WOW! It’s been two whole months since I last put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) and I can’t figure out why that is. I have been running, I have been enjoying running and I have even had plenty of spare time to put things down. I’ve had thoughts and I have learnt things but for some unknown reason…I have kept them to myself.
I would like to retrace my steps, like Memento I’m going to start at the end and work my way back to where I left off. It’s Wednesday night and I am sat at my desk (Ed- dining room table) rolling my foot on a bottle of frozen water, nursing my self-diagnosed case of the Edith’s!! Plantar Fasciitis or PF is quite the pain for people who have to use their feet a lot. It kicked off about six hours after I finished the Fleetwood Half Marathon on Sunday and has come and gone in painful waves since then. The race itself marked a slight return to form over the 13.1 mile distance after horrific efforts at Southport and Freckleton. I managed 1:44:08 with a struggle over the final 5k and I was left wondering why there was a full minute between my best and worst mile splits. The course was pancake flat and certainly has PB potential but there was a stiff breeze and temperatures in the 20’s to put a dent in any sub 1:40 hopes I harboured. At least with a hill there is some respite when you go down the other side, when running with the wind, it just felt hot!! A side note, another good event put on by Fylde Coast Running, well done guys and thank you.
August’s 5k was another stab at the Prince’s Parkrun. I wasn’t fully fit, reason to come later, so I thought I would aim for a 22:20 and I ran it without my watch. I was pretty impressed with my result of 22:19 as it showed that I am learning to run to plan better than I have been able to before. I might try and aim for a 14:08 next time and see how it goes!!
At the end of my last post I raised the question of running on holiday. I spent two brilliant weeks with the family in Menorca and I did take my shoes. And…I only went and smashed 30km out there. Cool your jets, I did six 5k’s at an average pace of 7:40min/mile but it was very hot and I was on holiday. To be honest, it was probably 25km longer than I truly believed I would muster so I was more than pleased with myself. On the last day of the holiday I managed to put my back out in pretty spectacular fashion. Was it cliff diving you ask? No, I did that without hurting myself. Was it whilst doing one of the many activities you did that involved running or pedalling? Nah…I was fine doing all that. But when it came to putting the iPad back into its case…that’s what did it!! Result…a week of NSAIDs and acupuncture!! Hence the reason why I wasn’t fully fit for that Parkrun.
I also managed to eke out two new PBs, one for 5k at the Mystery- 21:31 and one for 5 mile at Sefton Park- 35:32. Add these to a decent outing at the very undulating and soggy Rochdale 10k- 45:23 and all that was left was to notch a decent Half Marathon, thank you Fleetwood. If you know me you may be wondering where the review of Southport Half Marathon is. Yeah…it’s not coming.
I don’t do a lot of miles and when I do, I don’t do them particularly fast but my efforts this year are beginning to take their toll on my 35 and 2/3 year old body. I have suffered two semi-serious injuries quite close together which have kept me off the road. I really want to complete this challenge but I also want to enjoy it. I never envisaged walking a race, just to complete it. This is where I am on this coming Saturday. It’s the 31st August and therefore my last sniff at a 10k for August but if this foot isn’t right and I have to decide whether to push my luck or admit defeat, I’m not sure which will win. I have learnt so much over the last few months and one of the lessons I have learnt is just how important rest is. Results come from rest, read any training plan. The only sessions that don’t change, never alter or defer are the rest days. Also, I learnt how important it is to warm up effectively, especially for the shorter distances. Who knew?
Is that the time? Rant o’clock!! Already!!! Ok, my daughter starts school next week, reception class in an ‘outstanding’ school. I know the school is outstanding because a few years ago, a team of ninjas snuck up on it, watched it from a distance for a day or two and then wrote about it on this here internet. Seriously, we are over the moon that she will be attending the school as it does have an excellent reputation and it does bring the best out of the pupils but something really got stuck in my throat during a meeting we had with the reception class teachers. The meeting was towards the end of term and the teacher mentioned that they were getting ready for the school sports day. ‘Excellent!’ I thought, a bit of healthy competition for the kids to look forward to. Maybe our little girl will get the opportunity to develop love for a sport and the school can help nurture any talent she may have. No, we don’t do competition. It is all about inclusion and making sure that every child can contribute to a team goal. That’s nice but go back one bit…NO competition…at all? How does that work? Surely, there will be just as much ‘coaching’ competitiveness OUT of some kids than there would be the need for encouragement and support for the less competitive ones. This got me thinking, and asking. Do you have a football team? No. Do you have cross country? No. Do you have swimming club? Yes, year 5 and 6 go once a week in the Spring and Summer term. Why not be competitive and inclusive? Is this approach feeding in to a bleak future for British sport? Am I over-reacting to something very normal? Having a strong will and discipline and knowing or feeling that you can do more/do better/did great/are great are all transferrable traits and are all honed in the sporting arena. I’m not extreme, I’m not THAT dad but I do believe that the kid who goes to the Harriers twice a week is going to be faster than the kid who doesn’t. The kids will already know and understand this. What are they so worried about? And you know what else? What happens when they step up to secondary school and some schools did have a sporting agenda and some didn’t? How big is that gap going to be and at an age were self-awareness and fitting in is so important? As you can see, I haven’t thought this through properly yet as all the questions I have are still unanswered. I’ll learn as I go I suppose and when my little girl doesn’t make it to Istanbul/Tokyo/Madrid 2020 I’ll know why. I’m kidding…I’m not THAT dad. One thing I do know is a disgrace! They don’t have a Dad’s race at their sports day!!! All this training for nothing!!!
