2020: Re-Vision

If there’s one thing that’s united humankind this year, it’s perhaps that we can’t wait for this year to be over! So it is with a slight hesistancy this time that I continue my custom of revisiting the year and looking ahead…

Accomplishments

After accomplishing a run streak of 500 days in May – a target I hadn’t intended on but was memorable to say the least – I thought I’d take it easy with my running. But I somehow ended up beating my previous year mileage by over 300 miles – a grand total of 2,555 miles (see here for why I love 555) – and a cumulative elevation gain of about 124,000 feet.

With everything that had gone on this year, I’d actually forgotten I’d also achieved a parkrun PB at the start of the year, of 17:07! Who knows when I’ll even have an opportunity to tackle it again, but it is nice that my first place finish at Sutton in March has held for 9 months! Also of note was achieving my fastest ever mile, of 4:48 (some days it feels like I’m still recovering from that sprint!)

Shortcomings

With a lack of races this year, I haven’t had any incentive or competitors to improve my speed. In one sense it’s a shame, but thinking about it, I’ve been in competitive mode since about 2016, ever chasing new PBs and regularly in a state of training. So perhaps it’s a good thing to have eased off this year; for both physical and mental health.

Targets

Funny how at this point last year, we had our visions for how 2020 would turn out but were totally blindsided! With the world still in a state of uncertainty it may be fruitless making any kind of plans, but nonetheless I’ll write what I would like to happen…

parkrun: If it starts up again, definitely aiming for sub-17, and sub-16:30 if the former is achieved quickly

Half marathon: sub-75 continues to remain my overall goal. Silverstone is scheduled for Feb, but that will likely be more of an analysis to judge where I’m at fitness-wise.

Marathon: My championship place at London will carry forward to October, and I’ll target sub-2:40

I’d say “happy new year,” but given how 2020 turned out, I’ll finish off by saying “healthy new year!”

I trust that whatever running activity you’re involved in – no matter the distance, pace or discipline – that you continue to find joy in it despite the craziness of everything else.

21 – 27 December 2020. “In the mile 2525.”

To the tune of Zager & Evans’ “In the year 2525”

In the mile 2525, if the legs are still alive
If motivation can survive, they may find
In the mile 3535
You’re gonna face the hills, but try to lie
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the running gels you took today
In the mile 4545
You’ll grit your teeth, and shut your eyes
You’ll forget what race you came to do
While spectators are watching you
In the mile 5555
Your legs floppin’ limp to the sides
The Wall, you’re trying to push through
You wish some machine’s doin’ that for you
In the mile 6565
In the distance is that your husband, or your wife?
Delirium’s getting to you
While you curse the race organiser you’re going to sue, Wo-oah…

In the mile 7510
If the finish line is coming, it oughta arrive by then
Maybe you’ll look around yourself and say
I just want a drink and hit the hay
In the mile 8510
The coach is gonna shake his head
He’ll either say “I’m pleased with how you’ve been”
Or “lace them up, and start again” Wo-oah…

In the mile 9595
I’m kinda wonderin’ if the urge is gonna be alive
It’s taken everything these old bones can give
And now they ain’t got nothing left, Wo-oah…

Now it’s been ten thousand miles
The runners have cried a billion times
For medals, t-shirts and fruit, now the race is through
But through late that night, again comes the urge to fight
No matter how far away, maybe in just a couple of days

In the mile 2525, if the legs are still alive
If motivation can survive, they may find…

14 – 20 December 2020. “Good King Runceslas.”

Ah, it was going so well – my running target, not 2020! I’m currently on 2,492 miles for the year and hoped to have hit 2,500 miles this week. But alas, my last week at work was insanely busy and I was caught up in multiple projects at church, so I’d missed one running day and another was just a short 5k. Depending on how strong my OCD hits I may pop out for 8 miles later, but either way I’m still on track to hit my new target of 2,555 miles for the year.

My runs this week were nice, albeit caught in darkness a couple of times. Still, better than being caught in rain! In fact, just before I set out for one run, my wife came in soaked from a heavy downpour. So I prepped with my cap, jacket and a long sleeve, braced myself… only for the rain to have totally stopped as I stepped out! Staying overdressed just in case, it made for a cumbersome run which ended up muddy nonetheless on a part-trail route.

So with targets and year’s end on the horizon, now comes the tricky part; what runs to finish off with? I’d like to do a Strava art for Christmas but struggling to find a route for what I have in mind, plus exactly how to cover the mileage to reach my target. Decisions, decisions… perhaps planning this out will take up as much time as work!

7-13 December 2020. “Zoom meeting.”

Hearing a relentless pitter-patter on the window when my alarm went off at 7:15am was enough for me to hit Snooze and think, “ah, forget it.” I was to have joined a few of my club’s runners for a long run – and was already slightly down on my mileage this week anyway – but it didn’t seem worth battling the elements which Google had already suggested weren’t going to be great. Forcing myself out for a slow slog at 10am, I was actually glad to have missed the long run! Dealing with it for an hour was just about bearable; the thought of 2-2½ hours of the torture… well, it would have been bearable, just not pleasant!

The other jogs this week went pretty nicely, what with my new trainers still performing well, and a new set of headphones capable of staying on my head to make the time pass by quickly (although, my pace also contributed to that!)

A better – even if colder – run was had on Thursday, a speed session with my club (wuth a new t-shirt, no less. Running is expensive). Four reps of one mile fast with approx 2 min jog cooldown, in a neighbourhood with houses resembling the one from Home Alone (in terms of decoration. Hopefully they’re not deathtraps), each rep kicking off with a notable incline. I’d intended to take it fairly easy, but gravitated towards the second-fastest group after the first rep.

Allowing the others to set the pace, I soon shook off the notion of taking it easy and chased down my rivals clubmates (shoutout to Sam and Brad for the company and being a windbreak!) But the real challenge came when I set the pace for the last rep. No sense of how to run conservatively, I set out about 15 seconds faster than normal but my pride had to maintain the pace!

Fortunately I managed it – even if I had to exhaustingly collapse against a lamppost afterwards!

Mileage for the year so far: 2,445. NO matter how tired I get, onward to 2,500!

30 Nov – 6 Dec 2020. “Bellerophon.”

Finally trying a change, I took advantage of the Black Friday sale and bought Nike Pegasus 37! I usually wear Nike for racing and only owned one pair – the Pegasus 35 – for training, regulary wearing ASICS. And to be honest, I was never that thrilled with the 35, nearly throwing them away with less than 100 miles of use, and only reverting back out of necessity. But reading that Nike had reinvented them with use of React foam helped sway me back.

The difference was instant, both from the 35 and my now-retired ASICS GT-2000 8 (but I gave them a good run to send them off in style!) My jogs tend to be around 7:30/mile pace, despite that I used to regularly run sub-7s effortlessly day-to-day, even while with a backpack on runcommutes. The Pegasus 37 propelled me to sub-7 again without a second thought, despite that I was playing Pokémon Go at the time!

Although they’re advertised as training shoes, they feel like they could be used for racing, of similar feel to the Zoom Fly (albeit without carbon plating). Heck, at one point I was at sub-6 pace and had to consciously slow down. Excitement of new trainers? Perhaps, but for the first time in a long time, they’ve brought me to a mindset of wanting to go fast again. Not to mention that my heart rate and effort has remained as low as before, so there’s no denying the shoes’ capability.

In other news, I was finally able to have a long run with my club, what with my Sunday mornings usually busy. Despite miserable weather, company remained in high and speedy spirits, and 2 hours of running went by quickly. A nice addition to my mileage, I’m now up to 2,405 miles for the year, and should hit my target in 2 weeks.

But given the power of Pegasus, I’m sure they’ll fly by quickly!