My running journey

I often talk about running and it's time I blogged about my running journey.  Some of my friends will already know about this and others might be a bit surprised.

Reckoning most of my early running was out of desperation, not that I ever used to think of myself as being a runner.  For a brief time in my early twenties, I sometimes felt a bit lost in life, so I would go for a run in an old pair of trainers.  I would run a few miles, turn around to head home and then sprint as fast as I could.  Then as I was at my limit, I would force myself to go another 10 strides and even faster.  Then another 10, faster again, until finally I was panting uncontrollably and my heart was firing like a machine gun.  It felt so good.

Without knowing it, I had become a runner.

Roll forward to my mid 40s

Perhaps there's a theme forming here.  By now I had been working in the Probation Service and had been in the ranks of the management team for a few years.  A hit a stressful period at work and things were starting to get on top of me, so I went to see the HR manager.

Having explained to the HR manager how I was at my wits end, she kindly put forward a few suggestions.  Things like demotion, a sabbatical, unpaid leave, sick leave, reducing hours, sending me on a stress management course and so on.  While those were quite good suggestions, none of them quite hit the mark.

Also at this time I was putting on weight, I think I weighed 13st 8lbs at my heaviest.  So I decided to join a gym to lose weight and burn my stress away. At the gym I did a bit of everything but quickly found I enjoyed running on the treadmill.  However as soon as I got to like it, I had knee and ankle problems.  The solution was visiting a specialist running shop, a gait analysis, a proper pair of running shoes and BINGO!  I COULD RUN!  It felt so good.

Racing

After a while I decided to enter a 10k race, it seemed the obvious thing to do.  I remember my mother disapproving, flagging up all kinds of reasons why it was a bad idea for a man in his 40s.  I pressed on and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The actual "race" turned out to be a Britsh Heart Foundation fund raising event at Knebworth Park, Stevenage.  I think my time was about 55 minutes and I was pretty pleased, though not much of a race as such.  Later I managed to get my 10k time down to 45 minutes.
So next was a Half Marathon and this was at Bath. I have run a few Half's since, all with a time between 1hour 40-50mins which I was pleased with.

My favourite race is the Ridgeway Run, organised by Tring Running Club and I have run this a few times.  It is just under 10 miles and mostly off road.   As with many races, I latched onto someone ahead who had good form and was a bit faster - and I used them to drag me along out of my comfort zone.  Generally it works well for me.  One year I followed a tall, lanky man who was running well.  I was behind him most of the way apart from the last half mile when he shot ahead and lost me.  Afterwards I chatted to him and he explained he was in his 70s and, owing to being on a yacht for a few weeks beforehand, he was slower than normal.  I was amazed!  He, and others like him, are always an inspiration for me.

Like many runners, I suppose we like to have a go at a marathon, my first being when I was 50 or 51.  Again my mother was horrified, suggesting I would have some terrible injury.  So being stubborn, I ignored her and have now run a few marathons, each a little bit faster with my PB being 3hrs 50minutes.

Running alone

In spite of the rewarding buzz from racing others, I think my most significant runs have been on my own.  These could be training runs, or running just for the hell of it, or running to deal with the immense stress I have felt at times.

There were a few times when I had been so unhappy at work, I was at the verge of quitting but then "saved" by an incredible run.  Like those times in my early 20s, I would run and run as fast as I could, then push myself further so those problems melted away.  Some of my most memorable runs have been after work when I would stop off in a hilly area and run - I came to enjoy running up hills so much and managed to bag a few Strava segments.

Other times I would go for a run, feeling the burden of many problems. Even in those slower, longer runs, those problems would all be dealt with, one by one.  The miles would drift by, almost unnoticed as I mulled things over.  I found there was something so positive about running, often coming up with more imaginative solutions and ideas.  Those runs certainly helped me get things straight in my mind.  It is the amazing Runner's High I am talking about, the utterly amazing feeling you get after a good run - perhaps only runners will really understand this(?).

Apart from the mental health benefits, I became quite lean through running.  I quickly went from over 13st to 9st 7lbs and stayed like that for quite a few years.  I'm a little heavier now at just over 11st with a BMI of 23.

And these days

Having had a few health issues (kidneys), my running these days is less ambitious.  Mostly I run 2 or 3 miles every other day, with the occasional 7 or 8 mile run.  I thoroughly enjoy Parkruns for the social element and how it is such a marvellous way for all kinds of people to run, or walk, together on a Saturday morning.

I still dream of getting back to where I was in terms of running, or at least somewhere close.  I can only accept that the best is still to come; I just cannot accept that, at 58, I am inevitably heading downhill.  Perhaps that is the perpetual optimist in me, or perhaps the Type A personality surfacing a little?

In the cold light of day, I know I have run my fastest marathon.  Whether I have run my last marathon is a different matter altogether!

Blogging about running

On one of my other blogs (long retired) I used to talk a lot about running and had quite a following as it peaked at 20,000 page views a month.  I even used to get samples of clothing, coffee, energy gels and snack bars sent to me for reviewing on my blog.  All that, combined with running some decent times and some unforgettable runs, has seared itself on me forever.

While there is something so fantastic about the simplicity of running, it is also a complicated thing to do with so many different aspects - mental strength, personality, planning, being disciplined, nutrition, hydration, resting, sleeping, slow/fast runs, getting lost, falling over, injuries, shoes, clothing and the list goes on for miles.

All this adds up to be something so fascinating, so compelling, I hope and pray I will be a runner for many, many years to come.