Tag: running

I’m currently reading Footnotes by Vybarr Cregan-Reid. My run on Sunday morning reminded me of this passage from the book:

“We runners know that once you settle down deeply into pace, you settle just as deeply into the landscape; you huddle into it. The reason that the experience of the landscape can be so intense is that you become part of it. What you are feeling is an analogue for what the place is feeling as it feels itself, and you.”

Following the downpour on Saturday and seeing the thermometer read one degrees Celsius, I decided it was best to stick to the trails. I was rewarded by finding myself ‘huddled into’ my surroundings. The sun shone through the gaps in the trees; the air was crisp and fresh; and the trail was familiar – like an old friend. I had ‘settled’ in and found myself ‘deeply’ connected to the landscape around me.

It is these moments, and they happen more and more often, that have turned running into a necessary part of my life.

I don’t want to run. I have to run!

No stats this week…

I’ve been nursing muscle strains in my back for the last two weeks. The first was on the right side of my back and cleared up after a weeks rest. The second was more acute – acquired following an intense round of 3×3 basketball. I really should have learned to ease myself back in by now!

This morning, I was simply grateful to be back out running on the roads and trails. The sun was shining; the air was fresh; and I got home injury free. 🌞

Stoked to get back out on the road and trails after taking a week off from running to nurse a pulled muscle in my back.

Here be stats:

  • 6.02 Km: 00:32:42
  • Run Pace: 00:05:26 (Min/Km)
  • Run Speed: 11.05 Km/hr

This website is really useful if you are into your running/pace statistics.

I also finished reading Richard Askwith’s excellent biography of Emil Zatopek. 🇨🇿 🚂

Couldn’t help but think of this quote on my morning run today…

“Pain, he said, is nothing more than a mind-set. So he distracts himself with other thoughts — the joy of running, the finish line ahead. Then the pain fades.”

~ Kipchoge, Eliud (2018)

Paraphrased by Scott Cacciola in the New York Times.

Pushing through that pain, I ran my fastest 10K yet – 54m 22s, with an average pace of 5m 25s.

More pleasing than that though was that I finally broke the  5 min/km barrier; running one kilometre in 4m 56s and another in 4m 21s. I was flying! 🚀

Running Music

My original approach to running music was a heady mix of dance, pop, rap and rock.

However, I have recently found that the tranquil ambient sounds I use for ‘recovery’ runs work just as well for longer high-tempo runs.

The music is less intrusive. It is there and not there; fading into the background – allowing me to listen to my body and focus on my form. It may be simply happenstance but it has coincided with me posting personal best times for 10km over three consecutive weekends; including my fastest individual kilometre yet (5m 6s) this morning.

As such, I began to compile the various albums and tracks I have been running to into a playlist. It is a work in progress, but this mix might work for you too.