Running On Empty

Today was unbelievably good weather for a run. Sunshine, blue skies with fluffy white clouds, and just 10°C. Given the choice between the Tyne valley and a return to the Seaton Sluice area, the latter won out for the sake of being marginally quicker to get to. Looking south along the clifftops to the lighthouse on St Mary's Island, Whitley Bay This time, we'd head south from Old Hartley clifftops (the southern end of Seaton Sluice, basically) towards St Mary's Island and Whitley Bay before coming inland past the caravan site and the golf course to reach the waggonways. From there, another 90° right-hander to head back northwards along said waggonway to Holywell Dene and then down into and through the dene and up again towards the Delaval Arms and down the bank back to the clifftops. A nice mix of seaside running, fields, railway lines, a tree-filled valley and riverside run. I really was blessed to grow up in this area; it's as delightful now for running as it was for g...

Yep, an actual parkrun. And a new location, to boot. On holiday, no less. Wonders may never cease. It's too much of a cliché to have your photo taken next to the venue sign, right? So I went meta instead and took a photo of someone having their photo taken. In the days leading up to today, the weather has been glorious. Today, we got Lake District weather, albeit with only cloud and not rain. Nevertheless, it was lovely to be out in a fresh, green landscape and on a course that was new to me. In terms of challenge, it felt similar to Morpeth. Two laps and with a brief but notable climb. Here, however, you only had to do that climb once rather than the three times you get in Morpeth. Mostly running on grass, and with a decent dew, meant my feet got a bit soaked even before we'd started. The trail shoes were a bit unnecessary, but I wasn't sure what to expect . 🤷 Given this was my first timed event in 6 months, I really wasn't expecti...

Another weekend, another non-parkrun 5K-ish. Google Fit reckoned it was just over 5K, and running buddy's watch thought the same. Onthegomap.com strongly disagreed. Anyway, this time, I completely forgot to get any photographic evidence, so here's a map of the route instead:  Being in my spiritual home of Seaton Sluice, I was absolutely in my element. Starting at the harbour by the Waterford Arms, heading under the road bridge and past the old bottleworks site (and that of the old bridge that I never knew), we headed up the dene to the far end of the village. From there, uphill to the Delaval Arms and downhill again to the clifftops before following the coast back to the Kings Arms and finishing with a lap of Rocky Island. The whole thing was around sunset for once, which was nice too. Unfortunately, I'm writing this at least a week after the event, so my memories of how I felt on the run are a little hazy. But I think both my hip and knee were fine this time, w...

Finally, a weekend run again. Let's quickly recap what I've been up to. Or not. First, I've not been running. Parkrun has had to be abandoned, as I'm taxi driver every Saturday morning now at parkrun time.  Secondly, I've not been running or even cycling or swimming since the snow-halted attempt at Blyth in early January. Thirdly, I've got a job again. From March 2025 to February 2026, I went without an income, which was probably the most prolonged stress and confidence-shattering period of my life. Mercifully, I'm now employed again, but the job's requiring a lot of hours right now, so exercise has been way down the list of priorities.  Today, however, the running buddy and I got back out again, heading to The Land of Oak and Iron (i.e. the Derwent Valley) for an easy 5K in beautiful woodland and mainly along the old railway line there (gentle gradient ahoy!). Really glad we didn't just go to Weetslade Colliery Park (my initial suggestion), as it ca...

Do I really need a 2025 retrospective? I barely did any running. 90% of what I did was parkrun and here's the truth of how often I attended that, from the 5K app: Blue squares are attended parkruns. Apols to those with colour-blindness. So, I guess the main headline or achievement for 2025 was that I did anything at all. Especially considering I called it all quits in October 2024. I almost got into the habit of attending parkrun regularly, even if I'd not been doing any midweek training runs, but then that died off in November (albeit not entirely by choice). February 2025, probably the last time I wore that top.  😢 Positively, I've had very little grief from my knees and hips since restarting. That may be helped by the significant amount of rest between runs. But what can I look forward to in 2026? What can and should I aim for? Well, the sidebar on this blog has the following unmet goals for 2025 and 2026: Starting training again (regularly) Get under 27 minutes at ...

Welcome to 2026! And good riddance to 2025! (I have my reasons.) Last post here was mid-November, so what have I been doing running-wise since then? Missing lots of parkruns, for various reasons: visiting in-laws, ill health, work stuff, and ferrying Daughter the First to her volunteering sessions at a local stable Managing to get out for a single 4K run (big whoop) Adding about 3 kilos in weight over Christmas and New Year Trying to attend a parkrun today, only to be scuppered by last-minute snow Needless to say, I'm not feeling the fittest I ever have done and I suspect I'm back to square one with my parkrun fitness revival. Hey ho. 🤷‍♂️ Sunrise at Blyth Links parkrun this morning, just after we'd been told it was cancelled I'd hoped to at least get 2026 off to a good start by doing both the New Year's Day run (at Newbiggin) and the regular Saturday run a couple of days thereafter. A banging headache and accompanying lack of sleep did for the fi...