Running On Empty

Another week where I've made it out for only one proper run instead of three (the walked parkrun doesn't count), but at least I'm still doing it. We'll overlook the fact I almost forgot to go for a run while sitting at my desk. 👀 As I did a few stretches in the car park before the start, I contemplated where I might run and came to the conclusion that at least the first kilometre in any direction from the office was going to feel grim. I hate routine in my runs. I even began to wonder whether this would be the thing that ultimately killed running for me. Would I give it up out of nothing but boredom? Anyway, I figured I'd just leave the building and decide my route at every corner or junction at which I arrived. 100% spontaneity in the midst of crushing familiarity. In the end, that took me along New Bridge Street and then through Shield field and up past Jesmond Metro. By that time, I'd decided most of the rest of the route based on how long I wanted to be

This should have been a wonderful post, with a load of colleagues joining me and Daughter the 1st at Whitley Bay parkrun before enjoying coffee and cake at the Spanish City. As it was, no-one turned up for the run at all (for various good reasons) and while we enjoyed a lovely first kilometre together, it ended up a miserable experience for Ida, with her tripping and falling on the promenade. We walked most of it thereafter and were it not for me being overly pushy, we would (and should) have just quit. She nearly fell again after about 3km and the tears returned. I'm a bad dad. 😞 So, my 49th parkrun netted me a time of about 46 minutes — plus a daughter who went from asking to do the 5K Race For Life to one who never wanted to run 5K again, anywhere. And i was so looking forward to seeing what kind of time she could do for a 5K. 😢 Never mind. I'm still proud of her for even having a go. These things happen and she'll bounce back — even if it takes a while. F

THREE weeks ago, I ran a gentle 5K in advance of the Allendale Challenge. Today, I finally got out for another 5K. For me, that's a long, long time between runs. Part of it is injury from the walk, but a large part is also down to morale.  I don't want this blog to turn into a never-ending diary of misery — which won't be much fun to read back in years to come — but equally I don't want to gloss over how I'm feeling, with forced positivity. So yeah, I'm a bit down in the dumps. Prior to the Allendale Challenge, I was properly excited, confident I could tackle the walk without the impediment of skinned heels and ruined toenails. I actually thought I stood a good chance of beating my time from 2010. To fall so far short and to find that it was my body (not my fitness) that let me down was really depressing. It's made me question whether I should really be continuing with such a high impact form of exercise at all. Maybe cycling or swimming would be better for

While the big toenail on my right foot appears to have had enough of my nonsense and is now just working its notice period, I'm pleased to say the rest of my body is sticking in there and even let me go for a short run today. Maybe it was a slow one, hence Google Fit's damning verdict on my pace, but it was a run nonetheless. No photos today though and no theme to give me a direction. Actually, that's a lie. The theme was "don't surrender altitude lightly," also known as "avoid going down to the quayside". So I crossed the Tyne Bridge, paused an eternity to cross the A167M traffic, then headed along to and around the Gateshead College area before heading back the same way. I only really intended to do about 3km or as much as my feet would allow me, but really this was just a test drive of my post-Allendale feet and joints. And everything passed, so I ended up sauntering to 4km. Happy with that; was nice and slow and... well, just nice to be active ag

Let's cut to the chase: I made it to the end I did so in under 10 hours YES. Goal achieved. ✅ One of the nicer shots I took on the way round, this one being a little over a mile in, at 8:35am. Sitting here now, with zero blisters, all the skin still on my heels, and all of my toenails intact (even if one's a bit sore), it seems odd that I'm left feeling... a bit subdued about the whole thing. 😐 I guess I'd secretly hoped to blitz my previous time of 8h45, given that that had been done carrying some pretty gruesome injuries for the last 8-10 miles. In the end, I was almost an hour slower than my unfit self from 2010, registering a time of 9:42:02. The deeply disappointing lack-of-occasion that was the start line. I miss the old mass start. 😢 Granted, I'd intentionally not set off at breakneck speed, so as to preserve my heels and toes, but I'd kind of expected to make up a lot of time on the return stretch. Instead, I had various issues from the past come ba

With the Allendale Challenge just 2 days away, the mantra for yesterday's lunchtime run was nothing more than "Don't get injured". Around this time of year back in 2010, I did exactly that in the run-up to the Allendale Challenge and while the knee problem I picked up wasn't my biggest problem on the day, I certainly could've lived without it. So... nothing daft today. That meant a pretty gentle run along the quayside, heading along Skinnerburn Road to the business park and then back along the riverside path. And, just to complete 5K, the end saw me actually run up the hill back to the office for once instead of quitting by the Guildhall. In the end, despite the fact I would've been content with a 5:45/km or even 6:00/km pace, I maintained a 5:20/km pace for the majority of it. (We'll ignore the much slower pace once I had to climb back to the office. 😂) But the most important thing was that I never felt any kind of twinges that might hint at having