“Snailed it: when it takes awhile but you eventually nail it. A good reminder that progress is progress, forward is forward, no matter the pace or how many tries it takes”. This was a post from the amazing Courtney Dauwalter after she had to drop out at Barkley, in many ways the toughest race in the world. See for yourself: youtu.be/79IUKC9gS-8
Out of 35 elites, there were no finishers this year! Courtney’s easy, smiling personality always shines, even at her lowest moments. This approach is something I try to remember but too often forget. That the smallest progress can still be progress. As for me, I think my focus is finally fully back on trail again and it feels right. I just signed up for another 25k trail race in May and I am happy to have a new goal to work towards (I need goals or I tend to drift). I recently got back onto our local trails after months of them being too icy to safely run and I forgot how much I enjoyed them. That feels like a small step forward. I also go back to the office full-time tomorrow after two years of working from home due to Covid. We will see if that feels like progress by the end of the week 😊😬. How about you? How have you managed this last week? We all have very different lives and priorities. No matter how big or how small the gains, perhaps we can share our progress and challenges to inspire one another.
If you have a race coming up in the coming weeks, we have an Events Post up, so go there and tell us what you're up to! :
Totally agreed with this. This time last year, I'd reached 10 miles, then in the subsequent weeks did 18km, then had a "refusal" at 20km, which set me back for several months.
I built back and got to HM distance in September. I've done at least one 21.1km or longer run every month since. I suspect I might be breaking with that tradition this month.
This post feels timely for me as I have had to reset my goal of going further & have pressed pause on my marathon plan. I did 34 miles last week & that really is my max at this stage due to other life commitments. Sometimes, you’ve got to be realistic about what you can do.
I don’t feel too discouraged as I know I will get there one day. Last year 20miles per week was comfortable & 30 miles was not so I’m making progress.
I love setting goals even when I’m over ambitious. Thank you for letting me hang out here even though I’m still a wannabe long distance runner.
It’s my 2 year anniversary this week from graduating C25k. I’ve run 2918km since graduation & feel like I’m just getting started ❤️🏃♀️🏃🏻♂️
That is a great attitude RW. Setting a big goal is important, but maybe more important is the process of getting there. The habit, big or small of going out and getting it done is where all the time is spent on these plans, so we may as well try and enjoy the process. And with your young, super busy family you have bigger life challenges that need attending. You've made huge progress, and I'm sure there is much more where that came from. Also I'm with BC, the snakes and spiders should count as bonus miles! 🐍🕷️
Hi Decker, wow, no elite finishers? That’s a grueling one. 😳 I’m so glad you’re back on your beautiful trails again. 😍
It’s funny, but up until recently I didn’t really need goals. I just ran with a race in mind, not necessarily training for its distance. But ever since they bumped the Bath Half yet again and I was working my way through the NRC HM plan (just to take away the guesswork of what kind of run to do each day!), it left me high and dry. It proved I did need a goal after all! I could see absolutely no point in continuing with the plan just because! HM isn’t a distance I do for fun after all.
So I’ve ditched HM aspirations for this year (not necessarily for ever) and my goals are to work on my 5k and 10k times, all whilst working towards the GSR in October. Goals set. 😀
It's hard when the race you are working to gets shifted again and again like that. 5k and 10k training should serve you well if you turn back to HM later on. And it's probably more fun too :). Sounds like your focus is back in check which is great!
This is so pertinent to me right now. I love that phrase, "..the smallest progress can still be progress".From running at HM level to plummet back to feeling that, not even being able to run was an option, was frightening. But, as you say in your post... small steps.
Beginning right back at C25K in December 2020, re graduating in the June 2021, and getting back to 5K eventually, in was a really hard task; getting knocked back again didn't help, but those small steps eventually start moving you further and further,
I am still on the way back to 10K, ( slow and steady:). and accepting that some days I won't get a run in. But.
One day, I know, I will be back here posting back on here, head held high, I just need to carry in with those small steps
Thanks for this post.
Safe, happy running folks
PS
I am about to begin Week 7 Run 1 of Magic plan.... getting there!
Slow and steady steps is the only way it seems Floss. Your resilience is an inspiration, and working your way back will feel that much sweeter when you get back to where you want to be . You've got this.
Excellent post Decker and a timely one that I need to remind me just how far I’ve come in my running journey and to not be too harsh on myself.
I am driven by goals and work myself hard to achieve them which invariably has left me on the IC on a few occasions. I need to manage my expectations better and to focus on breaking it down into smaller, more achievable goals 👍
So, with that in mind, I am trying to work out a way forward that will still keep me motivated and making progress but will allow me to stay off that dreaded IC.
My race at the weekend highlighted to me that I have a lot of work to do to shave those vital seconds from my time if I want to be truly competitive at masters level sprinting. I know I have the motivation to do it and I’ve come to the conclusion that the safest way forward is for me to find a coach, or find another running club that has more focus on track and field athletics, and will be able to better define those goals for me.
According to onlookers in my last race, one area I could work on is improve my start, and another is my running technique. They said that the time is definitely in there as I have a great top speed. This is a job starting from today 👍 Go find a club and coach 👍
Good luck on those trails Decker and thank you again for this post,
Yes Brian, you have gotten faster and faster, and rode that fine edge of speed and injury. You've managed it so well with your amazing performances and it does make sense that a club and coach would be the next logical step now. Best of luck with it!
“Just to get back to camp alive” 😱 Blimey! That’s a heck of a race. But what a challenge!
I love that quote. It sums up my whole running journey so far because every milestone has taken ages. Progress has been slow and sometimes halted for months but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter and I know I’ll always get there in the end 🙂
But today, progress for me would be a run of any kind because my back is still too painful to do anything much since I overdid the gardening a few weeks ago 🙄 I did have a gentle 5K last week and it felt ok but then I made the decision to do a Pilates class the next day which in hindsight was not a good idea at all. Stupid! I never learn because I’ve overworked my back before and it took ages to heal ☹️
I’ve got a sports massage this afternoon and I’m hoping this will help ease out the tightness. But I don’t see me running (or gardening) for some time yet ☹️
Hey ho. Such is a runner’s life. The postponement of Bath HM is a blessing for me because today would have been the first day of my training plan for it so I have no pressures to get back out there. Apart from the fact I miss it so much.
Anyway, the good thing about being an injury “pro” is I know this is temporary and I will run again.
Ouch and double ouch...do take care..this seems yo be a great time for this post to appear for many of us doesn't it?You are right..the runs wait..patiently.. thank goodness.
Yes, it is temporary and you will run again soon IP. Sometimes those rest days are best spent just resting. But we never know we've done too much until it's done 😊
Thanks Decks for posting that 😃👍. I do believe a lady from Derbyshire, now living and working in Scotland, did best. Jasmin Paris What a gal 💪😀
It’s absolutely mental mind you 🤯. I watched Nicky Spinks film about her attempt a few years back, and had to wonder what drives folks to do this stuff. It’s not like she’s got nothing better to do 😁. I suppose the answer is, “because it’s there”. People have to go on adventures. ‘‘Twas ever thus 🙂
Courtney D is just so awesome it’s hard to list superlatives. Always with a smile on her face. She’s just at home in hostile terrain. It’s her playground I guess😃
Yes Jasmine was the first woman since 2013 to complete "fun run" - three out of five loops (60 miles) of the Barkley course. Just an amazing accomplishment.
Yes I think people just need to know their limits - and nothing tests them like races like this.
Courtney is just a superstar. It really is her playground. It's amazing she's a former high school science teacher.
I watched her at the UTMB. She always smiles. She obviously is in professional runner mode, and goes through the mill on these races, but she doesn’t seem to get bogged down in the angst that others do. Whether that’s because she’s not suffering as much, or she’s just better at handling it, I don’t know 🤷♀️. You know it’s brutal by watching the hideous struggles the runners submit themselves to. Maybe she’s better than everyone else and finds it easier. I have no idea 🙂
I find the Barkley struggles hard to watch🫣. Nicky Spinks in those brambles 😫.
Good luck with your running plans. I agree, it’s good to focus on a plan. 👍🏃♂️
Going back to the office! Good luck with that too. You’ll need your runs to de-stress 😁
I did my trail half marathon Sunday before last but since then I’ve done no runs at all. My body has conked! I’ve seized up and ache all over. So, listening to my body, I’m ticking over by walking the dog, to the shops etc. No strength work,etc as I feel too tender 😩
I’ve ordered some sale Altra’s, and am eating healthily, and getting some rest so I can go off for a jog this Sunday when I’ll have had two weeks to recover. I normally jog a bit the day after races to shake my legs out. Not this time 😤
I’ve got a new Ciele bobble hat and new trail socks to look forward too. Evry’ little ‘elps 🤷♀️
Have a fab week of running everyone 😀👍🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️
First day back was actually pretty nice. I'm a bit surprised to realize after two years of working alone in my basement to be in a building with thousands of others was not too bad. They did manage it well and we are phasing in slowly with just two days a week, so that helps.
Have you tried any rolling? When I am super sore after a big effort, sometimes the rolling helps.
Yeah maybe just the ticking over is the best way this time around. Really listening to what the body is saying is a rare skill I think.
A day or so after the race I got out of bed at 11.30 pm as my legs were keeping me awake, and I foam rolled them 😄
I’m trying to get excess weight off as that’s not helping. I put that on when I hurt my knee. I suppose I ate the same as when I was running normally. It’s a game innit 😄
I can’t wait to hit that trail. It’s siren sound is calling me 😁🏃♀️
Hi Decker! Thank you for hosting the Chat this week!! And I'm happy to see you're back on your happy trails 😊😊😊
I'm definitely "snailing it" at the moment with a slow comeback from Achilles annoyance and nasty illnesses. Been doing a lot indoors with strength work and the bike turbo trainer, and also starting to get outside and build back to running long, although I've only been doing a couple of runs per week. I've got the Brighton 10k this coming Sunday, which I will show up for but probably just keep to a relaxed pace. And then the Milton Keynes Marathon on May 2nd which I'm not sure about at the moment, but I don't think I want to miss it - not quite decided! I missed the deferment date, but I don't want to run it next year anyway. Things will be better after that I hope, and I will be hitting the trails too 😁 I'm a bit fed up with running on the flat all the time...
You've had a few challenges lately Abi, but you are really running that turbo trainer through it's paces! Sounds like a wise plan for the 10k. Fingers crossed for the MK marathon, whatever you decide to do. The trails are so energizing! I wish I could spend more time in there. My friend just moved to Los Angeles and the trails and sunsets are the stuff of legend! He just did his second 100k and it looked just amazing.
Sometimes small victories have to be enough. The last time I ran further than 5k was in November. Today was another 5k, painful foot post run, but swelling has gone…..so that feels like progress. A steady 7:08 pace, which is an improvement, and my average heart rate is improving too, so a bit of fitness is creeping back in. A snailathon of a different order. The important bit is that I really enjoyed the run.👍
I think you hit the nail on the head BC. The whole point is enjoyment after all. If you can snag some more of that I would certainly call it success. I really hope you fully heal up soon and manage to squeeze all the enjoyment you can from it.
Snails rock! See my post on Bridge!Progress is progress and as Decker says, enjoyment is the thing...hopefully things will improve. steadily for you. xxx
I did see your post on Bridge Floss……I have learned that trying to run too quickly at my age, sooner or later, doesn’t end well, but I am enjoying what I can do now. Gastropods Rule OK. 🐌🐌🐌
Thanks for a lovely post. I think that snails are slightly faster than me at the moment... Last Monday I went out for a 1km run post covid. That felt reasonably hard. Today I thought I would work in time and did the NRC 10' run. Ended up doing a few extra minute as bumped into a friend. Ended up running a mile. It's really frustrating and I want to be able to run more. Finding it very hard to be patient with myself.
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