Penrhyn parkrun

I have been worried since going full-time on our house restoration that I would lose my routine and get out of shape. Nina and I have flipped a house before, and in that 5 month period I got surprisingly fat and slow. But this time it is feeling very different. Having some idea of what I’m doing, with abit more skill and experience, makes everything feel nicer. Also, I have learnt the hard way, routine is key, NOT beastmode. People think they are doing some brave, noble thing when they work 14hr days. They wear it like a badge of honour. Unless you are raising babies, or doing some short-term push, then I call Bull on the whole principle.

I tried it on our first project, I figured if I worked 14 hours a day, I could almost half the project’s time-frame, and save loads of money. On day 4 I put a screw through a gas pipe. On day 5 I put a screw through a water pipe. In fixing these errors, I lost all the time I’d saved, and more, not to mention the money. 

Sometimes it comes from anxiety, that you are not good enough, so you will make up for it with more effort, and less sleep. The reality is; you need a good night sleep so your brain can process and learn, so your body can restore and refresh. You will wake up looking forward to working, rather than dreading it, and you will be much better at both problem solving and heavy lifting.

You might have seen this coming; but it’s the damn same thing with running. There is no beast mode you can take in a week or a month that is going to fast-track your fitness. The worst thing that can happen, is that you get away with it once. Then you might go through your whole life thinking you can get back there again. But 9 times out of 10, you will end up ill, injured, burnt out, or all three. 

Having said all this…having just given this big lecture…!

Nina and I get let down by someone this week, things are all set to a schedule, and we have to work HARD late into Tuesday night to stay on track. I don’t get to bed till 2am. It is not ideal in the midst of marathon training. But I rely on the fact that the body can do it every now and then when it needs to, and months of good routine should absorb the one-off load. 

I had wanted to go for my local parkrun record last weekend. When I arrived at Penrhyn Castle, I was told it was cancelled due to a power cut. Driving out of there, I was told it was back on, but I couldn’t turn my motivation back on quick enough. 

So I postpone the effort till this week. Training partner and fellow ON ambassador, Cal, is up for a head to head, so we give it some smack talk on twitter. 

The morning of the race is perfect, sunny, no wind. I launch off straight into the lead, we start down hill and Cal is right on my tail. When we get to the bottom, there is a very short uphill kick before the road evens out, I can feel Cal lose a few meters on me before he regains them on the flat. He wouldn’t usually let this happen. On the big uphill I can hear his breathing is already laboured, and I am pretty sure it’s over for him. 

I run the next 3 laps alone, high five Jim, and try not to knock into people as I lap them (thanks to Jen, for almost dragging one guy out of my path!). I miss the record by 4 seconds, but get my fastest ever time on the course. Cal is very honourable and buys me breakfast, large cappuccino and scone. He is in the midst of training for his first marathon, there are always bumps in the road.

This is my final high mileage week in the lead up to Brighton Marathon. 9 x 100 mile weeks and a few good races thrown in there. 2 weeks of taper up to the race, and I’m also very excited to represent the mighty Kent AC next week at the 12 Stage Road Relays.

Non-Running Highlight Of The Week:

Nina’s mum comes to look after the kids for 4 days. We spend our date-nights working away, but we are happy to do it. Nina creates this masterpiece…

Best Thing On The Internet This Week:

View this post on Instagram

I regret to declare… . My immediate retirement from running. But I am very blessed to announce my new venture as a Yoga Instructor. . This is something I have been meditating on a lot you guys. I have been practicing yoga moves in my living room for some weeks now. As you can see, I have already mastered most of the stances. . But I believe yoga should be about more than Instagram photos. I will be offering free one on one sessions for £45 an hour. . Check out my killer spiritual website, Namast-Hey-Russell.com. . Or just call me…please. . And remember, always follow your dreams, unless they are nightmares. . 🥊🔥🤸 . . #mondaymotivation #beON #runonclouds #noblepro

A post shared by Russell Bentley (@russell_runner) on Apr 1, 2019 at 11:15am PDT

Thing I’m Digging This Week:

“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry”

Winston Churchill

Click here to check out the full ON range

I do half my training on the smooth and powerful NoblePro. Click here to see their treadmills