1 – 7 June 2020 “Ebony and Ivory.”

Last week’s blog seemed to resonate with many of you, with a massive spike in viewings and positive comments from people across many hues. Whether you’re a new visitor or a long-time reader, thank you for returning! I would be remiss to do some sort sort of follow-up, so this week’s blog is in two parts; one as a sort of epilogue to last week, and the other as business as usual.

Jogging while black – part 2

Following conversations I’ve had with readers of last week’s blog, it dawned on me that there was an area of this battle I’d failed to acknowledge; the white allies who have actively fought racism rather than turning a blind eye. I can only speak for myself, but your efforts are seen and appreciated more than you may realise.

This has been a pretty powerful week, with demonstrations taking place across the world and media of all types expressing outrage over an unjust and systemically oppressive system (in case it needs to be said; no, I do not condone violence). It’s been encouraging to see church leadership, businesses and citizens raising their voices to call out racism for the evil it is, in spite of the minority of dissenters; not as a zeitgeist or fad, but simply with the mindset that enough is enough.

With such winds of change in the air, I’d like to think I’ve personally begun to see the first-fruits of this movement. On one of my runs this week through Sutton Coldfield – a relatively affluent, majority-white town – I had quite a few people give a smile or positive acknowledgement, in contrast with negativity in exact circumstances at any other time. It may be a minor thing to them which they might have forgotten about seconds later, but to me, suggests the potential to have faith in humanity.

Speed work makes the dream work

Heading out to my first speed session of the week (5 reps of a kilometre at 5k pace with 3 mins rest), I’d had to return home after just a mile for a visitor. And you know what it’s like when you get yourself psyched up for something but get interrupted; meh, maybe another day then.

However, since the route suggested by my coach was unfamiliar to me, I decided just to check it out afterwards and try it another day. What happened when I arrived? I saw my friend/nemesis-I’m-determined-to-beat, the first I’ve seen since lockdown began! As he was doing the speed session I decided to follow him to get a feel for the route; good job too, as I would have gone totally in the wrong direction! Then somehow, my reconnaissance turned into a full-out session!

Using him as a pacer for the first four reps, I immediately felt the impact of training with someone; the instinct to push harder and longer than if I was alone, ignoring pain and fatigue. Well, trying to, at least! For the final rep, I paced; potential for embarrassment, but thankfully I kept it reasonably on target.

My second speed session of the week was similar, 5 reps of 800m at faster-than-5k pace. Checking Google Maps for quiet roads away from the likely busy park, I found some perfectly-suited streets for it.

At least, it seemed fine until I saw a not-insignificant hill there! Although I tried to position myself in such a way to avoid the hill on each rep, I still ended up facing it a few times. Well, no pain no gain.

The final rep was nearly a disaster, with a sore leg muscle forcing a stop. A good example of how training with someone is a good thing; I would have just pushed through otherwise! After a couple of mins rest, I encouraged myself to persevere, finishing the rep.

However, I definitely felt it for the next few days. It always feels frustrating taking my jogs slower than normal, as though if it feels like a struggle doing it, then I shouldn’t bother. Nevertheless, it all counts; slow jogs are as important as fast sprints.

And even better, I can actually take days off now that my run streak days have ended; man, it feels good to have a rest!