Running with a Wounded Heart- Revised Edition (a sample)

A Little sample from my book, Running with a Wounded Heart - Revised edition 2018.

Well, I finally did it. The long-awaited updated version of my book, Running with a Wounded Heart is now "Live" on Amazon. I published the first edition in 2011, so sorry about the wait. Life rather got in the way. Anyway, for those who buy, I hope that you enjoy it.

https://amzn.to/2vx64qa 


For those of you who follow my Blogs, you will know that there are a few "Running" related posts. I get good feedback from those and so, this week, I've decided to feature a sample chapter from the book. The chapter I have selected is called, Coming back down to earth. It tells the story of the first "Serious" race that I competed in. 

Chapter 7. Coming back down to earth

The Sandringham race, I think, was around the September, October time and I immediately started searching for my next outing. At that time,
I had no idea where to look to find races and the next month’s copy of Runners World magazine didn’t have any races in my area. Looking back at local races held earlier in the year gave me a few names of local running clubs and I was able to go on to their websites and have a look at their race calendars. It was in this way that I found Wymondham AC, a running club about 20 miles from my home and proudly sent off my entry form for the Wymondham New Year’s Day 10k. Now you will get an idea of how badly I’d got the running bug if I was contemplating getting up early on New Year’s Day to run in a race. Encouraged by my Sandringham 10k race I duly presented myself at 9.00 sharp on a freezing New Year’s morning at the race HQ, ready to do battle.

Looking around at my fellow athletes, I was struck by three things. The first thing I noticed was that there were not hundreds of runners. Unlike Sandringham which had several thousand runners, the Wymondham 10k probably had a couple of hundred. Secondly, everyone looked pretty fit. 

They all looked like they were serious runners. Thirdly, there were no runners dressed as Ducks, Penguins or Bananas. There were only well toned, lean men and women in full running kit sporting names on their running vests like, Stowmarket Striders, Gt.Yarmouth Runners, Cambridge & Coleridge Athletic Club and Felixstowe Flyers. It was at that point that the realization dawned on me, who else but serious runners would turn out on New Year’s Day to race.

Of course, by then it was too late to pull out. I went off too quickly which was a common fault of mine early on and puffed and wheezed my way around. The course was hilly, and parts were covered in snow. I had to walk up some of the hills, but I finished. I came home third from last in a time of 1 hour and twenty minutes. As sobering as the experience was I actually did enjoy it. Well, I enjoyed it when it was over at least. It was fantastic to get my finishing medal at the end and it only served to fuel my enthusiasm to do more races. In fact, began to get obsessed with racing. Over the next couple of years, I entered as many 10k races as I could find. Most I enjoyed some not so much. I got to discover what kind of courses I liked to run on. I discovered early on that I didn’t like hills very much. I still don’t. I am very wary of course descriptions that feature the word “undulating” In my experience this can mean anything from a few gentle inclines to a route akin to a walking holiday in the Alps.

I also got a bit smarter and started looking at the results from previous years when I was choosing a race. If my estimated finishing time was around the one-hour mark, I would look to see how many people finished in around that time or slower. If there were a lot of people slower than one hour I’d feel a lot better about entering. If, on the other hand, most of the field finished quicker than an hour then I’d know it was a higher calibre club race and probably not suitable for me at the time.

Having decided to enter a race I would make sure that I knew where I was going, and I’d prepare my journey in advance. I’d make a checklist and lay out all my running kit the night before the race. I really enjoyed this aspect of racing. I guess I really am a Reflective Pragmatist you see.

I hope that you enjoyed that short taster from my book. It is available now on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2vx64qa 

Well, they do say, that when you are on a roll, just roll with it.. No sooner is the revised edition of my book Running with a Wounded Heart "Live" on Amazon.

Than I am cracking on with my next book, "Too Old to Ultra" Sneak peek at cover here. Meanwhile enjoy #RWWH

Available to Pre-order from March 2019

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