Addicted to Running?

An addiction is defined as something you are dependent on, or something you couldn't give up. Of course these aren't the only parameters for an addiction but they are certainly the main facets. Could you give up running? How often have you found yourself with a small injury, one that needs a few weeks rest, and eventually buckled under the boredom and gone out for even a small run - telling yourself "it's okay I'm only running a slow couple of miles"?

I would be lying if I said I've never gone against physio's orders and ran on an injury, I know it makes the injury worse but the idea of losing fitness is something that often fills me with nervous anxiety. Well the first step on the road to cure is admitting you have an addiction!

"My name is Richard Beech and I'm a running addict."

But what's the issue? The side effects of our addiction include:

Healthy heart and body;
Daily fresh air;
Reaching aspirations, targets and personal goals;
The necessity to eat a balanced diet;
Meeting like-minded runners at clubs and events.

The problem is that any addiction has negative effects, you may not even realise that these negative effects exist. Sport encourages the body to release feel-good hormones, but some athletes can become disheartened and even depressed if they are not reaching their targets or goals. This doesn't happen to all of us, but I've certainly had my low points and I feel it's a case of taking the good with the bad, rolling with the punches so-to-speak. For many running becomes more than an evening or weekend activity, it becomes a lifestyle to fully embrace and be proud of. When you peg so much hope and time on that shiny new personal best, it can be crushing if you don't set it, even worse if you pick up an injury and your sport is taken away from you.

My suggestion to avoid these ruts is simple. If you find yourself becoming dis-illusioned with your training, implement one very slow, scenic, medium distance run to your training every week. Take in your surroundings, leave the stopwatch and iPod at home, and remind yourself why you started running in the first place - because it makes you feel great.

Updates on Life.... and that

Long long time since i last wrote on this, that's because I've been very busy, like a busy bee... before our changing climate caused them all to die. A huge shame because as runners will know, honey is not only tasty but also a super food.

Anyway, I currently have SWINE FLU (a typo of SWINE FLU, is SWINE FLY - a flying pig...), it's not that bad really, just aches and pains, stiff... neck, sore throat, I want to go for a run sooo badly. Just before i caught the disease I recorded a 42 minute 10k, my best ever. Was very happy with that and plan to get that down to 40 minutes by september. I've decided to use this week for physio though, I have an annoying injury but am almost over it now, this makes me feel a tiny bit invincible which is dangerous becuase that's how i got the injury... "I CAN RUN DOWN HILLS REALLY FAST.... OUCH."

In non running related news, I have started a band with my dear friend Timothy, we aren't very good but I cant name many bands who are at the moment so it doesn't matter. I've been recording alot of music recently, but I spilled a pint of water on my laptop and now its dead so no more recording for me. I've been seeing a girl who is three years younger than me, police sirens suddenly scare me. Also I've been watching a lot of tour de france, it's totally taken me in, those guys are absolutely incredible athletes. I thought to myself... they must be super fit, machine-like. So i started cycling... whaddya know?! Most of my running times have improved by about 4 or 5%

Finally, I've just got a writing job, I don't even have my degree yet. I can't write. My, Grammar. Is awful - joking.. what?

Bonsoir.

Zen Running

Today I had a drink at the Woody with my good friend Gill (a man's name - pronounced with a hard G, not a J), we watched the league 2 play-off finals, POORS Shrewsbury didn't get promoted again, if anybody deserves league 1 football it's those guys. Managed to persuade Gill to persuade our IMG footy team to run the Cardiff half marathon on behalf of charity, very pleased with this, I like the idea of perhaps opening people's eyes to the thrill and unique sense of accomplishment when finishing a long distance race.

I also ran the Cardiff Parkrun 5k this morning, the guy who won logged a 15 minute time and he's the same age as me, makes me sick!!! I ran a disappointing time, missed out on sub 20 by a considerable time, not too worried though as this event runs every single week. I have 28 more attempts this year! Will be in the 17 minute club by December.... hahahahahahaha...

The post is titled Zen running, the phrase I have applied to running for the sake of enjoyment and escape. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in training programmes and personal bests, Ive been working on improving my 10km time for the last 2 months and have taken 5 minutes off in that time. I've just realised that instead of going to bed every night refreshed and content I end up obsessing over training regimes and running times. I have now realised the importance of the fortnightly zen run, I am off to north west Wales tomorrow, to a small peninsular near Aberdaron, I plan to run around the coast and the mountains just to get a sense of my running self back again. I'm going to plod along, leave the iPod at home, and just use the time completely for myself. Woooo, I am going with a friend of mine who isn't a runner, I'm going to bring a spare pair of running shoes and try and get him into the vibe too, he has a good build for long distance so he might put me to shame!

It's Star Trek weekend on Virgin1 so I'm off to geek out now!

pffft

Short update, I ran an awful run yesterday, 7 and a bit miles of hills, usually cope well but hit a mental and physical barrier with about a mile to go. Nevermind. Afterwards I went out to celebrate finishing my second year of uni with course friends, I realised I actually don't like most of them, with the notable exception of some who are very special to me and are possibly reading this entry. Fed up with the monotiny of going out, drinking alcohol (which is bad for you), being peer pressured to smoke (which is out of the question and should be banned totally in my opinion), dancing to pre-programmed sets by wank DJs in a tiny club which smells of BO and is home to the biggest bunch of scenester retards in the world. I have a love hate relationship with the binge drink culture, I think it destroys any sense of cultural or artistic appreciation in young people, it also drains financial resources. It is however a large part of student life and at the right time, in the right mood, with the right people... I love it.

P.S. Try-hards make me die a little inside.

10 Mile High

I took a rest day yesterday, to add to the rest week I had before it. My day was consumed with Ice packs, compression and use of the super-genius T.E.N.S machine on my right heel/ankle. Apparently it heals ligaments with electronic frequencies (well beyond my understanding as a student of the social sciences). It seemed to work anyway as today saw my successful departure on a ten mile run, I took it steady on the first 5 miles just to see how my foot responded. Over pronation seems to have been partly cured by new shoes but I'm still doing it once every 9 or 10 steps.

The second 5 miles were good, the sun came out and I enjoyed listening to podcasts on my iPod which really cured the boredom that so often sets in on my longer runs. I am easily bored and quite impatient so I find podcasts are something to take my mind off the running. There is a mile long hollow towards the end of my 10 mile route that signals the worst part of my run, it is dark and slightly eerie, I know when i reach the end of it I only have one mile to go. I overpaced myself badly in the hollow which meant my usual finish at 1500 metre pace did not happen at all, finished at more of a marathon pace, slow and fatigued. However, still very happy to be relatively injury free and back on track again, 10 miles in 1 hour 14 is far from my best or even average time but it's something to build on over the 4 months off I have in summer.

I look forward to summer, I won't be working, I have no uni work, it means I can train as if running is my full time job, I probably need somebody to help me with training schedules etc though because I would like to make the most of it. Going to try and get 30 miles in per week but also concentrate on interval training and speed sessions, probably go swimming once a week but might drop the whole gym routine thing, it's good for core maintenence but I always end up lifting weights out of vanity and I do seem to bulk quite quickly, extra weight is unneccesary to say the least.

In non running news, I saw Star Trek last night and it was incredible, I am now a full time Trekkie!

Live long and propser.

Rain, wind and severe ligament pain

I had every intention of writing today of my successful departure on a 10 mile training run, it was to be a glorious post, full of personal triumph and witty running metaphors. Instead I write of my absolute failure at today's 10 mile run, resulting in anger which I can only really direct back at my self. Today was my first run in my new trainers, which actually fit comfortably and were not the cause of my problems today. Here is a list of things that ruined my day:

Slashing rain
Howling wind
Searing ligament pain (a recent reoccuring problem)
The ridiculously non-waterproof excuse for a kagoule I was wearing
Burning thighs still reeling from a heavy legs session at the gym on thursday.

I ran for approximately 30 minutes and gave up, my anterior cruciate ligament (something I only knew existed last week) felt like it was going to snap, I felt unfit, unhealthy, sluggish and slow - not a good combination for a long distance runner. All this comes after the revelation that if I continue with current progress I could be fast enough to run for my university in September. The problem is I have a relatively fragile sense of self, especially when it comes to fitness, if i take two days off I begin to question whether I'll be able to run as fast on my next venture on the open road. A week off (which I have just had) kills me, and messing up a run after a week off, well lets just say I'm not exactly going to be an amiable character for the next few days.

My plan:

Watch chariots of fire, feel sorry for myself, take tomorrow off, try again on tuesday - 10 miles. It is important to note at this time that I am in Bath staying at my parents house for some peace and quiet during revision for uni exams, I am getting neither peace or quiet and my mum won't leave me alone until I eat thousands of calories worth of roast dinner. It's not going to happen because 1) I hate roast and 2) I don't feel I have earned the right to gluttony today.

Todays mantra:

Take the good with the bad, even if the bad seems like a cruel joke.

My Backlog, or Lackblog if you're Punny...

This blog is about something to which I share with none of my friends: running. This is therefore for all the people I don't know, a spot where I can be honest and share my thoughts about the simplest but most perfect thing in my life, a pair of green trainers and the open road.

I have started this so that I can learn more from other runners, but my life whether in running, working, in romance or in music - my other great passion, is always an entertaining ride so maybe I can provide some outlook for others. I am currently 20 years old, not a little boy at all really, I have been running for two years, recently my times have been tumbling down and I am aiming for a sub 40 min 10km by september (the 10km is my favourite race because I'm lazy). I am a student in Cardiff, a great city for running in, and have just joined les croupiers running club, I am also working towards running for the uni as from September. I play guitar and make music avidly, but this is unimportant.

After a recent athsma checkup with my GP I was told I drink more than three times the recommended alcohol units for a male adult, I also eat like a bear preparing for hibernation, running keeps me on the straight and narrow...ish.

My mission statement (if you will allow me to make such a bold statement) is to be honest about my life everyday, I will not just update on days my training goes well, but also on days when I go out and drink so much I end up in a pool of my own stomach lining having had my phone stolen by passers by (yes this has happened). I will log my running times, my moods, my aims, my ambitions and probably a fair few stories about people who annoy me... most people annoy me.

So far:

Bristol 10KM 2008: 56:12
Bath Half Marathon 2009: 1:47:00
Cardiff 10KM 2009: 49:01
Pensford Hill 10KM 2009: 46:12
Bristol 10KM 2009: 43:58
5KM PB: 20:24

Coming up:

Les Croups Cardiff 5KM
Llanelli 10km
Bristol Half Marathon
Cardiff Half Marathon

As you can see from my times I am DISTINCTLY AVERAGE at running, but maybe one day I'll be pushing 'satisfactory' or even upwards of mediocre. My dream is to not just run, but compete!