Here are the links to my previous annual review posts, there’s most definitely a theme 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021  | 2022  

January

The combination of a continued loss of running mojo and a knee niggle meant that I started the year barcode scanning Sutton Park parkrun. I managed to dodge the parkrun photographer, this would be a common occurrence in 2023, so there’s sadly no evidence of my epic barcode scanning skills. As in previous years, spending the first morning of the year at parkrun was a great way to start the year. I felt reasonably confident I’d be able to call myself a runner again, so I shared my running, walking, and parkrun goals for the year ahead.

The following Saturday I decided the weather was far too wet and miserable for parkrun, so I stayed in bed and then spent the morning regretting being so lazy. The weather during the first half of January was so wet and miserable, I read a lot and published a Books I’ve read recently post.

As I was still working from home and not getting anywhere near my old target of 10,000 steps a day, I set myself a target of walking 100 miles in January. Although I didn’t manage to meet my distance target – this would be a common occurrence in 2023 – my lunchtime and evening walks around Four Oaks were one of the highlights of the month.

A not quite as healthy and rather expensive January highlight was the reintroduction of regular Saturday lunchtime visits to the Giggling Squid restaurant in Mere Green.

Getting out of the house and eating something I hadn’t had to cook for myself made the expense and temporary weight gain worthwhile.

After running in Brooks Adrenaline trainers for several years, I made the mistake of assuming the latest model would be fine to wear straight out of the box. My feet disagreed and during my four-mile walk across Sutton Park, my heels were shredded to pieces. This meant that rather than jeffing my way around Sutton Park parkrun, I completed some unplanned marshalling and then hobbled to the finish.

What I’d thought were a bargain pair of Brooks Adrenaline trainers ended up costing me more in blister plasters and lost miles. Three days and a lot of blister plasters later, I ended the month with a cold but incredibly enjoyable evening walk around Four Oaks.

February

Looking back, although running was still very much something other people do, February was one of the more positive months of 2023, a huge contrast to 12 months previously. Accepting that it was time for a change, I made use of a flexi Friday and headed to Alpha Running in Lichfield for a gait analysis.

I felt slightly embarrassed when after I’d stated I’d had enough of Brooks trainers and wanted a change when I realised I was surrounded by Brooks-branded paraphernalia. After a detailed gait analysis, I purchased a couple of pairs of trainers; a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19a and a pair of ASICS GEL-KAYANO 29s. As my feet are like boats, I left the store empty-handed and feeling shocked at how expensive trainers had got.

The following morning I headed to Sutton Park parkrun and marshalled at my favourite marshalling location, the Jamboree Stone. After parkrun, a large group of parkrunners headed to the Communitea Café in Boldmere for breakfast and banter.

The following week I was unwell with a cough and cold that refused to go away. Although multiple tests confirmed I didn’t have COVID-19, I felt far too unwell to collect my trainers from Lichfield. It was a case of so near yet so far with my new trainers. At the time I had no idea I was experiencing the first of several illnesses in 2023.

February ended on a positive note when it was light enough for me to walk across Sutton Park to Banners Gate for the first time in 2023. I took several photos to celebrate the occasion.

I ended the month with a spot of cold but entertaining barcode scanning and another lunch with a friend at the Giggling Squid in Mere Green. Although thanks to the lurgy I once again failed to get anywhere near my target of walking 100 miles in February, I made sure I headed outside on the days I was feeling well enough to leave the house.

March

At the start of March, I celebrated(?) three years of working from home. With apologies for the repetition, while I’ve enjoyed not having to spend three hours a day commuting on unreliable and overcrowded trains, I was feeling increasingly isolated from my colleagues. Although working in a small area-based team means that the days I literally don’t speak to anyone are rare, they were still happening regularly. My own fault for not relocating from the West Midlands to somewhere nearer Cumbria and Lancashire.

 A full volunteer roster meant I was able to christen my Mizuno Wave Inspire trainers with a slightly faster-than-usual walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course. My feet felt great. Only I could take a selfie of myself and not a photo of the trainers I hoped would enable me to restart the Couch to 5k.

I don’t want to go into too much detail, but after a lot of soul-searching and writing out several ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ lists, I finally decided not to apply for the Grade 6 senior hydrology technical specialist post that was being advertised in my team. A post-work stroll in the snow wearing my new walking trainers left me with shredded heels and a new open blister on my left heel.

The snow and ice resulted in the cancellation of Sutton Park parkrun and meant I wasn’t able to complete my 100^th parkrun. I wasn’t overly disappointed as my heels needed time to heal. I treated my friend to lunch at the Giggling Squid in Mere Green.

A couple of days later, a 30% discount code encouraged me to head to the Quill and Taper for an evening meal.

With apologies for sharing more food photos, I wanted to include these photos as the food that evening tasted amazing. Such a contrast to the last time I visited.

A week later than originally planned, I finally completed my 100^th parkrun at Kingsbury Water parkrun. The course was so muddy I spent most of the time worrying I was about to fall over.

I felt bad for avoiding my home parkrun, but I decided I wanted a quiet 100^th. The following week I discovered that although I wasn’t in Sutton Park, my name was read out at Sutton Park parkrun.

Work became incredibly busy with new starters, training courses, and shortlisting for jobs. I seriously started to question how much longer I could cope with working from home.

The final Saturday of March I volunteered as a barcode scanner in slightly comical conditions due to the wind. I lost count of the number of finish tokens and barcodes that blew on the floor just as I was about to scan them. Breakfast in the Communitea Café took longer than usual which meant I didn’t have time to change out of my parkrunning gear into something more suitable for the Giggling Squid.

In 2022, the lighter evenings meant that I spent more time outside and I did my best to head out for a walk every afternoon after I’d finished work. Last year, I experienced an all too predictable loss of motivation towards the end of the month and I rarely left the house.

April

April didn’t get off to the most positive start when during a routine dental appointment, I discovered I needed to be referred to the dental hospital to have one of my wisdom teeth removed. The wisdom in question was impacted which meant it couldn’t be removed by my dentist. Damage caused by the wayward wisdom tooth meant I also needed a filling. An expensive start to April.

I’ve just realised I’ve hardly mentioned running at all and this is meant to be a running blog. For the first time in several months, although I enjoyed marshalling at Sutton Park parkrun, in what were perfect conditions for running, I actually felt jealous watching other people run past me. I figured that if I’d run rather than volunteered I wouldn’t have missed out on the latest parkrun magazine.

The remainder of my Easter weekend was quiet, and I spent far too much time doom scrolling on social media feeling sorry for myself. Easter Monday was such a washout I cancelled the walk I’d planned in Sutton Park and headed to the Giggling Squid in Mere Green for lunch with a couple of friends.

The following weekend I walked across a very wet and muddy Sutton Park to Banners Gate and marshalled at a slightly tricky underfoot Location 3. This photo of me making rather heavy weather jumping over the Sutton Park popup sign became one of my favourite photos of 2023.

I headed straight from parkrun into Lichfield for a well-overdue haircut and ended up with slightly shorter hair than I had anticipated. The following week I helped interview for a hydrology post in my team and discovered I found being on an interview panel far more stressful than being interviewed.

I inevitably found watching the elite London Marathon races so inspiring, the following day I entered the London Marathon ballot and looked forward to receiving my annual rejection email a few months later. I tried on the adidas gear I’d been sent to review and planned out the Couch to 5k.

The last weekend in April was what I’ve described in the past as hydrological. I marshalled at location 1 and then walked to the finish to scan barcodes.

I lost count of the number of parkrunners I confused by volunteering in two roles. After parkrun, I headed to the Giggling Squid in Mere Green for an early birthday lunch. The discovery at the end of April I’d reached my highest-ever weight was the kick up the bum I needed. I vowed to have a no Chinese takeaway month in May.

May

At the start of May, I celebrated my 44^th birthday. If you read my last review post you’ll know that after my lockdown birthdays of 2020 and 2021, I spent a large proportion of my 43^rd birthday waiting for my friend to be discharged from hospital. Although my 44^th birthday ended up being a little underwhelming, it was a vast improvement on my previous birthday. I spent the rest of the first week of May on annual leave and ate far too much. While I managed to stay away from the local Chinese restaurant, my diet in May was far from healthy.

The previous May I ended up missing every parkrun as I didn’t want to leave my friend alone in the mornings for too long after his operation. Twelve months later I found myself volunteering as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone with my friend Helene every Saturday in May. The wet April weather was replaced with perfect weather for running, the kind of weather that made me determined to get back into running. Thumbs up for another successful Sutton Park parkrun.

Feeling inspired after parkrun, I was researching beginner to 5k training plans when I discovered the ‘This Messy Happy’ channel on YouTube. I decided to give their ‘6 Week Beginner to 5k’ training plan available here a go. I liked the plan because it contains really useful links to strength and conditioning and post-workout stretching videos on YouTube.

The following weekend I walked across Sutton Park and marshalled at the Jamboree Stone with Helene. The following morning I dug out some shorts for the first time in 2023 and met my running buddy Ellen for a walk around Sutton Park.

The weather on the Saturday of the May Bank Holiday weekend was gorgeous so after marshalling at the Jamboree Stone, I treated myself to another ice cream. My Brooks ‘Is it Saturday Morning Yet?’ t-shirt generated a lot of interest.

I’ve not complained about Wolves as this is meant to be a running blog, but as a Wolves supporter, the season ended on a negative note, again. At the end of May, I headed to the Giggling Squid in Mere Green for a belated birthday meal. Apologies for the all-too-predictable photos, I was yet to discover sticky chicken.

After another mixed month from a motivation and mental health perspective I felt it was time for a rants and raves post, I felt a lot better after having a bit of a moan.

June

After a slow first five months of the year, I felt needed something different to hopefully motivate me to record some sort of training every day. I came up with the challenge of seeing how many Royal Mail post boxes I could photograph during June.

The first Saturday in June I marshalled in my usual location near the Jamboree Stone. The following morning I took part in my first organised event in several years, the Royal Sutton Fun Run, with my running buddy Ellen.

This photo sums up how amazing the Royal Sutton Fun Run was. We had the most amazing couple of hours power walking our way around the 8.5 mile course. We smashed our original time target and enjoyed every minute. I headed back to Ellen’s for a BBQ afterward and enjoyed the insight into what normal people do during the weekend.

The improved weather and Royal Mail post box challenge didn’t stop me from reading, and I published my second Books I’ve read recently post  of the year. The recognition my trainers were being worn daily, meant I invested in a second, slightly more reasonably priced pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers.

The amazing June weather continued, and on the second Saturday in June, I walked across Sutton Park and marshalled in my usual location near to the Jamboree Stone with Helene. I’m not sure when or why I got into the habit of always putting my thumbs up whenever I spotted a parkrun photographer.

The following week I tracked down and photographed several Royal Mail post boxes including the oldest post box I found, this ‘VR’ post box near to Four Oaks Tennis Club.

After a week of somewhat stressful meetings about the dry weather situation in the north, I was able to book Friday off as flexi. I met Mum for lunch at the Quill and Taper and ordered the chicken, bacon, and avocado salad. The salad tasted amazing.

The following morning I walked across Sutton Park on a slightly tight right calf and photographed another post box. I marshalled near the start and then power-walked the rest of the course with Ellen. I rather stupidly ran the downhill sections, which wasn’t one of my more sensible decisions as my right calf felt niggly afterward.

During another early Sunday morning walk around Four Oaks and Mere Green I managed to locate and photograph 12 Royal Mail post boxes.

The final weekend in June I walked across Sutton Park, volunteered as a barcode scanner, and completed my 100^th volunteering stint. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the whole morning felt slightly underwhelming. The following morning I met up with Ellen in a very warm Sutton Park for a Sutton Park Gates Run route recce. Once I’d recovered, I headed to the Giggling Squid where I ordered crispy chicken for the first time. It tasted amazing.

A couple of days later I completed the Sutton Park Gates Run after work with Ellen. We got misplaced a couple of times and rather ironically after I’d spent the day in meetings discussing prolonged dry weather also got drenched. We’ll hopefully be back to beat our time this year.

The Royal Sutton Fun Run, Sutton Park Gates Run, and my informal Royal Mail post box challenge walks meant that I smashed my target of walking 100 miles in a month by 20 miles. Although the warm and dry weather meant that work got quite stressful, June was most definitely one of the better months of the year.

July

Like a lot of runners I follow on social media, my July started with a double rejection when in the space of a couple of hours, I was unsuccessful in both the London Marathon and the London Landmarks Half Marathon ballots.

While the London Marathon rejection was completely expected, I’d started looking at hotel options for the weekend of the London Landmarks Half Marathon, so the second rejection was more disappointing.

On the second Saturday in July, I volunteered for the hundredth time at Sutton Park parkrun. Although it was slightly embarrassing having random people cheering me as they ran past my marshalling position, I included three photos from what was a fabulous morning.

Thanks again to Gary for setting up Sutton Park parkrun and to my Sutton Park parkrun family. Without my weekly dose of Sutton Park parkrun, I know for a fact I wouldn’t have got through 2023. I was really struggling at work and would spend my Sunday evenings dreading the week ahead. I wasn’t sure what caused my complete loss of confidence in my ability to do my job, but I’m still dealing with what I think is imposter syndrome.

The following Saturday there were concerns about having to cancel parkrun due to the thunderstorms that had been forecast. The weather forecast changed, and parkrun went ahead. Seven days after three of my favourite photos of 2023 were taken, Rob managed to capture what I’d describe as a reality check photo.

My work-related woes continued the following week when I participated in a two-day Excel Advanced training course. I struggled throughout the two days and felt like a dinosaur compared with everyone else on the training course. Following the completion of my 101^st volunteering stint at Sutton Park parkrun, as it was my niece’s birthday, I headed to the Heart of the Country for lunch at the Creperie. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate there, possibly when I was still at school so a long time ago! It was great to spend time with my family.

The following day I headed back to the Giggling Squid in Mere Green for lunch. One of my 2024 Resolutions is to explore more of the local eating establishments in Mere Green and Lichfield.

I can’t remember why I ended up drinking two rather sugary mocktails, but after spending the rest of the day feeling quite nauseous, it’s not something I’d recommend. At least the sticky chicken and egg fried rice both tasted amazing.

During the final week of July, I travelled up to Warrington and met some of my team and my line manager for the first time. The long day was incredibly tiring, but it felt great to meet some of my team and to work in an office for the first time since 2020. I volunteered as a marshal at the final Sutton Park parkrun of the month and then proceeded to sleepwalk my way around the rest of the course.

After far too many delays, at the end of July I finally started following the Beginner to 5k training plan. A positive end to a month that featured some mental health struggles and a lot of thinking about running and walking but not much in the way of actual exercise.

August

August was a positive month that featured some running. I successfully completed the first week of the Beginner to 5k training plan. Although I quickly discovered my fitness levels were seriously lacking, I was so thrilled to be back doing something that resembled running again, I didn’t care about the torrential rain during the final interval session of the first week of training.

I posted regular updates on my Instagram account and decided to share more detailed progress reports in weekly training posts on this blog. When I was writing this review post last week, I loved being able to look back at my training updates and hope that other runners found my regular updates useful.

I published Week 1 and Week 2 training updates and although I started to feel my running fitness returning, I was a little disappointed this green light remained on green as I approached it.

Illness unfortunately meant I missed the second interval session of the third week of the Beginner to 5k training plan. I incorporated the final training session of the third week of training, a 2km run, into my Saturday morning walk across Sutton Park. Some not very sensible pacing meant I found the 2km run difficult and I didn’t enjoy the final five minutes of the run. I caught up with some of my parkrun buddies, volunteered as a beetroot-faced barcode scanner, walked home, and felt dehydrated for the rest of the day.

I published my Week 3 training update, struggled in incredibly humid conditions to complete the first interval session of Week 4 of the Beginner to 5k training plan. I headed to Warrington for a couple of days and missed the second interval session of the week due to some early morning laziness. This meant I ended up running on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I underestimated my running pace and ended up having to run away from the start of Sutton Park parkrun. I volunteered as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone and left Sutton Park with a mysterious bite on my right leg. On Sunday, I completed a 3km time trial and then met up with some of the Sutton Park parkrun core team to check out a potential new course.

An hour after leaving Sutton Park, I found myself back in the Giggling Squid in Mere Green ordering sticky chicken again.

Although the food tasted amazing, I felt it might be time for a change as I was starting to find the food predictable. The following morning I discovered that the bite on my right leg had doubled in size and my leg felt hot when I touched it. I published my Week 4 training update and decided to take a week break from following the Beginner to 5k to let my right leg recover.

September

September was a positive month, largely because I spent the first two weeks of the month on annual leave. The first weekend of September, I volunteered as a marshal at Sutton Park parkrun on Saturday and took part in another potential course recce with some of the Sutton Park parkrun core team on Sunday.

The first week of my annual leave featured a slightly unexpected heatwave.

A settled week of weather to come for most, with temperatures generally climbing day-on-day, peaking on Wednesday or Thursday pic.twitter.com/1Cd50rZhuH

— Met Office (@metoffice) September 4, 2023

As I’ve never been very good at running in warmer-than-average weather and my right leg was still red and swollen, I decided to postpone restarting the Beginner to 5k. The heatwave didn’t make my appetite disappear, so the first Thursday in September, I met Mum for lunch at the Quill and Taper. The fishfinger sandwich I ordered was the most tasteless sandwich I’ve ever eaten. It was very disappointing.

The first weekend in September I walked across Sutton Park and volunteered as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone with Helene on Saturday morning and met up with Ellen for a walk the following morning. Thanks to my amazing map-reading skills we somehow managed slightly misplaced during our walk. And then the rain made a welcome appearance.

Looking back, the majority of my second week of annual leave was largely slightly underwhelming as I didn’t have plans to do anything. I think the highlight of the week was meeting up with Helene and Ellen for an evening meal. While the food tasted amazing, this would turn out to be my final visit to the Giggling Squid in 2023.

The following morning I walked the short distance to Boots as I’d booked an appointment for my winter flu jab. You may be wondering why I’ve mentioned my winter flu jab in this annual review, all will become clear. On Saturday morning I walked across Sutton Park and was surprised it was dark at 6am and still quite gloomy at 7am. I was left wondering how many more weeks I’d be able to walk to parkrun. I posed for some terrible photos and volunteered as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone.

I took part in a recce of what would become the Sutton Park parkrun course at the end of October. Sutton Park was busy; it was great to see so many people taking part in the Birmingham Running Festival. I ended the weekend feeling gloomy about my lack of running and what I perceived as my wasted fortnight of annual leave.

I returned to work and spent most of the week worrying about the lump under my left armpit which was getting larger and increasingly painful. The walk across Sutton Park that Saturday was stunning but chilly, it felt like the first proper autumnal morning.

A few days later the pain under my left arm got so bad I contacted NHS 111. I explained my symptoms to a doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. I ended the month with more marshalling at the Jamboree Stone.

Although I ended September with a painful lump under my left arm and no running progress, I felt reasonably confident that once the antibiotics had worked their magic, I’d be able to restart the Beginner to 5k training plan.

October

At the start of October, I travelled across Birmingham to Bournville and spent the day at Cadbury World with my brother and his family. My stomach was unfortunately feeling fragile due to the antibiotics I was taking, so I was probably the only person at Cadbury World who didn’t eat any chocolate.

I had my initial appointment with a Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the Westbourne Centre in Edgbaston. The consultant reviewed my x-rays and said he agreed with my dentist; my impacted lower right wisdom tooth needed to be removed as soon as possible as it was damaging the tooth next to it. I completed my course of antibiotics and my arm started to feel normal again.

I walked across a rather dark Sutton Park to Banners Gate and volunteered as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone. I made sure I appreciated every minute of the walk and took a lot of photos, as I was aware I’d have to switch to an alternative, less scenic but slightly lighter route the following week.

The following morning I volunteered as a marshal at the test event for the new Sutton Park parkrun course. Two days later, when my alarm woke me at 5am, I decided to postpone restarting the Beginner to 5k for another week. I started to seriously question if I actually wanted to start running again.

The last week of the original Sutton Park parkrun course starting at Banners Gate, it was so wet, that I stupidly opted to wear my work boots to walk across Sutton Park. Two miles into my four-mile walk I could tell both of my heels were being shredded to pieces, again. I hobbled to my marshalling spot at the infamous turnaround point and sheltered under a tree in an attempt to avoid the rain while I took some dreadful selfies.

By the time I’d hobbled back to Longmoor Pool, my heels were so painful I was struggling to walk. Ellen very kindly giving me a lift home most definitely saved the day and my heels. The next day I met up with my family for Mum’s surprise 70^th birthday lunch at the Shrewsbury Arms in Kingstone. The lunch was a great success and, most importantly, a surprise.

I finally found the Birmingham office and spent the day in a face-to-face workshop. I loved spending time with people, the day made me realise just how isolated I’d been feeling for a long time. I got to check out Ozzy on the way home.

The final Saturday in October saw the first week of the new and improved Sutton Park parkrun course starting from Boldmere Gate. I walked across a very dark Sutton Park to Boldmere Gate and then walked to my marshal location near the Ford at Wyndley Gate.

On the final day of the month, I completed the first interval session of the Couch to 5k. Although my aerobic fitness felt fine, both of my shins felt quite painful for some reason, and I didn’t enjoy the majority of the interval session.

November

The first Thursday of the month I struggled to complete the second interval session of the Couch to 5k. I’d never had problems with my shins before, but for some reason, both of my shins felt even more painful. That Saturday I marshalled at possibly the wettest ever Sutton Park parkrun.

The following morning I completed Week 1 of the Couch to 5k. Rather randomly, my shins and calf muscles felt a lot better. Despite this, I decided not to publish a weekly training update as I wasn’t feeling confident I’d be able to make much progress with the Couch to 5k.

I spent the day down in London at a hydrology conference. It was amazing to catch up with some of the people I worked with in Wallingford, and I met some hydrology colleagues for the first time.

Although my legs were still feeling what I’d describe as quite niggly, I successfully completed the first interval session of week 2 of the Couch to 5k. Another temporary loss of running mojo meant that I managed to miss the second interval session of the week. That weekend I walked across Sutton Park to Boldmere Gate. The weather was stunning, such a contrast to the previous. I marshalled near the Ford at Wyndley Gate again and discovered it was quite chilly in the shade.

Early the next morning I completed Week 2 of the Couch to 5k and was once again reminded I’m more of a morning runner.

The following Saturday, a lot of overnight rain meant my walk to Boldmere Gate was quite entertaining. I marshalled at the Ford at Wyndley Gate again and for the second weekend in a row got quite cold standing around in the shade. After a lot of consideration – my anxiety seems to make saying ‘yes’ to anything difficult – I said I’d love to join Sutton Park parkruns core team. I completed Week 3 of the Couch to 5k and reminded myself the training was about to get harder.

On the final Friday of the month, I returned to the Westbourne Centre in Edgbaston for my wisdom tooth extraction. The procedure itself went well and was quick and painless.

Unfortunately, once the anaesthetic wore off, I was in so much pain I ended up spending the day in bed. Such a waste of a day of annual leave. I missed parkrun the following morning for the first time I could remember as I was in a lot of pain. Little did I know my mouth would continue to be painful for over a week. I decided to postpone restarting the Couch to 5k to allow my mouth to recover.

I shared The True Cost of Running: the 2023 edition and once again felt slightly embarrassed when I saw the grand total. Not for the first time, I seriously considered giving up blogging as it does feel like blogging has had its day.

December

I opened the first door of my Runners Advent Calendar and must admit I was slightly underwhelmed to find a single running sock behind the first door. I bought myself a parkrun thermal robe, so much for not making any more running-related purchases, and the following morning missed Sutton Park parkrun for the second Saturday in a row. I had an amazing time on the Polar Express at Foxfield Railway.

As the month progressed, I started to struggle with motivation to do anything and I rarely left the house. My mental health started to deteriorate as I fell into the comparison trap, and I spent far too much time looking at other people’s social media highlights reels on social media. I decided to delay restarting the Couch to 5k for another week as I was still struggling with the site of my recent wisdom tooth extraction.

The second Saturday of December I was woken by torrential rain. I got drenched walking across Sutton Park to Boldmere Gate and didn’t massively enjoy marshalling in the rain. Once I’d recovered from parkrun, in an attempt to make myself feel more festive, I spent the rest of the day wrapping Christmas presents, writing Christmas cards, and watching Home Alone. The following day I helped put up some Christmas decorations at Mums.

That Friday, I activated my ‘out of office’ and locked away my work laptop for three weeks. The following morning I volunteered as a tail walker at Sutton Park parkrun and then headed to the Chase Farm Café for breakfast. That evening, I joined the rest of the Sutton Park parkrun core team for a Christmas meal and drinks in Boldmere.

After a couple more failed attempts at running, I decided to postpone restarting the Couch to 5k until the New Year. Following a walk in some of the windiest conditions I’ve encountered, I treated Mum and Colin to lunch at the Quill and Taper, the food tasted amazing.

I volunteered as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone, and as it was nearly Christmas, I dug out my most festive bobble hat and t-shirt.

On Christmas Day I volunteered as a marshal at Jamboree Stone for the second time in three days. The atmosphere in Sutton Park was amazing. Everyone I spoke to wished me either a ‘Merry Christmas’ or a ‘Happy Christmas’. I was handed a Christmas card and chocolate by a parkrunner. Such a lovely gesture, thank you.

I walked back home, got changed into some slightly more sensible attire, and then spent the rest of Christmas Day eating, drinking, and watching TV.

What should have been my last walk across Sutton Park to Boldmere Gate in 2023 didn’t go to plan when a strange pain in my left foot resulted in me hobbling back home in tears. I ended up getting a lift to Boldmere Gate so that I could once again volunteer as a marshal at the Jamboree Stone.

And what about Christmas? I can’t really review December without talking about the Christmas period. I was able to spend time with my family and friends and managed to avoid getting ill the day before Christmas Day. I didn’t decorate my house again and I failed to assemble the Lego Home Alone house I bought in 2022. Hopefully, it’ll be a case of third Christmas lucky.

 Christmas Day 2023 was a huge contrast to Christmas Day 2022 when I managed to make myself feel more isolated than ever. I volunteered as a marshal at Sutton Park parkrun and then walked home. I spent the rest of Christmas Day with Mum and Colin in my childhood home. I drank too much bubbly, ate far too much food, and watched far too much TV. The early morning start and fresh air in Sutton Park eventually caught up with me as I ended up ‘resting my eyes’ while watching ‘The Italian Job’. I was able to catch up with my brother and his family on Boxing Day and spent the day yesterday with my sister. Such a contrast to Christmas 2022.

 I always like to approach the end of each year feeling positive about the next 12 months, so I’ve set myself some running, walking, and parkrun goals for 2024. I’ve also set myself some life goals, and although I’m not planning on sharing these goals, one of my main goals is a repeat goal from 12 months ago. I want to finally get my foot on the bottom rung of the property ladder. It’s going to be challenging and I’m going to have to move away from Four Oaks but I’m feeling more confident than I was a year ago.

Looking back, 2023 was another difficult year for me. I once again spent far too much time feeling completely alone and overwhelmed. I spent far too much time doubting my ability to do my job. At times I didn’t think I’d make it through the next day let alone the rest of the year. Although I shared some of the not-so-positive moments on this blog and on social media, when my life got really tough, I shut myself away and distanced myself from my friends and family.

My running mojo completely disappeared after illness meant I had to stop following the Couch to 5k a second time, and although *touch wood* I’m not currently injured, I keep delaying heading out the door and restarting the Couch to 5k. My monthly running (purple), cycling (green), and walking (red) bars illustrate how the focus of my training varied throughout 2023. I think it’s safe to say I’ve had another somewhat underwhelming year.

Although my training was once again inconsistent – I’d describe myself as consistently inconsistent – I ran when I wanted to and was finding running enjoyable and walked when I was unable to run. I was sensible and stopped running when I needed to.

I’m going to conclude my review of 2023 more or less the same way I concluded my 2020, 2021 and 2022 reviews. I may sound selfish, but I hope that I have a less injury-filled 2024. 

What was the running highlight of 2023 for you? 

What are your running and fitness goals for 2024?

I’m also aware that approximately four weeks ago I said that November was going to be what I described as a ‘blogworthy’ month and that I was aiming to publish a few posts. Talk about expectation vs reality, my blogging mojo continued to be pretty much non-existent, and I experienced a couple of quite unpleasant migraines. After spending over eight hours a day on my work computer, I decided to give my eyes a break from staring at a screen in the evenings.

My blogging mojo has returned – I’ve handwritten a couple of posts and just need to get them typed up – so if everything goes to plan and my migraines stay away, I’m aiming to complete and publish some slightly overdue race(?) and product reviews and life updates.

If you read the three personal challenge posts I published at the beginning of the year, you’ll be aware that I set myself some money-saving challenges for 2021.

[Source]

If you haven’t read these posts, please check them out; Challenge 1 | Challenge 2 | Challenge 3

Challenge 1: Will I be able to get through the year without buying any new clothes and shoes?

Although I’ve failed this challenge a few times, I decided to continue to share monthly updates as I’ve always tried to be open and honest on this blog. I also had a theory that if I continued with the monthly updates, I’d be more likely to stay away from Long Tall Sally, Dorothy Perkins et al.

I’m pleased to report that I managed to avoid treating myself to any new clothes and shoes. I’m not counting the jumper I bought my sister for Christmas from Ginger & Jardine as a fail. I can’t share a link to the jumper here as it’s a Christmas present, but I think my sister will like what I’ve chosen.

[Source]

Whereas in previous years I would have found some of the ‘Black Friday’ offers and discounts impossible to resist, this year I deleted all of the seemingly never-ending emails and didn’t buy anything.

Challenge 2: Can this shopaholic get through the year without entering any races and without buying any more running clothes?

The combination of my ongoing knee niggles, parkrun, and the Autumn Miles for Mind mileage target I set myself meant that throughout November, the race and medal #FOMO both stayed away.

After getting outside most days and walking 75 miles during November, this month I’m aiming to walk 100 km between now and Christmas Day. Fingers crossed the weather is kind and I’m able to continue with my lunchtime walks and strolls around the Sutton Park parkrun route each Saturday.

[Photo: Vicki Hart]

I’ve always found the second element of this challenge more difficult than the first. After finally becoming a member of the parkrun 50 and the Volunteer 50 clubs, I could have treated myself to two parkrun milestone t-shirts. I didn’t treat myself because I’m the proud owner of the Nike parkrun 50 t-shirt my friend gave to me a long time ago. So, despite parkrun sending me several emails, no running clothes were purchased during November.

Challenge 3: Can I make £2021 in 2021 through a selection of side hustles and other sources of income such as cashback websites?

And finally, how much money did I manage to make through my various side hustles and other sources of income? Was November more successful than the previous three months? Did my selling mojo make a reappearance? As in previous months, I’ve listed each side-hustle and source of income individually.

 Selected side hustles

• Prolific Academic surveys – £0.00
• eBay sales – £0.00
• Facebook Marketplace sales – £103.08
• Sponsored blog posts – £0.00

 Other sources of income

• Overtime at work – £0.00
• Share dividends – £31.00
• Interest from bank accounts – £0.63
• TopCashback cashback – £10.29
• Vouchers from points and gift cards – £5.50
• Competition wins – £0.00
• Freebies – £0.00
• Roadkill finds – £0.67
• Random – £3.00

November total: £154.17

Rolling 2021 total: £3142.30

November wasn’t the most successful of months. Despite this, I’ve worked out that I’m still just about on track to meet the new, more challenging target I set myself a few months ago.

The aims I set myself for November were in theory reasonably straightforward and achievable. I started the month with the aim of selling at least 20 items on eBay and Facebook. Although I had to limit the amount of time I spent online in the evenings, I still managed to sell nine items on Facebook including a woolly hat, a couple of LED armbands and a couple of base layers that were too small for me. These sales added £103. 08 to my November total.

As for my other sources of income, after a couple of good months, my share dividends only added £31.00 to my November total. I was reminded just how lucky I am to be a shareholder, and how much I would have struggled to get anywhere near my £2021 target without my share dividends. I’m not looking forward to selling my shares next year. The interest from my bank accounts contributed £0.63 to my November total. I cashed out £10.29 from my TopCashback account and redeemed some of my Nectar and Boots points and saved £5.50. Although it felt like I spent a lot of time walking around Four Oaks, I only managed to rescue £0.67 worth of roadkill.

And what about the all-important ‘random’ category? I’m still carless, so I continued with my Ocado food deliveries and returned £3.00 worth of carrier bags. Writing this has just reminded me that I need to place another Ocado order as I’m rapidly running out of food.

Now that I’ve reviewed November, it’s time for me to look ahead to the final month of 2021.

After throwing what I’d describe as a mini strop last month and stating that I doubted that I’d continue to complete studies on Prolific Academic, I changed my mind when the issue I’d had with a researcher was resolved. It will be interesting to see how many studies I manage to complete this month. I have a feeling that Prolific Academic won’t be very ‘prolific’ due to the festive period so if I manage to complete £20 worth of studies, I’ll be happy.

Last month, my selling mojo made a welcome return, this month I’m aiming once again to sell at least 20 items on eBay and Facebook. I’ve got a few bits and pieces listed on eBay at the moment and need to list some more once I’ve taken some photos when it’s light, hopefully, a few items will sell. I’ve got a pile of running gear I’m never going to wear again as it’s shrunk in the wash to list in a couple of selling groups on Facebook.

And finally, I hope that you enjoyed reading this quick(ish) update as much as I enjoyed writing it

Did you have a good November? Are you looking forward to the forthcoming festive period?

Would you buy and wear second-hand running gear or trainers? People seem to have mixed opinions about this so I’d love to hear your views.

It’s been almost a year since I last attempted to complete the Couch to 5k. If you’re new to this blog, I completed the penultimate interval run of the final week of the Couch to 5k, turned a knee niggle into a knee injury, and spent the majority of the next 12 months injured and unable to run. After a couple of false starts, last week I decided that it was a case of now or never, so here I am.

Once again, I’ve decided to produce weekly updates as people have said that they really enjoy reading my training (and life) updates. On a more selfish note, I know that based on previous experience, writing these weekly updates will help to motivate me and to get me out of the door. As always, I can’t guarantee that these updates will be interesting or that they will contain eye-catching photos, but I promise to be completely open and honest and to share the highs and lows.

I decided to start again with the Couch to 5k training plan that is available on the NHS Live Well website. The Couch to 5k training plan I followed last year was spread over seven weeks, the version I’m following this time is spread over nine weeks.

The Couch to 5k website provided the following information about the runs in Week 1:

Like last time, I supplemented the three Couch to 5k interval sessions with two cross training sessions and two rest days. Each interval session started with a 5-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool down. Cross training sessions comprised of low intensity 30 minute training sessions on my exercise bike. Most importantly, I placed a lot of importance on strength and conditioning.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

When I started sharing weekly Couch to 5k updates a year ago, I was struggling to get to grips with working from home. Fast forward 12 months and I’m still working from home and it’s likely I’ll be working from home for the remainder of 2021. A year ago, I had concerns about my fixed-term contract and finding a new job. Fast forward 12 months and I have a new permanent job. I still feel isolated quite a lot of the time but my new team are amazing and are incredibly supportive.

Apologies for the random waffle! After spending most of the day reading drought related reports – always fun when it’s raining – I closed down my work laptop, got changed and got straight on my exercise bike.

I’m yet to upgrade my exercise bike so in order to make the 30 minutes slightly more interesting, I tend to watch Bike the World videos on YouTube. On Monday I got to ‘cycle’ towards Milford Sound in New Zealand.

I found the 30 minutes difficult and was doing a great impression of a beetroot when I got off my exercise bike. I realised it was over a week since I’d last done any exercise as my first Covid vaccine had left me with very little energy and an elevated resting heart rate. I must admit that this cross training session left me questioning my ability to complete even the shortest of runs.

All things considered, the remainder of my Monday was productive. I arranged to volunteer at the Birmingham Running Festival which took place in Sutton Park yesterday. I responded to some blog related admin and made a start on a product review. And finally, as I didn’t want to spend the majority of the time staring at my left wrist, I uploaded the first Couch to 5k interval session onto my Garmin.

Tuesday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

12 months ago, when I attempted the first interval session of the Couch to 5k, my main concern was bumping into other people. Last Tuesday, I had three concerns; my left knee, bumping into other people, and my lack of fitness. My left knee felt fine throughout the 20 minutes. I’ve been warned that it will never be 100% pain free, however, on Tuesday my left knee felt great. By running at 5:30am it was so quiet I was able to run in the road, and I found running for 60 seconds quite easy.

After completing my 5 minute cool down walk, I took some terrible photos, walked home, stretched, had a drink, shared my post run thoughts on Instagram, and lay on my bed feeling slightly overwhelmed. I felt even more overwhelmed when I saw all the lovely comments on my post.

I started work at 7am and spent most of the day in meetings. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I don’t feel like I get much done when I have a lot of meetings. Having to stare at my iPhone screen – Teams doesn’t work on my laptop – for five hours left me feeling like I needed to give my eyes a break. I finished work at 4:30pm and headed straight to bed for a quick nap. The nap seemed to recharge my batteries as the rest of my evening was productive.

Wednesday – Rest

Some things never change. As this weekly update is already turning into one of my essays, I’ll keep my Wednesday update short. Work was a little stressful and I finished much later than planned, I sold a couple of items on Facebook, I did another two loads of washing, and I spent an hour reading Running in the Midpack.

Thursday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

I woke before 5am and decided to complete the second interval session slightly earlier than originally planned. I was amazed to see several dog walkers and a fair amount of traffic; it actually felt busier at 5am than it did at 6am on Tuesday. I can only assume that a lot of people don’t have the option of working from home. Anyway, back to the 20 minute interval session. After three sensibly paced run intervals, I started to speed up when I spotted a dog walker. Talk about being stupid after spending such a long time not running due to a knee injury.

My left knee niggled a couple of times during the final 90 second walk but felt fine during the 5 minute cool down walk. When I got home, I posted a quick update on Instagram and then spent 30 minutes working through my strength and conditioning exercises. Most people would have probably headed back to bed for an hour. I didn’t feel tired so I decided to start work at 6am.

After a productive morning, I found the afternoon a struggle as I felt quite tired after only getting 5 hours’ sleep. I don’t think spending hours staring at my laptop screen helped. Once again, I finished work at 4:30pm and treated myself to a quick power nap. I had a reasonably productive evening and listed and sold a pair of calf sleeves and arm warmers on Facebook. I’d been meaning to sell my unwanted running gear for ages so it felt good to make a couple of sales.

Friday – Rest

I think the main highlight of Friday was having a quick FaceTime with a couple of my ex-colleagues from Wallingford. Once we’ve all had our second vaccines, I’m hoping to spend a few days down in Wallingford. I’m going to sound incredibly selfish, but I’ll be devastated if the new variant disrupts the planned easing of lockdown in June.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

Although I didn’t continue my virtual cycle ride towards Milford Sound in New Zealand on Saturday morning, I did spend several hours cleaning my house from top to bottom. I’m hoping that housework counts as a form of cross training. My Fitbit definitely seemed to think that I’d completed a workout!

The rest of my Saturday was so mundane I won’t bore you all to tears with the details. I think it’s safe to say that I can’t wait for parkrun to restart and that I’m looking forward to my local Bistrot Pierre fully reopening.

Sunday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

Once again, I woke before my alarm and decided to complete my interval session slightly earlier than planned. I also decided to change my route and to run past the local Nature Reserve. Have you ever pretty much instantly regretted your decision making? I got chased by some rather aggressive geese as I ran past the Nature Reserve, and it felt like every 60 second run interval coincided with a hill. I also committed the basic error of miscounting how many intervals I’d completed. Still, it was a beautiful morning and my left knee didn’t grumble too much.

At 7am, I left the house for a second time and walked across Sutton Park to the location of the start of the Birmingham Running Festival. Sutton Park looked stunning and I as I’d done my usual trick of completely overestimating how long it would take me to walk a couple of miles, I stopped to take a few photos. I’ve never seen swans move so fast, one minute they were at the far side of the pool, the next they were getting out of the pool looking for bread.

I loved volunteering at the Birmingham Running Festival and I think the event was a success. For a few hours, it felt like life had returned to something resembling normality. I was given a strange selection of tasks which included, stocking up the portaloos with loo roll (they were all very well stocked so I’ve no idea why I was asked to do this), making sure runners were socially distanced in the start area, handing out medals to the male and female winners of the half marathon, 10k and 5k events (slightly confusing given the different start times and having three events running at once), and helping to tidy up at the end. The medals were epic; I hope I’m able to earn myself a medal next year.

The highlight of the morning was getting to catch up with quite a few people from Sutton Park parkrun. I just hope that parkrun is able to return soon. At the moment, it’s not looking positive. I’m waffling on again and I need to order my weekly Chinese takeaway treat, so I’ll end this weekly update here.

Week two of the Couch to 5k training plan looks reasonably straightforward, I’m confident I’ll be able to run for 90 seconds at a time. I just need to remember to be sensible and to run at a pace that I can maintain.

Training totals

• Runs: 3 (out of 3)
• Time: 1 hr 0 mins
• Distance: 4.74 miles

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 2/10
• Left knee: 3/10
• Right foot: 2/10

Did you have a good weekend? Did you do anything exciting? Did you take part in an organised event?

 When do you think parkrun will return? I don’t think parkrun will return on June 5^th but I’d love it to return a few weeks later.

In a break from my personal challenge and goals posts, I thought I’d share a press release the Fix Events team sent me last week. Before I share the details of the virtual run, I thought I’d share some information about the event organisers; Fix Events.

An introduction to Fix Events

Fix Events is one of the leading multisport event management companies in the UK, with over 11 years experience, hosting over 70+ annual events including running, triathlons, corporate and charity events. Fix Events run standalone events under the Fix Events name and also create successful series such as MoRunning. Fix Events also host charity events such as the Go Dad Runs inspired by Colin Jackson, the Use Your Senses series in aid of Guide Dogs UK and the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Run Series.

So now let me introduce you to a great new virtual run challenge; Birmingham UNITED We Run.

About Birmingham UNITED We Run

Birmingham Runners, it’s time to get outdoors and be part of a run challenge that unites the city and promotes health, fitness, well-being and a positive, fun run.

Join this virtual run wherever you live in Birmingham. Entry is FREE. Inspire and motivate all your family, friends and work colleagues to join this challenge. Start your training and on the 20th February – the official Birmingham UNITED We Run day – we want you to get out and smash your best run.

This is all about having a focus, uniting Birmingham and being part of something that is good for all!

When you sign up you can purchase a stunning medal to add to your collection. The event organisers will post these medals out so you hopefully receive them before the run challenge day. When you buy one of these medals, the event organisers will also include one of their Winter Warmer Buffs for Free!

Birmingham UNITED We Run Runners Receive:

• Online profile where you upload your run time along with regular updates
• View your challenge stats, view our leader board and our overall country running stats
• Partner offers and benefits
• Motivational training advice, videos and more
• Offers and discounts to future Fix Events

If you love collecting running medals as much as I do, the organisers have included the option of adding a UNITED We Run medal to your collection for only £7.00.

Please not that these medals are limited in availability.

How to enter

For more detailed information and to enter the event, please check out the dedicated Birmingham UNITED We Run event page here.

**Full disclosure: I didn’t receive monetary payment for promoting the Birmingham UNITED We Run event. All photographs were provided by Fix Events**

Although I want to save as much money as I can, this isn’t the only reason I want to get through 2021 without entering any races and without buying more running clothes. I care a lot about the environment. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life working in water resources; trying to enhance and to protect our rivers and streams. Despite this, I’ve definitely been guilty of entering races purely for the race t-shirt.

The environmental cost of manufacturing a t-shirt is huge. It takes the same amount of water that a person drinks in 2.5 years to make a single cotton T-shirt, plus over 2kg of eCO2 [Source: Trees not Tees]. Currently, over 5% of the UK’s total annual carbon and water footprints result from clothing consumption [Source: ReRun Clothing]. Every year in the UK, it is estimated that 300,000 tonnes of used clothing go to landfill. [Source: ReRun Clothing]. The average life of a running shoe on our feet is 4 – 6 months, if sent to a landfill they then hang around for a further 11,994 months before beginning to decompose [Source: ReRun Clothing].

So, with two exceptions – physio sessions and my running Club fees – I’m aiming to spend nothing on running this year. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. That means spending no money entering races and spending no money buying running clothes, trainers, accessories, etc. I don’t need any more running stuff. I suspect that I have enough running clothes to last me for the rest of my life.

When I worked out how much I’d spent on what I call running-related purchases last year, I had a huge wake-up call. The total was so much more than I had predicted, I doubled-checked everything to ensure I hadn’t got my sums wrong. I hadn’t, and I’d somehow managed to spend £1481.11 in a year that for me featured no actual races, a couple of virtual runs, and a spot of parkrun volunteering. Some of the more expensive purchases were what I’ve previously described as one-off purchases, I guess I could describe them as investments. However, the majority were what I’d describe as non-essential purchases, the type of impulse purchases I tend to make when I’ve seen something advertised online or in an email.

[Source]

I have zero willpower, so I’ve unsubscribed from what feels like dozens of email lists. I’ve also stopped following several running brands and events on social media. If I need to temporarily stop following members of the Brooks Run Happy and Asics Frontrunner teams I will. It’s nothing personal, but I need to avoid as many sources of potential temptation as possible. I hope that it will be a case of out of sight, out of mind.

As I love nothing more than proving people wrong, I ran a quick and simple poll on Instagram. 91% of the people who responded didn’t think I’d get through 2021 without spending anything on running-related purchases. To be honest I thought it would be 100%.

Anyway, I’m waffling on as per usual, apologies. I’ve split this challenge into two parts: entering races and buying running clothes.

Entering races

I’ve lost count of the number of races I’ve entered and subsequently DNS due to a combination of running injuries, unreliable friends, and an inability to motivate myself to drag my lazy arse out of bed.

I feel confident that I’ll find this aspect of the challenge relatively easy. Last year, most of the races I’d entered were unfortunately cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This means that in theory, I already have a place in five races; the Cathedral to Castle run, the Market Drayton 10k, the Vitality London 10,000, the Richmond Half Marathon, and the Wheaton Aston 10k.

And knowing me, a few other races I’ve forgotten I entered. I look forward to receiving a couple of unexpected race numbers in the post, it happens most years.

I have a sneaky suspicion, however, that unless the situation with Covid-19 improves, some of these races won’t be able to take place this year. I hope that I’m wrong, but I can see a lot of races being either postponed or cancelled. My ‘rules’ prevent me from spending money on public transport to and from races and on accommodation. This means I’m only going to be able to travel to local races, so I’ll have to DNS the Vitality London 10,000 and the Richmond Half Marathon if these races go ahead.

A second year without any organised races medals sounds shit, but I have a cunning plan. If parkrun returns, I’ll be running rather than volunteering. After running injuries last year meant my running was severely limited, I think concentrating my efforts on the 5k distance is sensible. In addition, one of my goals last year was to complete my 50th parkrun. Covid-19 and the cancellation of parkrun clearly meant I couldn’t achieve this goal, hopefully, 2021 will be the year I get to wear the red 50 t-shirt I was given a few years ago.

So, I’m reasonably confident I’ll be able to avoid entering any races this year. If I find myself experiencing serious race or medal #FOMO, I’ll read some of my race reviews and admire some of my medals.

Buying running clothes 

During the lockdown, I spent some time sorting through the running clothes, running accessories, and trainers I’d put in storage in the loft. I found running tights I’d forgotten about, running tops I’d never worn, heart rate monitor straps, phone holders, shorts I bought at the 2006 London Marathon Expo I should have thrown away years ago, and three pairs of unworn trainers. When I feel more confident heading to the Post Office, I’ll be attempting to sell some of the running clothes I know I’ll never wear.

I completed what I’d describe as an informal inventory of my running clothes and accessories to work out if I needed to buy anything before starting the challenge, and discovered I’m the proud owner of:

Running Clothes

• 7 x vests
• 21 x short-sleeved tops
• 5 x long-sleeved tops
• 5 x crop tops
• 3 x gilets
• 2 x jackets
• 2 x skorts
• 9 x shorts
• 4 x capris
• 4 x tights

Accessories

• 1 x cap
• 3 x visors
• 4 x head bands
• 2 x gloves
• 3 x bobble hats
• 1 x arm sleeves
• 18 x socks
• 2 x compression socks
• 2 x compression sleeves
• 1 x sunglasses
• 1 x hydration vest
• 1 x running rucksack
• 1 x Garmin 220
• 1 x Garmin235
• 1 x Fitbit Charge 4
• 1 x Trekz Air headphones

After completing the inventory, I decided that I could probably do with a couple more crop tops, headed onto TK Maxx, and took advantage of the women’s activewear clearance sale. I didn’t include my trainers in my informal inventory, but unless a gait analysis recommends I switch from Brooks Adrenalines to something else, I won’t need to buy any trainers this year.

Due to the washing machine shrinking things – it’s so irritating when this happens – I can’t physically squeeze into a few of my running tops and shorts. Despite this, I’m confident that I have more than enough running clothes, running accessories, and trainers to get me through not just this year, but also the next 10 years! If I continue to lose weight, I’ll have even more running clothes to wear.

I’m going to finish this by apologising in advance for what may well be another 12 months of writing a running blog that contains no race reports. I also want to apologise in advance if my race #FOMO rears its ugly head. And finally, running brands and race organisers, I’m sorry if I unsubscribe from your emails and stop following you on social media. I’m just doing my best to avoid temptation.

Have you ever tried to get through a year without buying any running clothes? I suspect I’ll find it difficult, but I hope that by regularly reminding myself of the reasons I’m attempting this challenge, I’ll manage to avoid entering races and buying running clothes.

Have you ever done an inventory of your running clothes, running accessories, and trainers? I didn’t expect to find 18 pairs of socks and 21 short-sleeved tops.

Last week I was asked if I’d be willing to promote a new virtual running event organised by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; the I Love the 80s Virtual Run. Unfortunately, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has lost a lot of income that supports people living with lung cancer due to postponed and cancelled events such as the Great North Run and the London Marathon. The charity has been using virtual runs to try and replace some of the income they have lost, including the I Love the 80s Virtual Run.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is celebrating all things 80s during its I love the 80s virtual run –  the decade the UK’s most iconic races London Marathon and Great North run were born.

I Love the 80s Virtual Run

The 80s was a decade of big hair, cassette tapes, and some legendary TV shows – who can forget how good Only Fools and Horses was?! – so we are delighted you have chosen to celebrate the 80s decade next as part of our Retro Running series.

We’re inviting you to grab your hair spray, pull on your leg warmers and take to the streets listening to our totally rad 80s playlist as you complete your distance.

The 80s virtual run is the second decade, as part of our Retro running series we are visiting throughout 2020 and takes you one step closer to earning the exclusive Ultimate Retro running medal.

Simply sign up to one of the following distances, choose if you would like to complete your run in one go or over several days and complete your run throughout August.

• 5k
• 10k
• Half marathon
• Full marathon

Please note that all medals will be sent out at the end of August no matter when you complete the event, so anyone who completes their run at the start of the month please bear in mind your medal won’t be posted until the end of August when the 80s run finishes.

Every supporter that takes part will receive access to the ultimate 80s playlist, 80s event page, where you will find competitions, votes, and more as well as an exclusive 80s retro medal once the run is complete.

Even better, anyone who raises or donates £25 will receive an exclusive I Love the 80s technical top at the end of August with your 80s medal.

Why not sign up for the complete Retro Running Series?

Don’t want to miss out on any of the decades featuring the Retro Running Series? Why not sign up for each decade.

You can now sign up for every decade in the series, consisting of four or five races depending if you completed the I Love the 90s run.

Register now from just £24 with £150 minimum sponsorship. Find out more on our Retro Running Series page.

London Marathon and Great North Run Prize Draw

We can’t just thank the 80s for giving us Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake, it’s also the decade that gave birth to two of the UK’S most iconic races; the London Marathon and the Great North Run.

To celebrate, every person who enters the 80s Retro Run or the Retro Running Series will be entered into a prize draw. Two people will then be drawn, one to get a 2021 London Marathon place and the other to get a 2021 Great North Run place.

As well as your entry for signing up to the 80s run or running series, you can receive an additional entry for each of the following reasons, meaning each runner can get up to three entries:

• Sharing the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation 80s Retro Run through social media by tagging @roycastlelungcancer on Facebook or taking a screenshot of your post and emailing to sport@roycastle.org
• Setting up a Just Giving Page and receiving at least one donation. You can set up your Just Giving Page by clicking

To view the full terms and conditions of the draw, click Terms and Conditions.

**Please note that all medals and the I love the 80s technical top will be sent out at the end of August no matter when you complete the event, so anyone who completes their run at the start of August won’t receive a medal until the end of August**

Sign up options

• Register for the race only – £9
• Register for the race plus an I Love the 80s technical top – £25
• Register for all five decades of the Retro Running Series – £30 plus £150 minimum sponsorship – please visit the Retro Running Series page
• Register for four decades of the Retro Running Series (if you’ve done the 90s race) – £24 plus £150 minimum sponsorship – please visit the Retro Running Series page.

All prices include medals for each decade. Please note: you don’t need to get in touch if you would like to change your distance as your medal isn’t distance specific.

If you have any questions please visit the FAQ page.

Before I launch into a review of the Shenstone Fun Run, I need to rewind back to Saturday evening. Let’s just say a two-hour shopping session – sorry feet – and three pints of beer – sorry head – weren’t the best pre-race preparation. I doubt this pre-race routine will ever feature in Runner’s World et al.

When my alarm woke me on Sunday, my head felt a little fuzzy and I was thirsty. A couple of cups of tea and pint of water didn’t do much to alleviate the thirst, not a good sign before a 10k. My pre-race routine went something like; drink tea, nervous wee, make myself eat some Weetabix, shower, get dressed, productive loo visit, drink more tea, another nervous wee, struggle to pin race number to t-shirt, pack bag, have bonus nervous wee and then leave the house. By the time I left the house, I was feeling a lot better and was looking forward to the prospect of taking part in an organised event for the first time this year. The weather was pretty much perfect and my right knee felt completely niggle-free.

I met my running buddy Ellen at the train station, we got on a train and four minutes later reached Shenstone. Quite possibly the most straight-forward I’ve ever had to an event. We walked the short distance to the Race HQ, Ellen collected her number, dropped our bags and then realised we had a lot of time to kill before the start of the run. After spending a bit time chatting and avoiding the drizzle, we decided to track down some loos. Although there was a ladies loo inside Race HQ, there was an impressive queue of female runners waiting, so we decided to have a look around the centre of Shenstone.

I spent a lot of time in Shenstone up to the age of 16 because my grandparents lived there. I suspect I bored Ellen to tears with my “that used to be an HSBC”, “that used to be a greengrocers”, “that used to be a chemists” type observations. Even the library had changed; what used to be the children’s books section was now a cafe area with an amazing selection of homemade cakes. We both decided that a cake would make the perfect post-run reward and told the library volunteers we would definitely be back later. As an added bonus, the library had loos with no queues so we both made the most of the facilities.

The 10k was scheduled to start at 11:00 so at 10:50 we both joined the back of the pack so to speak. After a quick warm-up, we were sent on our way. The 10k route had changed as was advertised as flat and fast so I was a little surprised to find myself running up several short but quite steep hills in the first mile. We headed out of Shenstone past my grandparents’ old house and into the countryside. It took me less than 15 minutes to be reminded of my complete loss of fitness and my fragile right knee. I was struggling to run at Ellen’s pace so slowed down to what was almost a walk. Sorry Ellen!

By the third mile, I felt shattered. I’m not sure if it was the humidity, my lack of food the previous evening, my lack of training or a combination of the three but I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other. I was also struggling a little mentally and started to just want the 10k fun(?) run to end. I’m pretty sure that had the course allowed me to, I would have called it a day there and then.

The second three miles were what I’d describe as undulating. It suddenly seemed to get warm and I was grateful the organisers had provided several water stations. After a quick consultation with Ellen we switched to a strategy of running for four minutes and then walking for a minute. Walking after 5k didn’t make me feel very good about myself but I had to do something to make sure that I actually finished and made it back to Shenstone.

After an hour or so of ‘running’ my temperamental right knee decided to remind me that it didn’t appreciate me running downhill; it was pain-free on the numerous small uphill sections, but very painful on the downhill sections. Awesome, thanks knee! I was not a happy bunny at this stage. Running past a collapsed runner who was receiving treatment gave me the kick up the arse and reality check I so desperately needed. Although I didn’t suddenly turn into Little Miss Happy, I was reminded that I’m lucky to be able to run and that my knee issue was likely to be a temporary setback rather than a long-term injury.

[Photo: Shenstone Fun Run]

We eventually – sorry again Ellen – reached the bridge next to Shenstone train station, ran past ‘Rocket Ron’ who had his camera with him but wasn’t actually taking any photos. Slightly strange but I suspect he wasn’t one of the official race photographers and was only taking photos of members of his running club. We both ‘sprinted’ towards the finish line, posed for the official photographer, collected our medals and some water and then spotted some of Ellen’s club mates. While Ellen caught up with her club mates, I popped into the medical tent to ask for an icepack for my knee.

I guess it should be a case of what goes on in the medical tent, stays in the medical tent. However, I wasn’t very impressed with the rudeness of a runner who hobbled in for treatment, I’m going to call this person Runner x. Runner x had injured her ankle before the 10k – I remember seeing her sprawled on the floor – but decided to run anyway. I know that I’m not one to judge, but why would you attempt to run a 10k on a damaged ankle? Anyway, Runner x was incredibly rude to the St John Ambulance person treating her. Apparently, the ice packs weren’t cold enough and the lady treating her was useless. I was quite relieved when another runner came in seeking treatment for a nosebleed and I was able to escape from the medical tent.

And then, once we had collected our bags, it was time for the highlight of the morning, tea and homemade cake. Luckily, the library was still open and there were plenty of cake options. I played it safe and asked for a slice of sponge cake and a cup of breakfast tea. As we didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s tea and cake enjoyment, we decided to sit outside. The homemade cake tasted amazing and I regretted not buying a second slice to take home with me. Tea and cake consumption completed, we hobbled the short distance to Shenstone station and a short train journey later were back in Four Oaks.

This isn’t a food blog so I’ll stop talking about cake now.

Would I recommend the Shenstone Fun Run?

Yes, I would, but I think the organisers need to consider bringing the start time forward an hour to 10:00. The fun run would also benefit from a few more loo options at the start; the queues were some of the longest I’ve seen. I personally preferred the old, slightly longer than 10k route but that is just my personal opinion.

And finally, the positives which most definitely outweighed the negatives. The organisation was pretty much flawless; I entered well in advance so my number was posted to me. Ellen had to collect her number on the day; this took less than a minute. The organisers provided a secure baggage area, this was well organised and there was no chance of people’s bags getting mixed up. Although I personally didn’t like the new course, feedback from other runners was positive. Every single race volunteer I was out on the course was incredibly supportive, the cowbells and music were definitely impossible to ignore and gave me a much-needed boost. The run was chip timed so results were available the second we crossed the finish line.

Race ratings:

• Cost: 5/10 (£20 but a proportion of this went to local charities)
• Course: 5/10
• Medal: 9/10
• Race t-shirt: n/a
• Goody bag: 2/10

I’m looking forward to running the 10k on November 16th and earning myself a unique 10^th-anniversary MoRunning medal.

It’s not just about the medal. Taking part in the 10k MoRun in Sutton Park also means that I’ll be supporting and raising awareness of an amazing charity; the Movember Foundation.

What is the Movember Foundation?

MoRunning has supported The Movember Foundation since 2009 raising funds and awareness for the work they carry out. The Movember Foundation is the only charity tackling men’s health on a global scale, all year round. The Foundation is addressing some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention.

The Movember Foundation knows what works for men, and how to find and to fund the most innovative research to have both a global and local impact. The Foundation is independent of government funding, so it can challenge the status quo and invest quicker in what works. In 13 years the Foundation has funded more than 1200 men’s health projects around the world.

By 2030 the Movember Foundation will reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.

Take part in a MoRunning event this year

2019 is the 10th year anniversary of the launch of MoRunning. The organisers would love you to join them for this incredible celebration of MoRuns supporting the Movember Foundation.

I think it’s safe to say that 2019 is going to be a massive year for MoRunning!

With 24 confirmed locations to date, Mini MoRuns for a third year and the option of virtual MoRunning, there will be an incredible month of MoRuns. There’s bound to be a race near you.

November 2nd

• Aberdeen 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Hazlehead Park – 09:30am

November 3rd

• Perth 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – North Inch – 09:30am
• Newcastle 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Exhibition Park – 01:20pm

November 9th

• Edinburgh 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Holyrood Park – 09:30am
• Cardiff 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Bute Park – 09:30am
• York 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – York Racecourse – 10:30am

November 10th

• Swansea 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Singleton Park – 10:30am
• Glasgow 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Glasgow Green – 10:30am
• Peterborough 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Nene Park – 10:30am
• Bristol 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Ashton Court – 10:30am

November 16th

• Liverpool 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun Croxteth Park 09:30am
• Poole 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun Upton Country Park 09:30am
• Birmingham 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun Sutton Park 09:30am

November 17th

• Southampton 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun MoRun – Southampton Common – 09:30am
• Nottingham 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Wollaton Park – 09:30am
• Milton Keynes 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Campbell Park – 09:30am
• Manchester 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Heaton Park – 09:30am

November 23rd

• Blackpool 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Herons Reach – 09:30am
• Ipswich 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Chantry Park – 09:30am
• Dublin 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Phoenix Park – 09:30am

November 24th

• Leeds 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Roundhay Park – 09:30am
• Whitstable & Herne Bay 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Hampton Pier – 09:30am
• Belfast 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Stormont Park – 09:30am

November 30th

• London 5k, 10k & kids 1.5k MoRun – Greenwich Park – 09:30am

Virtual Race November 1st to November 29th

Once again, there is also the option of taking part in a Virtual Race. Be part of MoRunning 2019 and take part in a virtual 5k, 10k or kids 1.5k MoRun supporting the Movember Foundation.

You can find out everything you need to know about the 2019 series of MoRuns here.

2019 MoRunning pricing

Early bird (July 1st – September 15th)

• Mini MoRun – £13.20
• 5k MoRun – £18.15
• 10k MoRun – £22.00
• Virtual MoRun – £13.20

Standard (September 16th – November 28th)

• Mini MoRun – £13.20
• 5k MoRun – £22.00
• 10k MoRun – £24.20
• Virtual MoRun – £13.20

Prices including online booking fees. 

**10% Discount Code – MoRun19_Followers**

MoRunners Receive

• Race chip timing and instant race results
• Brand new exclusive MoRunning Medal to add to your collection!
• MoRunning Headband
• MoRunning BUFF
• Legend and Superhero medals for best fancy dress and legends of MoRunning
• Discount of 10% for groups of 4 or more registering the same distance (code for booking MR19-TeamEntry)
• Yellow Winners Jersey for 1st male and female in the 5k and 10k events as well as a Champion medal and free entry to 2020
• Professional photos to view and purchase (you can pre-order ahead of your race and save over 60% on the standard price)
• 10% discount voucher code for online purchases from Up and Running
• 10% discount voucher for any Go Ape site

Mini MoRunners* Receive

• Free super cool Mini Mo T-Shirt
• MoRunning headband
• Free MoRunning Buff
• Mo Medal
• Champion medal for 1st boy and girl
• Yazoo Drink
• Loads of high fives

* Please note that it is the responsibility of parents to ensure children are able to run the Mini MoRun unaccompanied. If required one parent can run with Mini MoRunners free of charge.

I’m already looking forward to taking part in my local MoRun in Sutton Park November. Hopefully, it will be a case of fourth time lucky. I’ve already talked some of my running friends into entering; it would be awesome to meet some of you there.

Could you run a 5k or 10k for The Movember Foundation this November?

For loads more information and to sign up please click here.

For more information about the Movember Foundation please click here.

The Movember Foundation is a Registered Charity No.1137948 (England/Wales) SC041981 (Scotland)

**Full disclosure: This post is written in collaboration with MoRunning. All photographs were taken from MoRunning’s website** 

Before I start my review, I need to provide a bit of context. The Royal Parks Half Marathon was on my races bucket list for a long, long time. At the beginning of February, after six consecutive ‘failures’ in the ballot, I was thrilled when I discovered I’d finally been successful in the ballot. It meant that I could raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity without any pressure.

I paid my £60.95 entry fee, let Rachel from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity know I’d got a place in the ballot, drafted out a training plan and then put the race to the back of my mind. The original plan was for my PhD supervisor and good friend Geoff to travel to London for the weekend of the race. Unfortunately, Geoff passed away peacefully at The Royal Marsden in London in August so never got to see me run.

I started training for the Royal Parks Half approximately three months ago, and documented my training on here. I also started fundraising, and as I’m writing this race report, have raised £756.62. Training for the Royal Parks Half went reasonably well. I had a couple of injury scares but nothing too serious. I had a bit of a sniffle the week before the race, and also missed a couple of longer training runs.

I travelled down to London the day before the race, treated myself to pie and mash in The Barley Mow pub in Marylebone, and then checked into my hotel in Southwark. On Saturday evening, I headed to Casa Becci for one last time and quite possibly overdid the carbo-loading. I returned to Southwark, laid out my kit and went to bed feeling very well fuelled.

I was woken by the rain at 06:00. I looked out the window and discovered it was absolutely chucking it down. As a hydrologist working in an area in prolonged dry weather, the rain made me smile. After spending months moaning about the lack of rain, I couldn’t really complain! I had a shower, a couple of productive loo visits, got changed into my running gear, and then as my stomach felt a bit iffy, took a couple of Imodium tablets.

By the time I walked to Southwark tube station it had stopped raining and actually felt quite humid. I successfully navigated myself from Southwark to Hyde Park Corner tube station – I followed dozens of other runners – and walked the short distance across Hyde Park to the race village. As I didn’t have to use the secure bag storage, I got straight into the queue for the portaloos. Final loo stop completed, I started to explore the race village. I spotted a VIP tent and a media tent; I guess official bloggers got to use the one of these tents. After spending 10 minutes saying no to all the free food and drink that was offered me – I wasn’t brave enough to try the healthy(?) energy drink – I tracked down a copy of the race route.

I was a little disappointed as the route sent runners down The Strand rather than making the most of Victoria Embankment. I guess I should have checked out the route before the morning of the race.

And then it started to rain again and I found myself sheltering with a load of other runners under a tree. The tree didn’t make the best shelter; I should have used a bit of common sense and sheltered inside the charity marquee. If I find myself in a pre-race monsoon again, I know what to do! By the time I squeezed inside the Royal Marsden area of the charity marquee I was soaking wet and quite cold. Luckily, the rain stopped just because we were asked to make our way to the start area.

I’ve no idea why, but I’d been allocated a green number which meant I was in the second wave of runners to start. I entered the green start pen and immediately walked to the back of the pen. I didn’t want to be caught up in a mad rush at the start! The green pen was quite empty to start with. There was more than enough room for more serious sensible runners to work through their pre-race routines.

From what I could see, a lot of runners were stuck in portaloo and bag storage queues. I took this selfie – how nervous do I look? – and spent a bit of time talking to a lady who was injured and was planning on run-walking the half. The loo and bag queues cleared and more runners joined the back of the green pen. This meant that one minute we were at the back of the green pen, the next we were up near the front.

The race started at 09:00, and after a short delay – the different waves started at different times – I found myself running towards Green Park. I quickly noticed that the course was incredibly crowded, and my trainers were useless at gripping on the wet surfaces. Basic race etiquette was unfortunately also a little lacking at times, I lost count of the number of times I was clipped by other runners.

This set the scene for the first few miles. Most runners were making the most of the stunning surroundings; I was too busy trying to avoid slipping over and getting in the way of other runners. Despite this, I felt great and found myself running at a far too ambitious pace. A familiar mistake which would come back to haunt me later on. The route took us along Birdcage Walk, past Horse Guards, underneath Admiralty Arch and then along an out and back section along Whitehall. The rain had stopped, the humidity had unfortunately increased, but the support was amazing.

The route then sent us on an out and back along what felt like the most slippery road in England, the Strand, back underneath Admiralty Arch, along The Mall in the ‘wrong’ direction, back through the middle of Green Park and then just before the 10k mark, into Hyde Park.

After years of trying and failing to get a place in the Royal Parks Half through the ballot, I really wanted to have a positive race experience. I’m a little ashamed to admit I found the final half of the route in Hyde Park a little frustrating. The support was amazing and in certain sections a little overwhelming, and the water stations well organised and stocked. The mile markers were easy to spot and had some rather unusual motivational quotes including ‘no swanning around’ and ‘tree-ly well done’.

I found myself struggling after my far too ambitious first half and had to slow my pace. As I’m useless at drinking and running, I allowed myself to walk and drink after every drinks station. Just before the 10 mile marker, I was involved in a bit of an unfortunate incident. I was running along minding my own business when suddenly a couple of pedestrians decided to walk directly in front of me. I didn’t have time to react and to stop running, so had to push my way past the pedestrians while apologising. Sorry but you shouldn’t really just walk in front of a load of runners!

I think my personal highlight of the final section of the course was the Lululemon cheer station. Thanks guys, now if you could restock my favourite running shorts

The route took us past the Royal Albert Hall and back towards the finish. I overtook a lady being pushed in a wheelchair, spotted some photographers, smiled grimaced, and ‘sprinted’ across the finish line.

I remembered to stop my watch and collected a medal, a couple of cartons of water, a banana and an empty canvas bag. Five minutes after I finished it started to rain again. I pretty much instantly went from feeling a little too warm to feeling cold.

Leaving the finish area was tricky as the route back to the race village was incredibly congested. There were loads of supporters with massive umbrellas looking out for their runners. I felt a little sad when I saw runners and their family and friends being reunited. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to travel to races on my own. Enough self-pitying, as I knew I had to get back to my hotel and out of my wet clothes ASAP, I navigated my way out of this area as quickly as I could.

Once I’d made my way back to the race village, I spotted a huge queue of runners. I asked another runner what the queues were for, and discovered that they were for the post-race goodies. I joined the back of one of the queues and less than ten minutes later found myself in a conveyor belt of runners – it was really efficient – being handed a mixture of healthy snacks, drinks and rather randomly, a bottle of tomato ketchup!

As, by this stage I was feeling very cold, wet and hungry, I left the race village and power-walked to Hyde Park Corner tube station. Less than 30 minutes after leaving Hyde Park, I was back in my hotel room having the most amazing hot shower. The £10 late checkout fee was definitely worth every penny.

I shared a photo of my medal and pre-race selfies on my Facebook page and thanked all my sponsors. I made my way back to Paddington station, treated myself to a McDonald’s, and then headed back to Wallingford and reality.

I spent Sunday evening feeling incredibly frustrated with myself. Once again, my pacing was all over the place and I let myself down. Although I got a 5 minute PB, I feel that I definitely could have done better. After vowing to never run in London again, I remembered I’d already paid to enter two half marathons; the London Landmarks Marathon and the the Vitality Big Half. Both events are in March.

Finally, if you’ve taken the time to read and to comment on my training updates; ‘thank-you’. My family don’t really understand why I run so your support has been invaluable. If you sponsored me ‘thank-you’. As soon as people spotted my Royal Marsden vest, the support I received on during the run was incredible, quite a few other runners came up to me with their own personal stories.

Would I enter the Royal Parks Half Marathon again? Yes! It’s expensive, yes it’s crowded, but the support along the route was incredible.

Race ratings:

• Cost: 2/10 – (£57 + £3.95 postage and packaging)
• Course: 7/10
• Medal: 9/10
• Race t-shirt: 8/10
• Goody bag: 8/10

Good morning. I hope that everyone had an awesome weekend. I’m not in the office today as I’m preparing a presentation for a conference later this week. I think the highlight of my weekend was having a lie-in on Saturday and completing the Lichfield 10k yesterday.The seventh week of my half marathon training plan originally suggested that I completed an easy 20-25 minute run on Monday, a steady 40 minute run on Tuesday, a 50-60 minute steady run on Thursday and a longer 100 minute run at a comfortable pace on Sunday. I entered the Lichfield 10k before I even started my half marathon training, so decided to test my speed over the 10k distance. I’ve still got another three longer runs in my training plan, so I’m not too concerned about missing one.

So how did I cope during the seventh week of my half marathon training? Did I manage to avoid picking up an injury? Did my foot behave itself?

Monday – Rest

Week seven of my half marathon didn’t exactly get off to the best start. I was meant to complete a 20-25 minute steady run, but my legs felt so niggly first thing in the morning following the Little Aston 5, I decided to treat myself to an additional rest day. Although the majority of my Monday was so mundane I won’t bore you all with the details, I was thrilled to discover that someone I’ve known since birth had sponsored me.

Tuesday – 40 mins steady

Unfortunately, thanks to some issues with some random runtime errors, work was a little stressful. Fortunately, my colleagues are incredibly supportive and I eventually managed to complete what should have been a reasonably straightforward task. I think it’s safe to say that the highlight of my day was leaving the office at 17:00.

I got back to my shared house, headed up to my room, lay down and spent ages thinking about recent events. I must have nodded off as one minute it was light, the next it was dark. I very briefly considered not running, but decided that the exercise and fresh air would do me good. I got changed and tried and failed to find my Garmin. In the end I headed out without my Garmin and completed three laps around Wallingford. Each lap usually takes me 15 minutes so I definitely ran for 40 minutes. It’s a shame my run wasn’t exactly steady. After having to wait until 23:00 to have a shower, I headed to bed feeling shattered.

Wednesday – Rest

Once again, one of my housemates woke me far too early and I struggled to get back to sleep. When my alarm woke me at 07:00 I felt incredibly tired. I stopped off at the River Thames on the way into the office, and spent what felt like ages sitting on a bench, watching the river flow past me. I was incredibly reluctant to leave my peaceful spot next to the river.I’m a little ashamed to admit that after a terrible start to the morning where I felt totally useless at my job, I broke down in tears at my desk. My line manager told me to head outside for a walk and joined me. I’ve already said far, far too much, but sometimes it’s just good to talk. I’m going to really miss my line manager when my temporary contract ends in March.

Thursday – 60 mins steady

I had a meeting in Reading so although I had an early start, I enjoyed the change of scenery. I’m not sure how I managed to board the ‘slow’ bus, but the journey to Reading took ages. Henley-in-Thames looked seriously posh; I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people walking Labradors. I managed to catch the slightly faster bus back to Wallingford, walked back to my shared house and got changed into some running gear.

My Garmin was unfortunately still on the missing list, so I decided to time myself running for 60 minutes using my watch. I figured I could work out how far I’d run using GIS or GB Mapometer. I found running for an hour quite hard, and I finished the run feeling completely unprepared for the half marathon in October. At least my niggles behaved themselves.

Friday – Rest

After what had been an average week, Friday was a lot better. Following a productive morning, I met up with the rest of my team at a local pub for lunch. My BLT tasted amazing but was so crispy; I genuinely feared my fragile teeth would fall out. I escaped the office and an hour later found next to a lady who was heading up to Newcastle to run the Great North Run. Emily, I hope you had an awesome run.

Following a horrendous train journey between Birmingham and Four Oaks – the British Transport Police were called – I arrived back home a little later than usual. I was emailing a friend when I realised my vision wasn’t quite right; I’d got the start of a migraine. I headed straight to bed and prayed that I’d wake up feeling better.

Saturday – Rest

Unfortunately, I woke feeling as rough as a badger’s bum; luckily I hadn’t offered to help out at parkrun and was able to have a lie-in. I had originally planned to spend most of the day working on a couple of job applications and my conference presentation. I felt dizzy and my head unfortunately felt so fuzzy, I wasn’t able to do anything productive. Even collecting a couple of presents for my nephew and having my hair cut left me feeling exhausted. I went to bed feeling doubtful I’d be able to complete the Lichfield 10k.

Sunday – Lichfield 10k

I should have completed a comfortable 100 minute run but decided to run the Lichfield 10k. Fortunately, I woke up feeling much better and definitely well enough to run six and a bit miles. I travelled the short distance to Lichfield and navigated my way to an incredibly chaotic race HQ. Although I completely failed to track down Ellen, my sister-in-law Julie spotted me near the start. As Julie wanted a sub 60 minute time we positioned ourselves between the 55 minute and 60 minute pacers. A couple of minutes later Ness tracked me down and joined us. Well done on an awesome time, I hope your foot wasn’t too painful Ness.

As I’ve reviewed the Lichfield 10k a couple of times before, I’ve decided not to write a lengthy race review. You all know my racing routine now… I set out at a far too speedy pace, walked up the hill that crosses the A38, ran again, walked a couple more times and then finished feeling a little disappointed in 61:17. Actually, given how unwell I felt the day before, I was quite pleased I’d managed to knock more than five minutes off my 2017 Lichfield 10k time. I was ever more thrilled when I discovered that Julie had got her sub 60 minute time.

So that’s my own interpretation of week seven of my half marathon training more or less completed. I’m starting to feel a little concerned about my lack of preparation. Hopefully I’ll feel more positive once I’ve got some longer runs under my belt.

Week eight of my training plan looks achievable. The schedule recommends I complete an easy 30 minute run today, a 45 minute steady run on Wednesday, parkrun on Saturday and a longer 110 minute run on Sunday. After missing a couple of longer runs, I’m determined to enjoy every minute of my 110 minute run on Sunday.

Training totals

• Runs: 22
• Time: 15 hours 59 mins
• Distance: 94.51 miles

Fundraising total

• £477 (£57 increase from last week)

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 3/10
• Left foot: 2/10
• Left groin: 2/10

Do you prefer to enter the same races or do you prefer to try out new races each year? After completing the Lichfield 10k in 2016, 2017 and 2018 I think it’s time I explored alternative 10k events. Although I like to check out my progress year-on-year, I find knowing courses too well quite challenging.

Do any of your relatives run? Although I only managed to keep up with Julie for a couple of miles, I enjoyed running with her.