Summer Running!

Well since St Albans, I've been taking it a little bit easier and experimenting a little. A friend told me about a book called Slow Burn, which I have started to read; although I've not got far into it, one of the things the writer talks about is running slowly. Now I thought I did this already, but he sort of talks about it as running at a speed where you can appreciate your surroundings and not just focus on your running. I've yet to really get into the book, and I know there is more to it than that, but that is where I've got to so far......

The return of runners nipple

Anyway, even though I run slowly, I am still focused on running and trying to get enough oxygen into my lungs, so I thought I'd give it a go....... So now I'm running incredibly slowly! But I have enjoyed taking things slower, and I have also managed to take in more of my surroundings. I've also had less of a reaction from my left knee, which has been troubling me a little, so I'm pretty pleased, as this is really positive and I've also felt a little stronger and have recovered more easily after a run. I don't know if this is just my mind playing tricks, bit that what it's felt like at any rate. However a down side of all this was that because I was running so slowly I was getting worried that I'd forgotten to how to run at anything resembling a decent pace...... and that I was now running more slowly than when I first started just over a year ago. So I did try to slip in a 10k this week and push it a little and was pleasantly surprised that I could run back at something like my normal-ish time.

The last two weekends I've also attempted to combine running slowly with some longer runs on routes which are probably the nearest thing you'll find in Birmingham to running in countryside. So last Saturday, I ran along the canals towards Stratford (not too Stratford). A really pleasant run, if a bit wet/muddy in places, but really pleasant scenery and very peaceful with only really a handful of people about. It was pretty muggy, but refrained from raining until I was about 10 miles in, when it started, another reminder about the great summer we're having. I also had the dreaded return of runners nipple: although I had greased up well, it was obviously not enough. And then this Saturday, another longer run along the canals into the centre of Birmingham and back. Almost 18 miles in just over 3 hours: hard work, slow, but the longest run I've ever done, and pleased to have done it, particularly as it was such a lovely morning. It also brought back memories of the last time I did this route last year: nice weather, being overtaken by numerous runners, a particularly agile young woman trotting along with pony tail flapping behind, and my success at "gliding" past a (very slow moving) barge. The difference with the run this time was that although I felt like giving up at about 14 miles, I didn't, so I must have made some progress.

Canals by Northfield

Past of the reasoning behind doing these longer runs is that I still have at the back of my mind the possibility of running the New York marathon in November. I seem to be failing in trying to raise money for my charity, and part of this might be that the "challenge" I've set myself is not challenging enough in other people's eyes.... It certainly is in my eyes, but there is no doubt that running a marathon is a totally different ball game, not just in fitness and training, but more so with the mental aspect of believing you can run that far. Even in running these last two weekends I've been struck by how I've had to change my thinking, or at least stop my mind from thinking in certain ways. And then there is also the training: I know that I need to get many more miles under my belt to get my legs stronger, so if I'm going to do this, I need to be running more regularly and for longer distances. Now I don't know if I'm going to do this marathon, but my runs over the past two weeks were a sort of test. I haven't made my mind up yet, but I will have to soon.