Its been nearly a month since I last blogged (other then a review of the Normanby 10k), and as seems to be the case for this year, the past few weeks have all seemed to blur into one as we try and move on with life in a socially distanced world, yet with the fear of ‘lockdown’ hanging over our lives. I cannot complain though, I am happy, and when I think back to how life was a few months back, spending long days on my own predominantly confined to my house – life is amazing! You have to hold on to the positives.
Since last writing I have learnt my London Marathon fate, and under their rules my 2020 Good For Age place is now only eligible for 2023, and will no longer be classed as Good For Age. I cannot change this, but I will forever feel slightly sad that Covid robbed me of my qualifier place and the – I will say it – greed of the London Marathon robbed me of a second chance to run as a qualifier. However, everyone has had to make sacrifices this year, and everyone will have something they feel disappointed to have lost; some people will think ‘it’s only a race’ but for me this was my ‘five star luxury holiday’ or ‘dream wedding’ and something I had been wanting for so long. However, I move on.
Running wise I am currently enjoying running whatever I like. It feels good and I have no targets or goals. I am mixing up my running; running easy when I want, adding in some longer runs, still motivated to throw in some harder efforts be that intervals or hills, and am also loving leading my Run Club sessions each week. My weekly mileage is still reasonably high (this week I have ran 37 miles for example), but it does not feel draining, and I feel I am building a good base fitness.
Highlights of the past month of running have been a return to track nights with Run Club (absolutely brutal but wonderful at the same time) an 18 mile trail run with my sister and her boyfriend (I may have told them it was 13…! ), logging a #RunInRed Lincoln Half Marathon with friends to mark what would have been the first Lincoln City Half Marathon event (roll on 2021, it will be worth the wait!), as well as of course a return to racing at Normanby 10k.
I feel like my plan for the rest of the year (if you can confidently plan anything these days!) will be to continue in the same vein. I find myself for the first time in years without a big race in the calendar, and I want to use this version of ‘Alice Downtime’ to truly enjoy running, as well as appreciate all those other parts of life which Covid took from us for so many months.
Since last writing I have learnt my London Marathon fate, and under their rules my 2020 Good For Age place is now only eligible for 2023, and will no longer be classed as Good For Age. I cannot change this, but I will forever feel slightly sad that Covid robbed me of my qualifier place and the – I will say it – greed of the London Marathon robbed me of a second chance to run as a qualifier. However, everyone has had to make sacrifices this year, and everyone will have something they feel disappointed to have lost; some people will think ‘it’s only a race’ but for me this was my ‘five star luxury holiday’ or ‘dream wedding’ and something I had been wanting for so long. However, I move on.
Running wise I am currently enjoying running whatever I like. It feels good and I have no targets or goals. I am mixing up my running; running easy when I want, adding in some longer runs, still motivated to throw in some harder efforts be that intervals or hills, and am also loving leading my Run Club sessions each week. My weekly mileage is still reasonably high (this week I have ran 37 miles for example), but it does not feel draining, and I feel I am building a good base fitness.
Highlights of the past month of running have been a return to track nights with Run Club (absolutely brutal but wonderful at the same time) an 18 mile trail run with my sister and her boyfriend (I may have told them it was 13…! ), logging a #RunInRed Lincoln Half Marathon with friends to mark what would have been the first Lincoln City Half Marathon event (roll on 2021, it will be worth the wait!), as well as of course a return to racing at Normanby 10k.
I feel like my plan for the rest of the year (if you can confidently plan anything these days!) will be to continue in the same vein. I find myself for the first time in years without a big race in the calendar, and I want to use this version of ‘Alice Downtime’ to truly enjoy running, as well as appreciate all those other parts of life which Covid took from us for so many months.
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