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On comfort zones and what to do with them

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I am in a few online running groups and I read a great deal about comfort zones.  For many runners, the comfort zone seems to be a place that is safe and boringly predictable, something you need to get out of if you're going to progress.  A lot of people appear to hold the view that nothing meaningful ever happens in the comfort zone and that if they could only muster up the courage to step out of it, their running would reach a whole new level. I'm not sure I agree with all of this.  For many of us, finding the comfort zone has been a long time coming. It can take a while to feel comfortable with going out to run, not feeling self-conscious about it. Getting to the point where it feels like a natural part of your routine and something you just do without having to think too much about it can be very positive. Having found that state of being, it is not surprising if we are not in a hurry to leave it behind.  After all, if it's not broken, why try and mend it? Is tha...
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My 7th Sheffield 10k

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I don't enter many races these days. I can't afford it. I do like to do the Sheffield 10k each year though, as I have a bit of a soft spot for it. It was my first ever 10k, way back in 2017, the good old days when you got a nice T shirt included in the entry fee and the medals were much more attractive. Back then I raced with my husband but he has all but given up running now, preferring the golf course, so these days I race with my youngest daughter. Familiarity can be a comforting thing. The park and ride, the tram into the city with loads of other runners, stopping off at McDonald's for a pre-race coffee and a wee in relative comfort (beats queuing for portaloos) - it's all part of the build-up and it still gives me a buzz. However, this year the organisers had a little surprise in store once the race was underway, adding an extra hilly bit, and if ever a race didn't need more hills it's this one. That said, I was quite pleased with how I ran. My chip time wa...
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Tunnel Run

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It's good to adapt and tweak your regular running routes now and again.  My runs have got a bit boring and I definitely needed a change, so a couple of days ago I decided to incorporate a former railway tunnel into my 10K morning run.  The Thurgoland Tunnel is quite a local landmark, situated on the Upper Don Trail (part of the Trans Pennine Trail) between Penistone and Wortley.  It was built in the late 1940s when the Sheffield to Manchester line was electrified and it operated until the line closed in 1981.  Since then it's been part of the trail through which walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders regularly pass.  (I understand there was also a second tunnel, now blocked off, running parallel to the existing one, but I haven't explored this.)  It's a remote, quiet spot anyway and it's quite easy to scare yourself stupid if you start thinking about what/who could be lurking in the tunnel.  (An online friend who ran through this tunnel the previo...
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Why are 'Flying Feet' such a big deal?

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There are few things that brighten a runner's day more than a flying feet photo.  There's something about seeing yourself with both feet off the ground that makes you feel like a proper athlete.  No matter how slow it might have felt at the time, the photo seems to suggest that you were going great guns.  Yes, we all know that a flying feet photo is really just a matter of chance and, I suspect, as much about the photographer's skill as your own running prowess, but it's heartening for a few moments to bask in the glory of a decent race photo, because, let's face it, they are quite a rare thing. After this weekend's York 10K I was impressed to find that I had over 40 photographs waiting for my perusal but of course it didn't take me long to realize that the vast majority of these were a tad unflattering, to say the least.  There's always at least one (and you're probably lucky if it's only one) where you look like a dug-up corpse, where your mout...
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Still Wilting in the Heat

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 With memories of the grueling Penistone 10K still fresh in my mind, I took on another 10K race last week.  Although it was in the evening, it was still extremely warm and I really struggled again.  I was the same on Saturday when I took on Potternewton parkrun, not realising just how hilly it was going to be.  Again, the combination of heat and hills made me feel like the most unfit blob on the planet.  I am now a bit nervous about the forthcoming York 10K which, although not hilly, could turn out to be another hot one.  It doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.  In future I think I will stick to my old rule of not entering any summer races.  Spring and autumn are my racing times and it's all about just keeping it ticking over in the summer months.  But, I need to go into this race at York with a more positive mindset and find a way to get the best out of it, whatever the weather might bring.  With that in mind, I've made myself a lis...
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I Hate Running in the Heat

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Sunday was our local 10K.  Even if you're lucky enough to get a cool day for it, it's still not for the faint-hearted, an extremely hilly, punishing route at the best of times.  On a warm day, however, it becomes a whole other test of endurance.  I'm not someone who tolerates hot weather well.  I can't even sit out in the garden for more than 10 minutes without feeling uncomfortable , so exercising in the heat is not something that brings out the best in me.  I wouldn't normally sign up for races at this time of year but as I was at a bit of a loose end that weekend with other family members off doing their own thing, I thought it would be good to do something just for me.  I last entered the race a couple of years ago when the weather was much cooler and I put in quite a decent performance, so I was hoping that the weather-gods would be kind again this year and I could do myself proud.  Sadly, it wasn't to be. When it became clear that we were in for ...
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Marathon Envy and Doing your own Thing

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It's London Marathon day and there's no escaping the social media posts and beaming photographs of triumphant people.  They are awesome, every single one of them.  I still can't imagine ever getting to the point where I start a marathon, let alone finish one.  Each year I feel a bit of envy alongside sheer bloody relief that I'm not the one waiting nervously in a pen for an hour, desperate for the off and not the one who has to walk back to the tube station afterwards on wrecked legs.  The trouble with the London Marathon is that, even though I don't particularly want to run it (or any marathon come to that) it makes me compare myself to those who have done it and question whether I'm less of a runner than they are.  I know that's stupid.  We all know that a runner is someone who runs, regardless of distance. One thing that watching the London Marathon does do is emphasize that unless you're a world record holder, there's always gong to be someone fa...
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