Chris Curtis Web Site

I am just back from my first run in weeks. It is the first time for ages that ice and snow, or various commitments, have let me go out to run. It was very cold and dark and my lack of running was extremely obvious, but it was good to be out there.

I realised that slow and short as it was, this was the first run of 2011, so I thought I would do a summary of my running in 2010. Not great but at least I did it.

47 runs in total, amounting to 21 hours and 12 minutes and covering 171.5km at an average pace of 7.5 mins per km. At less than one run  of about 3.5km per week this is not as much as I hoped, but only 1km less than my 2009 total (though my average pace for that year was 7:17 per km). There was no running at all in March and December, and very little in February and November so the average hides a lack of consistency with May, August and October around 30km per month or 1km per day.

Running targets for 2011 (realistic)

• average at least 1km per day so the annual total is more than 365km (more than double what I have done in the last two years.
• run at least twice every week for a total of more than 104 runs
• Achieve an average pace of less than 7:15 mins per km.
• Post new PBs for 5km and 10km

I did not really feel up to it, but I am glad I stuck to my plan to run 10km today as part of the “worldwide festival of races”. This is a “virtual” race where people all over the world run 5k, 10k or a half marathon in celebration of being alive on planet Earth.

It has been many months since I ran 10k, and a fortnight since I ran at all. I set off cautiously but soon began to enjoy myself. It was a perfect afternoon for October. This morning’s cloud has gone, leaving a deep blue sky and buttery sunshine – warm but not too much. A last taste of summer and very precious. There are golden leaves and cobwebs everywhere now and that sense of general dampness that tells you we are in the dark days.

My route took me along a fairly busy road for a mile or so, then through the woods, round the back of Gatwick airport and back home along footpaths and small roads. I completed in 1hr 21mins and 2 secs. Very slow really, but the fastest 10k I have run to date. I would have been faster, but I managed to lose my way in the woods: following a path into someone’s back yard and having to re-trace my steps at one point. Still, it was great to be out in the woods at this time of year.

I faded badly in the last 3km – which just shows I need to vary my training from the constant 5km runs I have been doing. I am glad I ran with “fellow runners” all over the planet. I feel very much better for having done it. A perfect way to spend a perfect afternoon.

Out for a run this evening and for the first time, it felt like deep autumn. There was thick overcast and steady, cold, light rain. Despite only being tea-time (around 6pm) it was becoming dark and there was a cool breeze. On the quiet lanes, there was a thin carpet of fallen leaves.

The run was not great. I could not find “the groove” so it was very stop and start, but I was glad to be out there, on my own.

We had light rain for most of the morning and there are dire warnings of very heavy rain for this evening (which seems to have started now). There was an interlude around tea time so I decided to get today’s run in. Run 2 of Week 8 of the “Couch to 5K” programme. Run continuously for 28 minutes.

I was struggling from the first minute. Humidity was near 100% and the temperature about 24C – plus I was just out of sorts and lacking energy. I had to take a few walk breaks but did not stop – I was moving for the whole 28 minutes. Despite the lack of energy, I quite enjoyed plodding along in the cloudy gloom, all on my own.

This week I ran the longest total distance in a week so far this year – only 11km but things are moving in the right direction.

No running this week due to injury.
On my last run I wanted to do the 25 minutes without stopping (which I know I can do) but see if I could cover 4km in that time or more realistically see if I could be at 2km by half-way. This would be closer to my “traditional” running speeds which have slowed down as I have lengthened runs.
I was going well. 10 minutes in I was at 1.6km needing a little push to make sure I hit 2km by 12.5 minutes. This was in spite of having to stop for nearly a minute until I could cross the main road. I upped the pace a little.
About a minute later I went flying. I was on a small country lane, barely one car wide and completely unexpectedly I was in mid-air then crashing half on the Tarmac and half on the verge, thankfully just missing the big pile of horse manure on the road. I came down on my knee and with one arm and hand under my chest. It took a minute or two until I was ready to get up. The surprise and loss of control were the worst feelings, as was feeling a complete idiot. I could not see anything that could have tripped me.
Anyway, after recovering a little, I ran back home, though a little slower. I did do 4km but in 32 minutes.
When I got home, I discovered that the knee was a mess. Lots of skin gone and dirty plus swollen and visibly bruised. My ribs hurt but nothing broken. More bruising.
The pain and stiffness were actually worse over the next days. No running.
A week later and the knee is good. Scabbed over and working fine without pain. The ribs are still a little sore on some movements but generally fine. Back to running soon but it knocks your confidence.

I am still working through the couch to 5K programme and have reached the stage when all the runs are fairly long – 25 minutes tonight without stops or breaks. It was hard work on a very humid night, but it feels like I am really running  at last. I am pretty slow, but getting faster gradually.

I am lucky to have a run that takes me right away from roads, out into the countryside along a wooded lane between fields. I did not see anyone tonight, despite it being rush hour. There is a strong sense of being away from things that adds so powerfully to the run.

It is very difficult for me to keep running regularly. There are lots of excuses, and they are genuine, but I suffer without that regular exercise, and without the concentrated way that being out there, on your own, pushing your physical limits brings things back to utter simplicity. I do need a programme or plan to follow: it helps to keep the excuses in perspective and raises the priority of getting out there.

I am using “getrunning” on my iPhone. A pleasant sounding, but very bossy (and encouraging), woman’s voice cuts over whatever is playing to tell me when to run and when I can rest. After a long lay-off I have gone from 6 minutes of slow running to 16 minutes of reasonable running within a half-hour framework all in four weeks. Each “step up” is hard but possible and each success makes you more determined. Ten weeks should see me back to running full 5Ks and I will then need a new programme to take me on towards 10K which I want to run for real in the autumn.