Mapping out the past and the future

Do I need to stick a race on the calendar, or will that only ruin the easy flow?

Running has been ticking along nicely in my life these last few weeks. Since the Drogo 10, I’ve settled into a rhythm of running about 30 miles a week, mostly at a steady pace, just enjoying the space running brings me, the childlike fun of splashing and stomping along the muddy Devon trails.

Four runs a week has been enough - just about - to keep me at a good level of fitness after the Ireland run, and I’m enjoying feeling easy and smooth on my runs, without too much struggle or stress.

Am I finally entering a new, less competitive, stage of running? A stage where running itself is the motivating force, the pleasure, the goal? Richard Askwith’s lovely book Running Free is a celebration of what he calls the “fifth age of running”, the time when, as we get older, we begin to disentangle ourselves from the tyranny of the watch, we stop chasing times, and we simply enjoy ‘slow running’ – running for running’s sake.

Part of me can see that it is more healthy, both physically and mentally, to run like this, just to enjoy it. It feels like running is in balance with the other elements of my life. But also, I’m torn. Because part of me really wants to enter races, to compete and to try to run fast, to improve, to feel super-fit again.