Today is exactly a year since I took up running, so I thought I should write a short blog to commemorate the occasion. A lot has happened in the last 12 months, mostly good…
That first run took place on the hottest day of the year. Since the Great Scottish 10k in 2009 I hadn’t run at all, apart from two short runs just to make sure I didn’t totally embarrass myself. In the heat running is tough for anyone – I think I managed to do about 3.5k at a pretty slow pace, after which I was completely knackered. It is amazing that I went out the following week, but I am glad that I did. Since then I’ve only missed two Tuesdays and I’ve done and managed to achieve quite a lot:
- In my first race since 2009, the Great Scottish Run 10k in Glasgow at the start of October, I ran my first sub-40 minute 10k! 39 minutes 47 seconds, to be precise, which was very unexpected! I’ve done lots of 10k’s since, with a PB of 36 minutes 14 seconds – but that course measured a bit short I think so I’ll go with my Garmin which says 36 minutes 58 seconds.
- I signed up for parkrun, which was a bit of a revelation. I still hate getting up early on a Saturday, but it’s worth it. My first parkrun was Strathclyde Park, which I did in 22 minutes 17 seconds. The second was Tollcross, a much bigger test due to the hills, with a time of 22 minutes 46 seconds. I promptly set myself the target of getting under 20 minutes. Nearly a year on I’ve done 38 parkruns, mainly at Tollcross, I’ve crossed the line first twice, and have a PB of 17 minutes 40 seconds (Strathclyde Park) and 18 Minutes 27 seconds (Tollcross).
- I took to running every day, doing this through October and then December (completing my first Marcothon) and also January. I covered a huge distance and really developed as a runner – getting out there every day definitely has significant merits.
- I did a couple of things I said I never would – specifically a couple of half marathons and a marathon. I enjoyed them, and the training for them. My targets were sub 1 hour 20 minutes for the half, and sub 3 hours for the marathon. HM PB is 1hr 19 minutes 55 seconds, set in my first ever HM at the very hilly Strathaven course. I did the marathon in 3hrs 37 mins, 10 seconds but didn’t manage to completely do it justice because…
- …I got injured. I still don’t know what the problem was, but it stopped me for a couple of months leading up to the marathon, and was very frustrating. Getting back on form after injury has been hard, but I am getting there. Whilst being injured isn’t great, I learned quite a bit as a result so silver linings, and all that.
As well as all this, I’ve taken on another huge challenge in the form of the Ride Across Britain and have been trying to juggle both running and cycling, which isn’t easy!
And, of course, I started writing this blog. Not many people read it, but with only the odd exception I’ve generally had positive reactions and some nice comments in response to certain blogs. I originally intended it to only capture my training towards the marathon and RAB, but I actually find it quite useful to write about running/cycling and the different events I attend. It helps me reflect and think about things in a different way, and it has surprisingly proved to be helpful in training as a result. I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll probably keep writing it even after RAB is finished. Maybe in another 12 months I’ll be writing a quick summary of a second big year. Hopefully the odd reader might hang around to see it…
Running Bug 