Day 91: Back in the Race

I have finally done it! After well over a week of missed runs thanks to illness and a back that has been behaving with all the grace of an overdramatic stage actor, I’ve completed a full training run again. No shortened sessions, no gentle jogs—just a proper, structured run, the kind that makes you feel like you’re actually a marathon runner rather than just someone who owns a lot of running shoes.

This morning, I woke up determined. The back was sore, but not in the "sit down and despair" way—more in the "mildly irritating, but let’s see how it goes" way. So I got myself up, took myself off to work, and laced up for what I hoped would be a good step back towards proper training.

A Threshold of Pain and Progress

Now, you’d think my watch would greet my return with some gentle encouragement, maybe a nice, easy aerobic run, or a brisk walk followed by a medal. But no. My Garmin Forerunner 955, ever the relentless taskmaster, had scheduled me a threshold run. Yes, you read that correctly. Not an easy reintroduction, but an invitation to throw myself straight into the fire with 3 x 7-minute hard efforts.

It turned out to be exactly the kind of challenge I needed. The session included the rather brutal climb up Maidstone Road in Rochester, a hill that seems to stretch upwards forever, like an optical illusion designed by a particularly malevolent race director. But I pushed through, keeping my heart rate in a good zone, maintaining a decent pace on the flatter sections, and sticking to a steady grind on the hills. By the time I hit the cool-down, I felt like I had actually achieved something—though I did miscalculate slightly and ran past work, earning myself an extra few hundred metres. An unintentional bonus round, courtesy of my less-than-perfect internal GPS.

Holding Together, Just About

The rest of the day passed without much event, which in itself is a victory after a run like that. More importantly, my back seems to be holding up reasonably well—not perfect, but certainly not the disaster zone it could have been. It’s a promising sign, and with just a month left until the London Marathon on 27th April, I need all the positive momentum I can get.

This weekend is set to be a busy one, and I’ll be doing everything in my power to keep this training form going. There’s still a lot of work to do, but today was proof that I can get back on track. And after a week of frustration, I’ll take that as a win.

I may not be moving effortlessly, but let’s be honest—effortless running is just a myth spread by people who never meet hills.