I had the best year of consistent running last year, pretty much since I went back to the marathon in 2017. This underpinned by the irony of writing this, with a lower back niggle, wearing a power dot to try and stimulate some healing (I can’t have everything and hopefully this a minor niggle as opposed to calf / achilles issues that have troubled me for far longer). It was good to go back and look at how much I’d been able to do:
It’s encouraging to see the consistency. The short breaks being from either tweaking my lower back (as now) or coming down with a cold in December.
What I’ve taken from this year is:
- Coming into the year healthy a big plus.
- Protein supplementation.
- 75 S&C sessions, an avg of 1.44 a week, helped keep me strong
- Listening to my body on the odd occasion I needed a rest from running – switch to cycling (after the mile race in Medway my calves were battered from a hard mile in spikes) or when I just felt too tired key.
- Pulling out of Snowdon 100k @ half way. I can go back, I will go back, it was absolutely the right thing to do and lit a slow burning fire to get stronger and able to compete again.
- Cross Country. Fun, hard and wonderful October / November sessions.
- Sea swimming in summer is brilliant and something I need to make time for.
- Run consistently = you get better. No surprises there at all.
BreatheToMove 