Redbush Runner

 After that horrific heatwave, I promised myself that I would never complain about rain again.  I'm certainly not going to let it get in the way of my running, (not that I ever did really.) So, I have been welcoming the wet weather this week, finding it fresh and invigorating.  I've set myself a challenge for August to run 100 miles over the month, something I haven't done since lockdown. I'm going to try and get out for a run every day.  Over the last couple of weeks I have been running a bit more frequently and I'm sure that has helped my pace to improve a little.  My last few parkrun times have been quicker than they've been for months.  Whilst I know pace is not everything, I do feel that my fitness benefits from short daily runs and perhaps more importantly, I feel better mentally when I start my day with a run.  It gives me a bit of structure and a feeling of positivity which helps me to cope with whatever else the day brings. To help me stay mot...

 Over the last couple of days Britain has been in the grip of a horrific heatwave.  In some ways 'horrific' seems an overly dramatic word to use to describe a very short-lived heatwave, a couple of baking hot days of British summer.  You might expect us to be celebrating such a rare event.  However, this was no ordinary heatwave.  It came with red weather warnings and days of media build-up, terrifying us with gloomy predictions of 40 degree heat, death and destruction.  All we could do was hope that it was all a huge exaggeration.  On social media the usual suspects spouted on about the 'nanny state', daring to encroach on our hard-won freedoms and telling us how we should behave in the sun.  Others made contingency plans, buying fans and mobile aircon units or (in my case) stocking up with jelly and ice-cream.   In the running world, extreme weather is something that we love to disagree about.  Whether it's running in a blizzard o...

Motivation is a funny thing.  Whenever I complete something that I've been training for, I find myself thinking, "Great, now I can just enjoy my runs again with no pressure" but before long those training runs start to feel a bit aimless and I start looking out for a new challenge.  I've been struggling a bit this year and I think it's partly because Rory, my better half and running buddy, has been focusing more on golf.  That's okay, because we should all prioritize the things we enjoy the most and I know that Rory has to be careful not to overdo things after his recent back problems.  However, I do miss the lockdown days when we would go for a run together pretty much every morning.  We still do parkrun together at weekends, but most of my weekday runs these days are on my own.  I don't mind solo running (in some ways I love it) but it can be sometimes harder to motivate yourself when you're on your own.   I certainly feel more motivated when I'...

 Crosby parkrun has been on my wish list for a long time.  I've been fascinated by Antony Gormley's 'Another Place', 100 iron sculptures dotted along the beach, looking out to sea and I couldn't wait to see them and photograph them.  The idea of also being able to run past them was incredibly cool, so we planned an overnight trip to Merseyside. After fueling up with a particularly fabulous Chinese meal on Friday night at the Nine Dragons in Aintree, and with the promise of glorious spring weather, I was really excited and couldn't wait for Saturday morning to come.  We drove the short distance from our Premier Inn to the Crosby Leisure Centre, allowing plenty of time because the traffic had been so heavy the day before.  We didn't want to take any chances and risk being late, but we arrived with plenty of time to spare.  The weather was lovely.  The sun was out and there was the gentlest of breezes.  This surprised me as I had expected to be batte...

 No more half marathons for me.  Okay, I know I've said this before but this time I really do mean it.  I have tackled enough of them now to know that I can actually do them in a not too shabby way, and I've done enough to know that regardless of how quick or slow they are, no matter whether I run alone or with other people, whatever the medal is like, however scenic or boring the route is, I just don't enjoy them.  (As for that vague plan I had to tackle a full marathon some day, what the heck was I thinking about?) Earlier this year I made up my mind that I would train for one last half marathon race, i.e. actually follow a structured training plan.  Recently it's been my habit to just rock up on the day and do my best and although I've always been quite happy with my times, I have often wondered if I could do better if I followed a proper plan.  So, I started one in the New Year.  As expected, there were the usual interruptions for bad weather, but ...

Yesterday I completed my goal of running 1000 miles in 2021.  In many ways this has been a stressful year for us and I've lost running days due to everything from post-vaccine fever, to building-related stress and toothache, so finally reaching my target felt like quite an achievement this year.  It's a reminder too of how running continues to be my rock during difficult times.  In many respects it has been a more 'normal' running year than 2020.  We have seen the return of parkrun, which has been wonderful.  I will never forget the emotion of that first post-lockdown parkrun when we returned to Huddersfield.  All those smiling faces and a feeling of optimism in the air!  It was really very special.  Later on, I remembered the excitement of how it feels to do a bit of parkrun 'tourism', trying out a new route for the first time.  We took on the challenging course at Frickley Country Park and conquered the dreaded zig-zag hill.  Races got...

Football may not have come home, but (in England at least) parkrun finally has.  Saturday 24th July was our first one since March 2020 and it felt like a momentous occasion.  I had been a little nervous in the days building up to it.  I think I've got so used to running alone that I seriously wondered if I would still enjoy running with loads of other people.  Would it seem invasive after those quiet Saturday mornings on the trail, which I had come to enjoy?  Everyone talks about getting back to normal but it's been so long that it didn't feel like normal anymore as I dug out my parkrun wristband and 100 T-shirt.  It did feel exciting though and I began to be aware of the 'Christmas Eve' feeling building up again on Friday night as I laid my kit out in the spare room and set my alarm. So, off we went to Greenhead Park in Huddersfield, which is where it all started for us back in 2016.  It may not strictly be our 'local' anymore but it feels like it, be...