I've started this blog as a way to work through my thoughts and get feedback on running as I'm midway into training for my first marathon (Southampton, 22 April 2018).
There are 'running authors' out there (Murakami; Rowlands is another) who seem to 'get their best thinking done' when running, but for me it's all around the run itself: on the 'outside' as it were.
At home I have a several books by such running authors as well as several well-thumbed copies of Runner's World; and three of the latter's publications. These are the Complete Guide to Running; Run Your Belly Off; and a Runner's Diary. All three are essential tools in my running toolkit and have worked wonders for me.
My best support comes from my club. I run with Runnymede Runners at least a couple of times a week and the social aspect of it has been indispensable, not to mention fun. Here's another picture of me, this time at Cabbage Patch in Twickenham last year. With the club we do hills, speed-work, but mostly routes of moderate distance and varying levels of chattiness, clustered around whatever pace you're currently comfortable with.
After the running, I can make notes in the Runner's Diary, and these are very focused, condensed and very specific information about what I need to do. Recently, for example, after examining everything I think I'm doing right, including strength training to ward off injuries, I decided I'm not getting enough sleep, and made an adjustment.
But I also think I'm not writing enough. There's not enough room in the diary to get all my thoughts down. And so, I begin the blog. There is a scratch pad where I write down early versions of blog posts and one is waiting there, ready to be typed up.
In it, I describe what I mean by 'dialectics' of running (essentially, working through paradoxes or conundrums related to running practice); at the same time it is a very personal post related to my upcoming marathon and the recent death of my father in British Columbia, Canada. Stay posted.
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