Veganuary and training

In previous years, I’ve written lengthy posts setting out long lists of intentions for the year, but I’m not in a place where I want to make any New Year’s resolutions this year. If I’m out walking, I like listening to The Lazy Genius podcast. Kendra Adachie’s mantra of ‘progress not perfection’ feels much more attainable right now. There are many reasons why I’ve not written so much in the last couple of years, but I’m going to try not to be a perfectionist this year and will post more frequently.

I want to be more mindful about what I’m eating this and try to make sensible, healthy and sustainable decisions about what I eat. I have been thinking about veganism for a while, so when I was offered a copy of Sadie Jade’s Vegan Lifestyle Journal, I thought it might be a useful starting point. (Watch out for a separate blog post where I review this book.) Interestingly, near the start it includes the phrase ‘progress not perfection’ which is what helped it feel like an accessible introduction for me and chimed with my existing thoughts. I have no intention of generating food waste by discarding anything which is already in my house which isn’t vegan, but will try taking some small steps. So, I’m not fully on-board with veganuary, but I will be trying.

Fortunately, much of what I cook is already vegan. I’m not a great food photographer, but this is my vegan chili that I made this week. It might not look good, but it tastes delicious. I just need to find the brown rice in the cupboard!

RunThrough Southampton Running Festival

I entered RunThrough’s Southampton Running Festival Half Marathon, which takes place on 16/02/24. This will be the first race I’ve entered since last summer’s Copythorne 10k. I’ve been working on a training schedule which is quite loose, and I’ve not found the change in weather to be helpful.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to join the next two Sunday Runday meet the pacers events on Sunday 2nd February (8 miles) and Sunday 2nd March (10 Miles). The second one will be after my race, but may help to keep some momentum going with my running. Stu did the last one and found it useful.

Have you entered any races in 2025?

Southampton parkrun

I’ve already fallen off my training schedule. The plan was for me to run down to parkrun on Saturday morning, so 8.5km in total. However, it was exceptionally cold. We were having brunch with friends afterwards, so I didn’t want to get sweaty and then cold. I had also agreed to write a run report, so I wanted to be able to ask parkrunners questions before and after the event. (If you’d like to read my report, it’s now available on the Southampton parkrun website).

It wasn’t quite as cold and damp as New Year’s Day, so my blue 500 t-shirt was on full view. I was going to run at a steady pace… but I started running with Lynn halfway round and we started chatting, which kept me going.

Monday night YMCA run

For the last couple of years I’ve been running with a group from the YMCA in Eastleigh. It’s really sociable and is also convenient as it coincides with an activity that M does. On Monday I ran a couple of kilometres before meeting the rest of the group. I had a good catch up with Chris who I’ve not run with for a few months and managed to complete 8km in total. It’s not very far in comparison to what I used to run, but it’s a good start.

What have I been reading/watching this week?

I thought What “CrossFit Kids” Are Still Reckoning With was an interesting article. My personal opinion is that any sport which requires extreme commitment from children will have an impact on them. A tiny number of them will go on to be successful in their chosen sport; whereas others will look back on their time and wonder whether missing out on rites of passage was worth it. That’s not to say dedication is bad. I absolutely loved attending dance classes from when I was 5 until I left home (and afterwards), but I had enough time to pursue other interests as well.

This graphic from Running Heroes made me laugh

Finally, I’ve been watching this interview with the amazing Rosie Wild. Stu and I shared an apartment with Rosie during an Embrace Sports camp about a decade ago and she was a fantastic athlete then, so I really hope this year works out well for her.