Getting stronger

Well then! Throughout my young life so far I have run until the muscles unknits from around my ankles. Sounds painful? It is painful. Yet recently that has not happened so much. My training, for so many years dictated around non-impact sports, has grown in its intensity.

Today I ran for 70 minutes. Slow it was, at least to start with, it was done. And yesterday? A 20 minute run. These are things that are not normally possible with my body.

And next? And when? I think that even a 5k next weekend along the seafront would be a possibility. Or, at least, the run on Wednesday with Lee and Andy.

A metaphor has been spoken to my students, and it came from the chap in the shoe shop. Only a very small number people are actually running in any race. That is, they are physically running against each other. The rest are running against themselves, their own targets. And even then, those racing are only truly racing if they are racing for a record, for victory is (perhaps) no more than who has turned up on the track that day.

My desires to run faster are tempered by somewhat aspirational, and perhaps ignorant, comparisons of myself to others. Surely improvement from before should be my only task? Surely I should be trying to only run faster than 19:15 for my 5k, and faster than 42:30 for my 10k? A few seconds faster, even. That should be my plan.

Comparison made by myself to others exist in the most transient way.

I am stronger. And my silly running socks help, too.

The next 10k I intend to run is on the weekend I come back from Abu Dubai. It may be ambitious. But, you know what? It will be done! Training after that for a time, I think, including 5ks, and maybe a personal 10k alongside sea-front.