21/07/16 First 5K in a while. I’ve had consistent knee and leg problems this year so haven’t run much at all. I’ve got a 10K booked in London in September so I’m just starting again and building up slowly. It’s a long way back…
27/12/15 Last run of the year. I’ve clocked a paltry 104 miles this year, which is nothing compared to my peak of 500 in 2012. Illness, niggles and not making time have all took their toll on my total. However, I kept running, done a half marathon and still have the hunger. Let’s go for 250 miles in 2016…
19/11/15 My fastest 5K in 1.5 years! OK, so I haven’t done hundreds in that time, but enough to make today’s achievement more than a little pleasing. I ain’t lost it. Yet.
14/06/15 Not been running as regularly as I wanted due to a bit of illness and back injury. Tough run today but nice to be out there again for a slow 5K.
12/04/15 Trying to get into a habit of running once a week at the very least. Nice 4-miler in the sun.
01/01/15 First run of the New Year and first run in a few months due to back injury and general lack of making time for running. Only a couple of miles, but boy did it feel good to be back on the road again!
14/09/14 Still only my second run since the birth of Amber. Lost a lot of fitness and I feel as supple as a plank of wood.
17/08/14 First run as a dad! Also my first run in over two months, and boy did I know about it for the next few days.
02/03/14 Completed the Silverstone half marathon! My worst 13.1 time, but given that I’ve only run twice before in the previous 7 weeks, jarred my back recently and ran in strong winds and drizzle, I’ll take a completion, medal and t-shirt all day long.
20/08/13 Been running on and off these last few weeks due to being busy and also having a cold. Had a good 5K today despite recovering from the miles of walking and climbing spiral staircases in Paris!
15/06/13 Half marathon record gone. Sneaked in under 1:50 by two seconds. Thought I had it easily in the bag and then got a little complacent towards the end when tired, but just about did it.
14/06/13 Speed demon! I’ve had a record-breaking week – both 5K and 10K records have gone within a few days of each other. I’ve really pushed myself and have got my rewards by really smashing my previous best in these two distances. Can I go faster? Yes, I’m sure I can, as I know I’m not as strong as I need to be. I did some hill work yesterday which hurt and at times slowed me right down, so I know I have to work harder to get stronger. Shall I go for a big run at the weekend? I may just…
27/05/13 – Best. Run. In. Years. Wow – do you ever have one of those runs where your legs work like clockwork and nothing seems an effort? For me, they come around once in 100 runs or so and today was it. 10 miles, very steady pace, no incline or wind seemed to stop me. Record annihilated. I could have done more, but I rarely change what I set out to run. I’m running faster in the week which I think is helping when going slower for longer. It all seemed so easy for once. Now to push on even faster and longer.
18/05/13 – One of my best weeks of running! Got my second-fastest 5K on Wednesday, second-fastest 10K on Thursday and my fastest 10 miler on Saturday. Nearly twenty miles of solid running and four days, without feeling anywhere near my best. My secret? Increased mental toughness, I think. I focussed on the desired pace, didn’t allow myself to quit when part of me was screaming to stop on a couple of occasions. Running isn’t all about legs and lungs – you have to have the head for it, too.
12/05/13 – It’s been a frustrating 2013 so far with back problems and colds, but I’m back running strong again. After a terrible 5K in New York where I ran a personal best mile with Steve and then ran out of energy for the next 2.1 miles, I’ve been cranking up the pace and mileage. A good 8 miles on Sunday in a sub 9-min mile pace coupled with a steady 5K in my new Nike Flyknit Ones means I’m back on track. Now why do I keep sneezing?
02/12/12 – Majorly happy in breaking 2 hours for a half marathon today! Sunday morning, frost on the cycle tracks, legs still heavy from a fast 5 miler on Thursday, I was hoping to achieve 13.1 and maybe sneak under 2 hours. Running on your own and keeping up the desired pace is not easy, but was delighted to run 13 steady miles and get a 1:56, smashing my previous record. Almost had a scare as my right hamstring tightened with 0.7 miles left, so I coasted home knowing that anything other than a complete collapse would prevent me reaching my goals. I was on a natural high for the rest of the day and had a slap-up, 3-course meal later where I cared not what I ate. It’s days like these when you remember why you run.
12/11/12 – Have done 2 10-milers in the last 2 Sundays, yesterday improving on last week’s by over 3 minutes. Seem to be running well. Would like to run New York next year, but would I get in due to the cancellation this year? I could possibly go for a London charity place, but would mean having to raise over £1600. Might be a tough ask. There’s always Berlin or Paris, I suppose.
Just bought off eBay a bench and some weights to build up my legs and give me more muscle on my upper body. Or any muscle, for that matter. Now, will I actually get round to using it, though?
25/10/12 – Realised I haven’t updated here for ages. Still been running, but the Nike+ stats have been broken for months. Should now be fixed, aside from the odd glitch. I’ve been running well, but a cold the other week interrupted a nice streak, so it took longer to get back into it. A great 5K this Tuesday has upped my expectations, although I really do need to post a 6+ miler soon. I’m also playing football once a week to complement my twice-weekly runs, although I’m not sure my groins/shins/calves will stand up forever like this!
20/05/12 – Did a great 12 miles but fell agonisingly short of my target time of 1:48:00 by 1 second! Last section was uphill and my power gauge plummeted. Thought I did enough, too. Oh well – just makes me more determined next time!
20/04/12 – Broke 10 miles for the first time this year…and 3 seconds under target! Went out to try to get under a 9-minute mile average for 10 miles, which meant finishing in less than 1:30, and scraped in at 1:29:57 after a sprint finish. Man, that felt goooood!
27/01/12 – Fastest mile PB today! I would be more pleased about this, but it wasn’t exactly within the rules I set myself for it. I’ve never set out to run a single mile and no further, otherwise I’m sure I could be a lot faster; I really want the record as part of a fast shorter run. Today I tried a quick 5K but went out too fast and decided to stop at 2.5K to prevent me from shattering my shins or collapsing under an underpass. However, it did clock my fastest mile in the process, so I’m fairly happy at that.
Next step: Get it under a 7 minute mile pace.