Slowly Does It!

It’s been a little longer than usual since my last blog post (sorry about that!), which has given me a little bit of time to reflect on my running this year. So what have I achieved this year and - most importantly - what have I learnt?

2018 started with me training with my coach Trevor for the first time, in preparation for the Cotswolds Way Challenge 50k. I learnt some fundamental things with Trevor, the first of which was that I needed to slow down for most of my runs. Frankly, I didn’t get it at first. It seemed I was just unable to do it. I had been used to running all my runs between around 5min/k and 5:30min/k for most of my life and running any slower than that just felt incredibly difficult (I had joked in the past that I had only ‘one gear’ when running). But I was after some structure for my training and Trevor had the experience so I decide to stick to the plan and trust the process. Then not long after starting training injury struck (inflammation of the sesamoids) and that prompted me to look at my technique. That’s how I came across Chi Running.

Chi Running and Trevor completely transformed my approach to running. Not only I’m now a mid foot striker and my running economy is the best it’s ever been, but most importantly I enjoy my long training runs now instead of dreading them like I did a few years back. For me they offer time for reflection, for body sensing and for appreciation on my surroundings and life big general. Running certainly doesn’t feel like a punishment, much more like a treat. And interestingly, I have managed to slow down. It happened naturally, because when you run 5 times a week and run some hard sessions then I find the body naturally gets you to slow down when it knows it doesn’t need to run fast. I have found my ‘gears’. For my long runs I’m now in gear 2. That allows me to make better use of gears 4 and 5 during tempo and interval training. And because I am more in tune with my body I can now listen to it and not just ignore what it is telling me and drive it to the ground. And it loves me back for it: now I am doing 80% of my training load at easy pace around the 5:40min/k-6:00min/k mark, I was able to achieve a half-marathon PB of 1:43:27. When I was running all my runs fast, I didn’t manage less than 1:45, and it felt much harder to achieve that time!

When slowing down in training leads to a PB!

Running became a bit obsessive this year also. It provided a sense of certainty in my life at a time when I was questioning what I wanted out of life, what mum and wife I wanted to be and how my work and running fitted into this. I had just turned 40 last year, and although my birthday had not seemed to bother me in the slightest, it triggered a review of my life and achievements so far. One year on, I’m glad to say it worked, it helped me find myself, I have found a direction and a clear sense of what is important to me and what isn’t. There came the realisation that my priorities have changed. When I first started working aged 24 (a Master of Engineering in France takes a little bit longer than in the UK), my eyes were set on the top job (CEO). Achieving that position was my measure of success. My running ambitions were similar, although I was more realistic about what I could achieve. I don’t have the natural body type to be a fantastic runner, but I knew I could improve myself and maybe rank in the top 10 for my category in some races (I’m not talking about any of the marathon majors here!). I knew one day I wanted to finish a marathon, and I did so in 2010 over 5min under my goal of sub-4hours. My ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston marathon. Mainly because you have to qualify for it and cannot just get a place out of luck through a ballot (like I did when I ran London). But also because its route goes through the town of Wellesley, where I lived for 18 months with my husband. Running Boston would be some sort of validation for me as a runner. And in order to qualify I know I need to run fast. Specifically I am training to run a 3:30 marathon in order to come under the Boston qualifying time of 3:40 for my age category. But once that’s done (hopefully I will achieve qualification in 2019) I will not try and beat that time. I am no longer interested in chasing PBs. However, I would love to be that V75 lady who comes first in her category at a race if I’m lucky enough to still be able to run at that old age. In order to physically do so and preserve my love of running over the years, I’m happy to just run for the love of it. That means training, occasionally racing, but also ensuring my body and mind have the time they need to recover from any challenge I set them.

Of course if I kept on training harder I may be able to shave off that minute of my half-marathon time. Maybe if I paid more attention to my nutrition I may be able to shave off another minute. But my belief is that there is a point of diminishing return. I see that race podium finish in a similar way to the CEO’s job. Getting there (and staying there) involves sacrifices. And there are sacrifices I am willing to make and some I am not. I don’t want to start beating myself up because I didn’t manage to catch that woman up during that race, I don’t want to turn down social outings on a regular basis because it interferes with my training, and I am not prepared to start weighing my food to ensure my nutrition is optimal. But I understand people who do. Ultimately I want running to fit in with my life (and I will always try my best to fit it in) and not the other way round. I don’t want to become resentful towards running, I want to look after our relationship. There will be good runs and bad runs but I will do my best so that year after year I always feel a little bit of excitement when lacing up my shoes.

I tend to be a ‘yes’ person trying to juggle everything. More annoyingly I’m a yes person to myself also (“Can I really squeeze it in? Yes of course you can!” is a regular discussion with myself). But I have promised myself that going forward I will not cram up races throughout the year (next year that’ll be the Edinburgh marathon, the following year hopefully Boston!). I’ll stick to one challenge and sprinkle a few half-marathons for good measure. And if I win a race, that will be more out of stamina than speed, like was the case for the Cotswolds Way Challenge! That may not make my blog popular, but I’m ok with that. When the kids are older then I may start doing more ultra-marathons, because I will no longer feel like I’m spreading myself too thin!

Happy running!!

Sign up for updates