Lockdown Limbo

 I've been feeling a bit flat, running-wise, just lately.  I've still been getting out there most days, but I feel like I'm just passing the time, waiting for parkrun to (hopefully) start again and for races to return in something like their traditional format.  I can't seem to find the motivation to do any more virtual challenges in the meantime.  Last year I absolutely loved them and, like many people, I found that virtual events gave me the motivation and focus I needed and helped keep running fun.  But the novelty has worn off for me now.  Don't get me wrong, I have days when I browse the virtual running sites and see lovely shiny medals that almost tempt me, but it only takes a moment for me to think of that overflowing, messy medal hanger in my bedroom and to think, "do I really need another one?"  There's the environmental aspect to it too.  Unless you're going down the eco-friendly route of 'medals' that are made of biodegradable paper and impregnated with wild flowers (a great idea but my flower-growing abilities have proved woeful in the past), isn't it a bit irresponsible to add more 'junk' to your collection, because a time will come when you will probably end up throwing at least some of these medals away.  

I have decided, for the time being, to set myself some medal-less challenges.  I want to re-train my bling-loving mind to realise that you don't need to have a medal to mark an achievement.  Anyway, as people often like to remind each other, as long as it's on Strava, you know you did it and that's all that matters, even if those Strava badges are a bit soulless.   I've been thinking about challenging myself to do a birthday half marathon this month.  I go through phases of thinking I must do another half because I've got unfinished business with it, and then other phases of thinking, "why on earth would I want to run for an uncomfortable couple of hours when I can get all the fitness benefits and endorphin benefits and less risk of injury from running shorter distances?"  But there's a part of me that feels I could run a sub-2 half if I really set my mind to it and I can't quite let that dream go.  At the start of the New Year, I had a half marathon training plan printed off and was all ready to go with it.  Although I've run about five half marathons before (some 'real' and some for virtual events) I don't think I have ever followed a proper plan.  I just seem to rock up and wing it on the day.  My times have all been around the 2 hours 3 minute mark, which isn't that shabby for someone my age, but I do wonder if I could just sneak in under 2 hours if I actually trained properly.  So, I was ready to put my faith in a plan and was actually looking forward to having a proper focused weekly routine, something that reminded me of my Couch to 5K days.  It can be quite comforting to just follow instructions and trust that someone else who knows what they are talking about can get you through.  Unfortunately, the weather at the start of the year had other ideas.  We had more snow than we've had in several years.  On rare days when I could get outside, my fear of slipping on a hidden patch of ice meant that I kept my runs short so as not to chance my luck.  So, very little distance training actually happened and suddenly here we are in May, my birthday month and the plan has so far not been put to use.

So, if I do attempt a half this May, I'll once again be doing it untrained (like last year's Virtual GNR when the most I had run in 2 years was 10K) which isn't ideal.  I'm well aware that increasing distance too quickly can lead to injury and I don't want to succumb to an injury which puts me on the bench just as parkrun returns.  

I always feel the need to mark my birthday month in some way though.  Other ideas I've had include doing some kind of round the clock challenge - a kilometre every hour, that sort of thing - but again, I'm not sure that would be particularly wise from a risk of injury point of view, plus it might be hard to fit around the other events of the day.  Perhaps I'll make the Birthday Half a more casual kind of event, rather than a PB chaser.  A lovely new cafe has appeared along the stretch of the Trans Pennine Trail where we regularly run and I'm sure my other half would be happy to amble along there with me and stop off for coffee before continuing our journey.  Is it still a half if you split it up with a coffee stop?  I suppose technically it isn't, but on your birthday I'm sure an exception can be made, especially if they have cakes.  

I can still remember how proud I felt back in 2017 when I set myself the goal of running 50 miles in May to mark my 50th birthday.  I was still a beginner then, so 50 miles was serious mileage for me.  I raised some money for The Cinnamon Trust and it felt so worthwhile.  But these days I often run 100 miles a month so I need some new ideas.  Of course, the thing about setting a challenge is it has to be 'challenging' but it also has to be realistic.  How about a 10k in less than 54 minutes (the age I'll be this birthday)?  That should be possible as my PB is 50 something and I have done sub 55s quite a few times, but just lately I'm around the 55-56 mark, so I would need to up my game a bit.  How about 54K in a week?  That's doable, but as I only currently run 5K a day, it would be a bit of a step up.  

I'm sure I'll think of something and if I don't, I'll just keep going out and enjoying the spring weather, telling myself how lucky I am that I can still run at all at my age, regardless of speed or distance.  It's something that I try not to lose sight of, but I always do.  In the meantime, I will keep my fingers crossed that the running world will start opening up very soon.