My Running Journey

It all started in 2013. I had never been a particularly keen runner, or a particularly good runner, but in 2013 I started my running journey by going to a local Parkrun. I had recently started a new job and decided running was a quick an efficient way to get fitter alongside my gym work. I hadn't really dabbled in running previously, having always focussed more on team sports (Football, Rugby, American Football) and gym based fitness. But at this moment in my life, it seemed to most efficient and effective way of getting fitter again. I could do it whenever. I could do it wherever. It didn't need loads of equipment. Running suddenly seemed very appealing.

So I went to a Parkrun, Pennington Flash 20th April 2013. This was my closest event at the time and was only a short 15 minute drive away. Those unfamiliar with Parkrun, it is a FREE timed weekly 5k, hosted across the country by volunteers and open to runners of all abilities. The fastest times recorded at Parkrun can be 15mins, with the slowest sometimes 45mins +. The is a place at Parkrun for everyone.

It was great, loads of people, exciting, and I managed to get round what I would call an undulating course in 25:06.  I went home tired but happy with my achievements, showing I at least had a decent base of fitness.

I continued to run sporadically, maybe once a week most of the time, and went back to Parkrun the month later and ran 25:22. So slightly slower but roughly the same. That was the pattern for the next few months, run occasionally, recreationally, but it always ended up being shortish distances and near max effort. 

My First Event

I then randomly entered a 10k event (The Liverpool Spring 10k) hosted in Sefton Park. I had only ran 2 Parkrun's previously and wanted to try and 'proper' running event, and a longer distance. I stood on the start line, unprepared and unready (not that I knew that). It was a 2 lap course and I got round the first 5k in 24:48 so a new 5k PB, but not great as part of my first 10k. By 6k the wheels started to fall off. Needless to say it was stop/start, walk/run the rest of the way as I stumbled to the finish in 61 mins. A second 5k of 36 mins! I could try to blame the weather (it was a hot sunny day) or the course (there were steps involved) but it was my lack of training or understanding that led to the result. At the time it was another knock to my belief that running is for me.

This monotony of running irregularly and seeing no results, gradually wore down my enjoyment of running (if there was any in the first place!) and I also wasn't getting any better, which chipped away at my motivation.

I decided to go to a different Parkrun in September 2013 as a change of scene. It was Delamere Parkrun, which is based in a large forest in Cheshire and the whole course is woodland paths around a lake. I finished this Parkrun in 26:24 and again felt slightly deflated that I was gradually getting worse. I eventually faded out of running for a while as it was hard work and seemingly not for me.

2016, The First Return To Running

I returned to running in 2016, I don't know why, maybe one last attempt to give it a go. I went back to Parkrun as my return run,  completely untrained and unfit. By now I had moved house and settled down, so my local Parkrun was now Ellesmere Port. I went on a cloudy February morning and rumbled round in 30:11. This was apparently my untrained benchmark. I had work to do, and the best way of motivating yourself is setting targets. I therefore roped my brother in (or maybe it was the other way around, I can't quite recall) but we signed up for the Great Manchester 10k in May that year. 

Now having previously failed miserably at a 10k, I decided to train a bit better this time, including some runs longer that 5k! Again lacking in knowledge and naïve to the issues I might face, I simply ran more frequently and further, still putting in almost max effort each time. You won't be surprised to learn I developed an injury in my knee due to this sudden increase in running and had to ease off a bit. I went back to Ellesmere Port Parkrun for the 2 weekends prior to the 10k, and ran 24:08 in the first week in May, and 25:38 in the second week. The first one (24:08) was a new 5k PB and knocked 6 mins off my 5k after the 10k training. The second one (25:38) I had added to a training run, I had jogged down 2.5k to Parkrun, ran the event at a steady pace to save myself for the following weeks 10k, and jogged back 2.5k. This left me in a confident mood for the 10k and we set ourselves a rather lofty target of sub 45 if possible, and definitely sub 50. 

Now in hindsight they were obviously ludicrous targets considering I had only ever run one 24 minute 5k in my life and expected to double up on 2 sub 23 minute 5k's! Like I said naïve. We did the event on a overcast day in May in Manchester, thousands of runners, bands, loads of crowd support and we rolled through 5k in about 24:58. The the knee issue flared again. At about 6/7km my knee ache returned and slowed me down a bit. Each step was painful but we were moving along so persisted. We crossed the line in 51:58, which seemed disappointing at the time (after our lofty goals), but now looking back was too shabby. The drop off from 5k-10k wasn't too dramatic this time (27 minute second 5k as opposed to 36 mins), and other than my knee it wasn't horrific. I vividly remember though on the train home, 'officially retiring' from recreational running, my knee was nagging me and I thought again, I'd fallen short of my goals. My limits seemed to be 24mins for 5k and 52mins for 10k.

The Second (Or Is This The Third) Coming

More than 18 months passed between the Manchester 10k in May 2016 and my return (again) to running on January 1st 2018. It was over the Christmas period in late 2017 when I had been sitting around and decided as a type of New Years resolution, to kick start my fitness regime again. I was now a father to 2 lovely children, and had let my health/fitness slide slightly in the intervening years. The goal this time was slightly bigger than a 10k. I HAD DECIDED TO RUN 1000 MILES IN A CALENDAR YEAR. Yes, sat in my house in late December, I decided that a mere week later I was to start on a running journey that would likely last all year and also likely fail and/or break me again.

1000miles in 52 weeks. That's 19.23miles per week, every week. So on January 1st I set out and ran a 5k in around 27mins, which I thought wasn't too bad compared to my previous untrained benchmark (30:11). I plodded on, with a rough plan of 3-4 runs per week of varying distances, to ensure I hit my weekly goal of around 20miles. I went to 1 Parkrun in March out of morbid curiosity and amazed myself. In only 3 months, and with no awareness of it, or direct effort towards it, I had gotten faster. On 3rd March 2018 about 10 days before I turned 31, I ran 23:28 at Ellesmere Port Parkrun to set a new 5k PB. I was running more consistently, more regularly, more effectively and unknowingly I was reaping the benefits. 

There were some periods of the year (late April and early July) where I was 20+ miles and 45+ miles behind schedule. I had, had a few lower mileage weeks and that obviously rolls over as the mileage doesn't go down, but the time left to complete it does. I persisted, in the knowledge that whatever number I reached would 100% be the most I had ever run in a year, and would be a decent accomplishment considering my previous 18 months had included no running. The weeks ticked by, I tried to add a few weeks of extra miles to chip away at the backlog of miles, and amazingly no injuries surfaced. Week after week, mile after mile, my body was holding up. Early on I had a few blisters, but half a year or more in and nothing.

The difference was the pacing. For the first time ever, I wasn't running flat out all the time. Not every run was a PB attempt, in fact it was quite the opposite. The goal was miles, not time. I could run 8 miles at 10 minute per mile or 6 minute per mile, or 14 minute per mile, it would still only be 8 miles. My mindset had shifted, and because of it I wasn't overtaxing the legs.  Throughout 2018 I didn't enter any races, I didn't want to put that time pressure back on me. I simply ran, logged the miles and continued. I did a sort of 10k time trail one evening, when I was feeling good. I set off and my legs felt great so I pushed a bit. 6k in and still feeling okay so I thought I'd do a 10k and see what time I could get. 48:00 was the answer. 48 minutes flat. A new 10k PB by roughly 4 minutes. By late August I had managed to eradicate the deficit of miles and even crept ahead of goal meaning I might finish and mind-blowingly, I might even finish early!

By mid-September, I had decided to go for it. I had done nearly 9 months of solid running and felt good. Yes there were times when my legs were tired, or aching, or sore, but that passed and I kept on running. I had decided to 'put the hammer down' and up my mileage and finish early. I upped most weeks to over 20 miles and by 1st November I was at 920 miles. That meant that if I could put together 2x 40mile weeks I could finish in mid-November, 6 weeks before the end of the year. So on 15th November, with just 2.5 miles to go, I was due to go out for a final 5k jog to celebrate my achievement. It was at this point, and only this point, that my wife decided to intervene. She informed me that as it was my last run, I shouldn't just jog the 5k, I should 'go out with a bang!' So just before setting off, I decided to run this final run, the only one of the total 1000 miles, as fast as possible (like the old me). 20 minutes and 57 seconds later I was done.  20:57. 20:57. To this day it is still my 5k PB. I have my wife to thank for it, but I had also somehow in 10 and a half months of running, to knock more than 6 minutes off my 5k time, without even trying. Okay, there was a lot of effort and trying, but not to achieve a 5k PB. The PB was a bi-product. I had only been focussed on miles, not times, or PB's.

That's when the penny dropped. By focusing on running consistently, running regularly and running at a variety of paces, I had seen an amazing improvement in my running. In 2016 I thought my ceiling for 5k was 24 minutes, but in 2018 I had just run sub 21 minutes. In 2016 I thought my max for 10k was 52  minutes, and my body couldn't handle the distance. In 2018 I ran 48 minutes, and had covered 1000 miles (1600km's) with no injuries. I realised all my limits weren't dictated by my ability, but by my lack of preparation. 2018 proved that if I do things right I can be a lot better than I thought. I suppose that rings true for everyone. 

I was an average runner, I still am, but my maximum has turned out to be nowhere near my maximum. It isn't 100%, maybe it was 65%. I know a lot of runners who are doing the things I did; running occasionally, always running as fast as they can, getting the odd injury, finding running really hard work. I was them, I was doing the things they do and getting the results they're getting.

Another Gap, Another Comeback

I don't have many regrets in life, but stopping running after that year is one. I deliberately took a break after finishing to rest, but then weeks turned into months and then a year. Then Covid came and people were thinking about other things, other priorities so running wasn't on my mind. So again, over 2 years passed before I started running properly again. I had done a bit here and there. Logged the odd run on Strava, but nothing persistent. Then as 2021 came around and things started to ease a bit, I had that 'get fit' bug again and decided to set myself a goal.

This time was slightly different, I was relatively fit, just not running fit. I had invested in gym equipment at home and regularly lifted and worked out, just I didn't do any cardiovascular work. So I decided to enter a running event, this time longer than 10k. I looked around at local events and had already missed the Chester 10k and the Chester Half Marathon was a week or two later, not enough time. But in early October they were hosting the Chester Marathon and on the same day the Chester Metric Marathon. Now even I thought the Marathon as a comeback race was a bit much, a bit of a jump. So I decided on the Metric. Now a Metric Marathon, is a 26.2km race not a traditional 26.2mile race. I think Chester is the only place in the country that does it. So it's basically a Half Marathon with a 5k tagged onto the end. I thought that sounds like a great distance as my first foray past 10k.

This time I was a bit more knowledgeable, and researched Half Marathon training plans (there weren't any Metric Marathon training plans anywhere). I did a semi-organised plan, running a few times per week and making sure I got a couple of long runs in. The long runs were the worst. I enjoyed the first 70% of the runs but the last few km's were exhausting. I did 2x 20km runs in the build up to the Metric, both were deliberately slower paced runs but both were 6mins per k or slower and just sapped my legs. I did a mini taper about 10 days before the event (again research had told me to taper), and was ready to go on  Sunday 3rd October 2021.

The event itself went really well. I arrived not long before the start as it was a cool morning. I set off reminding myself to go steady and not get carried away with the crowds and adrenaline. It worked. Although I no real pace in mind I knew sub 5 per k wasn't a good move. I went through 5k in 25:46 (5:09 per k) which seemed about right, especially as there were a few downhills in the first section of the course. I carried on steadily and went through 10k in 52:24 (5:14 per k) so had eased off a little but felt comfortable, with still a way to go. 15k came by in 1hr19:40 (5:18 per k), so again I was slowing slightly but felt my pacing was good as I was running on feel. Considering this was my first event of this distance and I had never ran this far, at this pace, I was feeling surprisingly 'good'. I hit 20k at 1hr47:02 (5:21 per k) and that's when it started to get tough. This was the unknown, I had never ran this far before. At the time I wasn't thinking it, I just remember my energy was gone, my legs felt heavy and the sporadic hills of the second half of the course seemed to drain me. I passed Half-Marathon distance in 1hr53:56 meaning the kilometre between 20 and 21.1 took me 6:54. I had resorted to slow jogging/walking the steeper uphill's as mentally I struggled with them. I crossed the finish line in 2hrs19:58, with Strava clocking the distance at 25.86km's with an average pace of 5:25 per k. My pace had dipped slightly for the second half of the run, partly due to the hills, partly due to 'hitting a wall', but overall I was delighted with how I had done and how enjoyable the whole experience was.

No More Breaks

This time I was determined not to stop the momentum, and didn't take an extended break from running. The previous experiences now all came together and I finally realised running is something I want to do and something I am relatively okay at. I am not elite, nor will I ever be, but that's okay with me. I am in the top half generally, and I no longer feel it to be a slog, and I no longer get injured. I therefore decided to stick with running and see how far (and how fast) I can go. I therefore signed up for the Chester Marathon 2022 less than a week after finishing the Metric.

I took a week off as rest then went straight back to running regularly. I went to Ellesmere Port Parkrun as a first post-Metric run and ran 23:23 for a 5 second PB at Parkrun. I kept my old trainers which I'd had for a number of years until the end of 2021 and then invested in some proper running gear, as I was finally doing this properly. I bought 3 pairs of running trainers (to create my first ever running shoe rotation), some new shorts, vests, socks and a hydration vest and I had already signed up for the following years Marathon.

I put together a basic plan to follow to keep my running ticking over (minimum 2 runs per week, one faster midweek tempo run, one longer run at the weekend) and stuck to this as well as a strength and conditioning programme to continue to develop my running. I have continued to run regularly since October 2021 and am slowly getting back to my best running performances. I ran a 21:32 5k in June 2022 (35 seconds of my lifetime PB of 2018) and have aspirations to break that soon. I also ran a 47:37 10k a week later, a new lifetime 10k PB breaking my 48:00 from 2018.  

I have now just started my Marathon training block, and am currently in week 3 of 14 of my training. My Marathon goal is sub 3hrs40 for my first Marathon, and I think it is achievable. My training plan has been developed after extensive research and planning and involves 4 runs per week; 1 tempo run, 1 speed run, 1 threshold run and 1 long easy run. I feel more organised and prepared than ever before, I feel fitter and more resilient than ever, and I am looking forward race day.

So that is my running journey so far. There have been highs and lows, successes and set backs, but my story is not unlike most runners. Running isn't easy, it requires effort and commitment and time if you want to do it right. I am now after years of trying, finally doing things properly and (hopefully) reaping the rewards. I was in 2013 struggling to run a 5k in 25 minutes and now in 2022, I can run a 5k Parkrun whilst vlogging in 21:54 (a new Parkrun PB) and it feel okay. I used to strain to get round a 10k in less than 55 minutes, now I can run a 10k in sub 50 minutes on any day at any time. The message is this, if you are a runner keen to get better, keen to improve and find more enjoyment in your running, take my messages above to heart. Learn like I learned, change your approach to running and you too can see the benefits.....

Adam 

(LARK Running UK)