It’s been a while since I put pen to paper (I’m not even doing that now, but you know what I mean) and kept you updated with the latest news from PBRunner.

Late July and early August is a funny time in the running calendar with races drying up a little and families taking the opportunity for a break with their kids (or without them if you’re lucky). That’s where holidays come in. We all need them and they are a good opportunity to rest up and give ourselves a break from our normal day stresses.

What they inevitably do is scupper our training plans. The 2 hour long runs have to take a back seat and the thought that our fitness may regress needs to put to one side, for a week or two at least. It’s commonly believed that if you take a two week break from your normal running routine, you won’t actually lose any fitness. Anything longer and that’s generally when our aerobic capacity will start to tail off. So perhaps no booking trips around the World, aye Susan.

All we can do is juggle our plans accordingly and I will never force runners to do training runs whilst away on holiday. If you can squeeze in a run or two, then brilliant, but the most important thing is you enjoy your break.

That brings me onto hobbles. Or niggles (not as effective for the title). A know quite a few of the team have picked up injuries of late. That’s part and parcel of running I’m afraid. I’ve been fortunate enough that my niggles haven’t stopped me running (yet) but the past two weeks I have been running with a pain in my right knee.

We have a few options as runners. Ignore the pain and continue as normal. This has been my approach to date and I simply evaluate how painful the problem is. Less than 7, good to go. More than 7, time to rest.

I have missed a couple of sessions during this plan when the pain nudged over Len Goodman‘s favourite number. But most of the time I’ve continued on. The only person that can make that call is you the runner.

The other option is to seek professional advice. If you are able to get a diagnosis then you can put a treatment plan in place. Normally that will involve resting and stretching. As brilliant as google is, it’s not always wise to try and self diagnose.

On a more positive note PB Runner has featured in the newspaper a few times in recent weeks. Firstly a thank you to Neil Jeffries for given myself and the website a shout out after the handicap race. I can honestly say that was totally Neil’s doing, so thank you.

A week or two later Fleur appeared on the back page as she continues to collect trophies and accolades for her excellent running. I won’t list them here as I’m sure you saw the post but it’s great to see the hard work Fleur has put in, paying off. I wish I could take more credit but Fleur was already running great when she joined the team.

I’d also like to mention Sue Mann who was one of the first runners to join the team. Week in week out she smashes her plan, she did take her running shoes with her on holiday to get the miles in (take note peeps).

Despite often being at the back of the group (I’ve been there, it’s tough), Sue has never complained and shows real determination to keep pushing and improve her fitness. On Friday she ran the Rye 10K in 1 hour and 7 minutes. A 6 minute improvement from her time on the same course a month earlier.

That result alone is proof that if you stick with the plan, keep working hard and the results will come. It does take time, often 3-4 months, but trust me, it works and the harder you have to work for it, the more satisfying it is.

Thursday marks the conclusion of my 13th training plan. I’ll be aiming for a 10k PB which has stood for 24 months now. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve worked really hard on my own running to put myself in a position to have this opportunity. Now that I coach on a Monday and Tuesday evening it means I’ve done all of my recent effort sessions alone and that can be tough. But Team Orange inspires me to keep pushing, even when the knee hurts or I feel tempted to stay indoors out of the summer gloom.

Fingers crossed I’m able to deliver.

I’ll finish by saying it’s not even a PB that excites me the most. It’s the opportunity to start my 14th training plan in a few weeks and see if I can continue to find ways to improve. For me that’s the challenge I relish. Trying to become a better runner, better person and better coach.

Thanks for reading!

Coach Simon #TeamOrange 👊🍊