Ridgeway Runner

Well here’s a new one on me.

Having started running nearly 2 years ago I;ve been wearing size 9 running shoes.  Brooks, Asics and even are early foray with New Balance, but always 9, normal width.  So about a month ago (maybe a bit more) I started getting blisters on the side of my big toe.  classical narrow shoe blisters.

Erm, excuse me but no, not allowed, that isn’t going to help my running!!

I pulled another pair of shoes out and the same, tighter and feeling like the shoes had shrunk.  Our of the 4 ‘current’ shoes, only 1 – a trust Brooks Glycerin 15 with over 1000Km on the clock felt OK.

I googled a bit and ended up in Runners Need in Kensington, London.  Following a measure and a sizing my feet are now larger than a 9!!  I thought age just made everything get smaller!!  Anyway turns out that based on an increase in running volume and frequency, as well as more very long (20+ mile) runs my feet are that bit bigger!  Go figure.

 

So a fun 30 minutes later and I leave Runners Need the proud owner of size 10 Hoka OneOne Clifton 5’s, and also the owner of 4 part used pairs of size 9 shoes!  Oh well, guess I’ll be doing some eBay/facebook selling at the weekend!

Happy running all!

Link:Brighton Marathon 2019 – Race Report

Check out my report of Brighton Marathon 2019 on the link above.

Thanks

Seeing so many race results appearing on various social media timelines over the past couple of weeks, and now in the week most of us expect to get the annual rejection notice from London it got me thinking about motivation. Why do we go running, why do some enter races and others not, what fuels our Mojo?

Up until recently I always felt my motivation was just the buzz of each run, the flood of adrenaline and endorphins that occur when you complete a run around a park or a housing estate or whatever. Considering most of my running is that sort of run, there must be a big enough buzz from that to keep me going out – especially this time of year where nights are long and it’s cold and wet. The sound of an open fire and the kettle boiling gets so much more attractive !!

After starting to run last year I was motivated by the weight loss and the change in body shape I was seeing. Achieving a body shape that, although far from perfect, is something I have never had. At last a form to be proud of and happy in.

But then I kind of realised that now it’s the challenge that keeps me going. My body weight hasn’t changed in months and my body shape has moved only small steps recently too. I know I can run 30Km which I could never have dreamed of before last summer, so now I feel my motivation has changed.

This came to light as I looked at my achievements this year and the fact that I have now booked a race for almost 6 consecutive months in 2019 already.

A lot of us say that just getting out and feeling the wind on our face and the ground beneath our feet is what keeps us going. I’m all for that and congratulate you if that really fires your Mojo up to 100%. But that doesn’t work for all of us. Sometimes the places we can run in are not beautiful and lovely, they are busy, noisy and crowded urban spaces that serve a purpose but don’t provide the fuel for us to run.

The important thing is to find what moves you and embrace it.

When starting on a journey into running the achievement of breaking a sweat, or realising you actually ran is often enough. You don’t care where you run. But as time goes on and you continue running this can drop off. You can’t always go out and run further every time. Or indeed run faster every time so then you can slip into monotone running. A chirpy hag becomes routine and mundane. This is a Mojo killer for sure. It’s a bit like starting a new job and having a new commute. It starts of interesting for some (a train journey, a new route in the car etc) but after a while there is only so much you can do with that journey to keep it interesting. Eventually it often becomes a necessity for work and not something you look forward to.

So how do we shift out of that pattern, keep our Mojo shining and keep us wanting to put those shoes on and run?

We find ways of challenging ourselves. Sometimes large , sometimes small. Don’t forget a challenge for you might be impossible for somebody else right now or vice-versa.

A few things I like to try:

• Run at a different time of day
• Run your normal route but in reverse!
• Set simple
• Increment goals if you are running only short distances currently – like run to the next road junction or another 1/2km in the same time
• Set a rigid time limit to a run. Set a timer or watch for half way and run until it beeps to return – try and run ever so much further next time and the time after etc etc
• Find a friend and run with them. Ignore time and distance just embrace a new face
• Sign up to a race. And yes many might be quicker but many also slower. I always go online before signing up for a race and look at previous results to measure where I would sit in previous years. Just to check!!
• Find a route that is just that bit different to normal. Some new scenery can be invigorating to a runner
• Read other people achievements with an open mind. We are all different and whilst some aim to be Mo Farah, others just aim to be on the move. Use the achievements of others to motivate you to reach your own achievement
• Facebook and other social media groups. There are some really good social media sites – Facebook being a good starting point – where members are really supportive of each other and embrace all levels and achievements, there’s a group of people out there just like you
• Set long term goals – like so many Km in a month or a year. There are a bunch of virtual running sites (Facebook again) that offer medals for achieving things at home in your own time👍
• 

The important thing is to find what moves you and embrace it. Don’t measure against others but look for the motivation they have and feed off that.

Well less than 2 weeks to go until Windsor Half Marathon. This will be my second half and my first time ever running around Windsor Great Park.

So, back story, running since June 2016. Did the London Big Half in March 2018 at around 1hr 40min. I regularly run 30-50 sometimes 70kM a week and have run over 21Km a good few times.

So the Windsor Half will be easy really!

Unlikely!! I put effort into everything I do and yes I’ve managed to run half marathon distance or more on a number of occasions it is always something that takes it out of me. It would be great to say that now I can run over 30Km that a little 21Km jaunt around Windsor will be a piece of cake, but that’s not the case. It’ll be hard, there will be sweat!! There will be some tired limbs. But ultimately there will be a sense of achievement when I cross that line.

I would love to beat my other HM time but who knows. The course is hillier but I’ve trained more. I’m competitive so a bit of me really wants to improve times. But the other bit wants to just finish safely and continue to prove to myself that I have come a long way in the 15 months I’ve been running. Runnings marathons etc had always been on my bucket list but I never realised how much fun I was going to have achieving that one!

So prep up until now has been using the 10 week Strava HM training plan which I have blogged about on ridgewayrunner.com also. This has been a mixture of easy runs and various types of speed run – ie Fartlek, progression, tempo, intervals etc of varying distances and durations. It’s been hard work and with family commitments and work I’ve not always hit every workout square on. I’ve also compensated (in my mind) by throwing some even longer long runs in – partly as I know I have marathons and an Ultra planned next year and want to test myself!

So am I ready? Well I have to be really. Only got 13 days! But really? Well I suppose so. I’m naturally pessimistic and usually look for the negatives in things as well as the get out of jail cards to avoid this sort of thing. Being my third ever public run I’m still petrified. I worry people will laugh and point as I go by, and that I will be utterly hopeless. I expect I look to others like an uncoordinated mule on roller skates as I run and that if I don’t trip over and faceplant the floor I’ll be amazed.

I guess that sort of thinking takes more than 2 public races to get beyond – if indeed you ever can.

What I will say is this, I know I can run, we all can. I know I can run that distance (We all can if we put our minds to it!). And I really know that my running style is fine.

I know people will clap and cheer, not point and laugh. The thoughts will always linger but I known on the day the experience will drown them out. The reality will always surpass the worries.

So as I begin the final two weeks of trying to make sure my legs remember how to move quickly for long enough to finish the race I am left to wonder what the experience will be like. It’s a great location with Windsor Castle as a back drop – doesn’t get much better! And you get to run sections of the park not normally open to the public!

Am I ready! I have my number 747! And my race number magnets courtesy of Runr . I have my kit and the smart watch will be charged and ready to go. I have Family in Windsor so that helps with travel arrangements too.

Next week is taper week the bit I hate most. I fear that in a week of little running I will lose all fitness and forget how to run. But on race day I know the taper will leave me feeling refreshed and race ready. Bring on the Castle!!!!!