Running Blind: Pushing My Performance

Hello running blind fans, so this week we hit two massive milestones for me, firstly I have managed to run constantly for a whole hour and secondly I have hit the 8.5km distance mark. This means I have passed the point where I can run a third of the distance required for the Great North run in September and I’m tracking on my training schedule. 

It not all been easy sailing to get there so far, with me struggling at the start to run the distance and needing to do a walk run training system to get myself back into shape. I have had to all’s pay attention to my breathing more as I was suffering with a stitch in my stomach once I hit about 500m. This was a struggle mentally as I felt I should have been fitter than I was.

I was finding it had to keep a consistent pace while running in the first few months which made training harder. I found myself setting off fast and being out of breath as well as getting pains in my shins and calves. To help with this my wife kindly offered to run with me so I could pace myself better. As she is much smaller than me then she naturally runs slower, this made me slow down so I could concentrate on my breathing and focusing on a better running form. This made a massive difference to me and helped me get back to me feeling in control of my running.

My revised training plan has been made so that once I had hit the magic 5km and could run the whole distance without stopping I would push 1 of my 3 runs each week further out by 1km. That way I could slowly extend my running range in a more controlled way. Week on week I moved to 6km then 7km but as the week arrived to run 8km I discovered that not only was 8km realistic and possible it would take me close the magic 1 hour time marker. This meant if I ran on past the 8km I would be at a point where I hit an hours run time, which for me was a big mental barrier to overcome. Distance wise it was only 500m more to pass the hour mark 

I now find myself thinking more positively about running in general and that I can truly “run” the whole of the great north run distance at 21km. My next weeks target should be 9.5km if I stick to the plan of adding 1km each week however that is so close to 10km that it seems almost natural to push myself towards hitting the higher number. 

That said of course I’m on holiday in Norway that week so fitting in a run in an environment I don’t know may be a stretch to far even for me. Some real thought and planning will need to but put in to give me a confidence I need to head out on a run. How do you even say “BLIND RUNNER” in Norwegian and do really need a shirt that shouts it out anyway? Maybe they can all read English??

Until next time and thanks for reading.

If you want to follow my progress with my training and learning to run while I get ready for the race you can always follow me on Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/134879567

If you would like to help me raise money for Blind Veterans as I continue on my running to get fit journey the please use this link https://AJBellgreatnorthrun2024.enthuse.com/pf/steven-holliday

To learn more about the great work that Blind Veterans complete click the link https://www.blindveterans.org.uk/ 

Keep on running!

Steve