Motivation back!

This is my first blog post since 10th January.

I’ve written and scrapped 3 posts between then and now. I’m glad I did. They were very negative and a waste of time and energy.

So what’s happened since 10th January?

Quite a lot. It’s been a blur. Running wise it’s been a waste land. But I’ve come out of the other side chomping at the bit to get back to where I left off!

I hit January hard. Probably too hard. I got a bit lost as a result despite some great training runs including a 1.22 HM PB. But I never really recovered from that near the back end of January.

I found myself fatigued and trying to fit runs in around a hectic work schedule. I didn’t appreciate that I was fit as a fiddle cardio wise and just needed to let the legs settle.

Instead I decided on a month long break in February. I felt content with that. It felt like the right thing to do.

I enjoyed the freedom of not having to religiously go for a run (especially on Sunday’s). Come the end of February I still didn’t feel ready to start back training again.

But I did anyway. That return was short lived as I had a strange chest pain following a weekend break in Berlin. That took a week to go and then as if by magic I came down with a head cold prior to a week long work trip to Fujairah. That knocked me for six and I still feel the lingering affects as it went onto my chest.

That was really frustrating because it was now 6 weeks since my last meaningful training week. I was really ready to get back. It’s strange when you suddenly can’t run how much you want to.

Anyway, as I write this I’m into my second week back running.

Last week was tough.

It was spent lamenting lost fitness. Thoughts running through my head – surely this can’t be just lost fitness??? I felt terrible. Even a painfully slow jog was tough.

It took a bit of resolve just to get 35 miles of jogging done last week.

But I got it done and things were feeling better by the end of the week.

Tonight I had my first threshold run. I split 20 minutes into 4x 5mins with a 1 minute jog. Again very tough. Heart rate high, running faster a struggle. But again, I got it done and I feel like I’m back on my way.

I feel like this last 6 weeks has been a vital part of my running journey. I was desperate for a break. I had a break and loved it. Then I felt desperate to get back and feel in love with the sport again. I feel like I can get back on towards what I’m trying to achieve.

So where am I?

Well, my initial target of running a sub 17 minute 5k before my 35th birthday has been missed! I turned 35 on the 10th of March.

Not to worry – it’s part of the journey. I was so close and I know I can break through it.

As far as the XC season is concerned, again I failed as the last two races were missed and I slipped to 100th in the Individual Grand Prix.

Arguably my other goal of going for Elswicks senior men’s club championship may need a re-think.

But ultimately turning 35 has been a big kick up the arse to get back at it.

I’ve sent off my application to the North East Masters Athletics Association (NEMAA) and hope to run some races to compete against my age group.

Of course the sub 17 remains the key focus and with that in mind I hope to race a 5k in April / May.

The key focus will be getting 4-6 weeks decent training in and then assessing after that.

Thanks for reading and hopefully get back to some more regular updates!

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