immediate reaction was to laugh it off. I mean, what a ludicrous thing to say. Competitive. Me? Of course I’m not. I’m an average speed, middle of the pack, definitely not bothered about my time, just want to enjoy it, kind of runner. I cannot possibly be all of those things and be something as unsavoury as competitive too. Or can I?

Well needless to say this made me reflect on what being competitive actually means to me. I have spent far too long caring about the negative connotations of ‘being competitive’ that I hadn’t actually considered the positives.

Let me put this into context for you to give you some background on where these “Sammy-Jo you are so competitive” comments came from. The first was in a chat with some running buddies who alluded to me being competitive because I am obsessed with achieving a parkrun PB and when I do manage to run one I want to shout it from the rooftop. I was very quick to defend this. We all have our motivations for running, (see my earlier post Why Do I Run?) but achieving something that you once did not even realise was possible makes running that much more special. The second ‘accusation’ came from a friend who I will sometimes go to a group a spin class with. This particular spin class starts at 6.30am and the studio is kitted out with technology that will rank your bike’s performance and this is displayed on a screen for the whole group to see. Only you know your bike ID but I turn up to every class determined to rank in the top 3. Which when you read it back is clearly extremely competitive. Once again I was very quick to defend myself. But let me tell you if I am going to set an alarm for 6am the morning after interval training you can be sure that I am going to be in that class giving it my all because if you are not giving it your all then what is the point?

But why am I so quick to defend my competitive spirit? In all honesty, until recently I haven’t even been able to admit it to myself. Now I can see it is obvious that I am competitive but not in the literal sense of the word. From the outside looking in it may appear that I am out to win but the truth of the matter is that the only person I am competing with is myself. A PB is exactly that, a PERSONAL best. And in the spin class I have no idea what everyone else’s bike ID is. All I care about is that MY bike is in the top 3.

But with competitiveness we all tread a very fine line. Sometimes competitiveness can come across as cocky or intimidating and all those other negative things that come to mind. So you have to get the balance right in order to encourage others without putting them off.

Whilst pondering how competitive I am I have often wondered if it was this determination to better myself that has spurred me on when training has not been going to plan or when I have been ill or injured. It drives you to be a better runner, makes you strive to continually improve, moves you to greater achievements and pushes you to run that little bit further or faster. Without competition, without races, without parkruns, without milestones, without personal bests, what am I even training for? Maybe without this competitiveness I would not be half the runner I am today and would not have achieved the milestones I have on my running journey.

So I am sure you are reading this now and contemplating if you are competitive too. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror and really consider that question. The answer will always be yes! You are competing. You are competing with that person staring back at you. Don’t worry about anyone else, you are trying your hardest every day to be better than the person you were yesterday. Be competitive and own it.