Looking to the Future

1 Corinthians 9:26 “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air”

I have been doing some thinking about what the purpose of my blog is for. It is approaching a year since I made my first blog post about running. I still remember the Joseph Campbell quote that I ended with and I still believe in that quote. In some ways my thoughts about blogging and running have not changed since that article, but I am starting to get a better understanding of why I want to write about running. At a basic level it is to do with sharing and documenting what I enjoy about running as well as the challenges that I face; at a deeper level it is more about trying to find my best potential in running and realising at the same time that the very act of running takes me beyond myself. It may sound idealistic, but it is truly what I feel, and as in my last post I want to aim for something ambitious so that I can look back on my life beyond the world of work and money. Therefore I thought the quote from Corinthians was appropriate, as I see it as just as much a challenge as a statement about why I run and blog about it.

Preparing for Bournemouth

So it has been a while since my last blog post. Over the last month I have been in the process of changing jobs, which is great, but I am in the handover stage in my old job and inevitably this has meant things being busier between July and August. So a lot in terms of my running training has taken place, but frustratingly I have not been able to write about it. So this post is really a catch up on my activities in July and early August.

The main race I did in July was the Wimbledon Half Marathon. The course was relatively difficult, as there was a tough incline verging on being a hill for the first 1.5 miles, and the weather was awful. Rain and wind turned the dirt/ gravel foot path into a mud bath, where I competed with fellow runners to avoid puddles and seek grip with my lightweight shoes. The key positives to take from the race is that my resolve stayed intact pretty well throughout it, there was a slight wobble in my mentality just after coming up to half way through the race. Having the wind and the rain there gave me a good preparation to how things could go at any of the marathons I do in October, which was helpful. Also I came in at only 11 seconds off my personal best- that was on a completely flat course; coming in 16^th place on my chip time.