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Ditching the Junk


No, this isn’t a clean eating guide or a fast food bashing post. I am talking about junk miles, and the half arsed workouts.

I have been running for about three years now (how did that happen?!) I was a complete novice when I started- I seriously would have rather missed a bus then have to jog to make it. Running? Oh, no. I can’t breathe when I run. Yes, I used to say that! Now approaching my third marathon, I guess I should start accepting that perhaps I have become a ‘proper’ runner. But do I feel like one? Not really. I don’t know my ‘tempo’ from my ‘fartlek’, my ‘Kenyon hills’ from my ‘threshold’. I just… run. And pretty slowly too.

Ahead of each event I’ve ever entered, I’ve downloaded a plan and started ticking. Obediently setting off for each run and churning out the miles. But not making any significant improvements. Not getting any speedier, and not feeling particularly stronger.

The two races I’ve entered and felt really strong and powerful for, (and fast as it goes) it happened that I’d also embarked on a period of strength training. Result- improved running times. But that hasn’t been consistent.

And so with this training period, ahead of The Brighton Marathon, I’ve fallen into that old trap of churning out miles, feeling slow, sluggish all the way and despairing that this will be my third attempt at the marathon distance that will end with me feeling that I should have done better.

I have decided to be honest with myself about training- am I really getting the most out of my miles? No, clearly not. So midway through my training plan, I’m reassessing. I'm changing things up. It may be too late for Brighton but I’m not going to be satisfied with slowly plodding along for every run any longer. Time to add some variety to my workouts, to think about what I really want to achieve with running instead of staying in my comfort zone. A good friend of mine has joined the gym with me and ended some classes feeling frustrated- I’ve heard myself telling him that ‘if it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.’ Time to take that advice myself.

I can run, I can complete a marathon. Bravo me! A huge achievement in itself, for sure... But now it’s time to really push and see where my limits lie. So I’m ditching the junk miles, committing to improving, to challenging myself and maybe finally feeling like the runner I want to be!

Taking inspiration from Mo on my first proper speed training run!

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