I don’t sleep well after races. The mix of adrenaline, caffeine and soreness doesn’t help but I think it’s mainly an issue with switching off. The mind keeps racing even though the finish line has long past. I’m writing this after the excellent 5000 m Track challenge – putting that racing mind to use.

This year has been an interesting one so far. No orienteering championships to aim for, plenty of grand plans, some great experiences and some frustrating ones. It’s hard to know what to think when the only constant seems to be that there is no constant.

My Achilles is an on again, off again issue but I’ve still managed some great weeks of consistent training. I put their continued niggling partly down to the fact that Achilles injuries are generally a brute to get on top of and partly down to my lack of motivation to do the boring, unglamorous, necessary rehab. It’s like homework, I know I’m better off doing it right but I still find myself rushing through last minute.

The year in one word

If I had to summarise this year in one word it would probably be ‘frustrating’ – but even as I write that it sounds silly. Despite not always being plain sailing, it’s been a good year – I know that – but I’m a step behind where I’d like to be. The issue is not that I’m running poorly but that my expectations are higher than they’ve ever been.

Expectations are good in a way, the desire to keep improving – to see what I’m capable of – is a strong motivation. The problem comes when the big picture is lost.

I was never a great runner as a junior – my breakthrough came in 2016, at the grand old age of 25. During that year I broke the 15 minute barrier in the 5 km, the 30 minute barrier in the 10 km and pulled on a Welsh athletics vest for the first time – all big landmarks and the latter a particularly proud moment. The improvements continued through 2017 and 2018 and, honestly, in those three years I achieved more than I ever believed that I was capable of.

Balancing expectations

So that’s what I find silly – that I’ve too often lost sight of that big picture this year. I’ve run my second fastest times over 5 km and 10 km, won the Scottish 5km Championships on the road and the Welsh 5000 m Championships on the track. Three years ago those achievements would have been beyond anything I’d have dreamed of.

Running isn’t a sport that can be measured in weeks – progress takes time and, sometimes, you have to take a step back and recognise just how far you have come. I need reminding of that every once in a while.

Now that’s all written down, maybe I’ll get some sleep – but probably not..

RELATED: Are full time athletes really living the dream?

Kris Jones features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Kris on Instagram and Twitter, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Don’t let your expectations run too far ahead appeared first on Fast Running.

I’m sure I’m not the only runner who occasionally dreams of being a full time athlete; when my alarm goes off in the morning, when I’m sat in a traffic ridden commute, or when I scroll past another Instagram photo of a runner in an exotic destination.

So when the opportunity arose to go to Albuquerque for a training camp supported by Welsh Athletics, I jumped at the chance. Three weeks of thin air, like minded company and the opportunity to focus 100% of my energies on training. Would I even want to come home?

Just the right time

I’d have loved to have started the camp in really great fitness, use the time to try to push my fitness to another level, but that wasn’t quite where I was at. Whilst I was still managing my Achilles, the camp arrived at just the right time; I’d built up both my mileage and faster running to a level which, whilst not quite where I wanted to be, gave me confidence that I’d be able to make the most of the trip.

Time was mainly spent training and relaxing after training; a nice life if you can manage it. Running felt hard at first, the altitude making even easy runs difficult, but after a few days, and one monster run up a mountain, everything started to feel more normal. My heart rate remained higher than I’d have expected the whole time I was out there so I can see how it helps you build fitness but I’m also sure that the focus gained from building your day around your training was huge.

I not only gained fitness over the three weeks but I came home relaxed and with a bucket load of motivation.

I’ll probably still have the same dreams of being a full time athlete, who wouldn’t love to spend their life doing something they love doing? But, I don’t think I’m missing out too much.

Photo: Kris Jones

Living the dream?

Sure, it was nice to sleep until I wanted, to spend spare hours relaxing and recovering and, more generally, to be able to fit my life around my training, instead of the other way around. Would these things make a difference in the long term? Maybe.

Maybe that extra time would see me take better care of myself and reduce the likelihood of a niggle developing into something more serious. Maybe the extra recovery would see me add that extra session I never have time for, or the stretching and strengthening I too often neglect. However, I also believe that consistently doing the basics gets you most of the way there.

If something is worth doing, it is worth finding the time for so, rather than dream of greener grass, it’s probably better to consider how I can introduce the full time outlook into my day to day.

Instead of an extra training session, can I make better use of the training time I already have? Instead of a lie in or an afternoon nap, can I go to bed a bit earlier? Instead of collapsing on the sofa at the end of the day, can I find a spare twenty minutes to do that stretching and rehab? Being honest with myself, time is rarely the limiting factor.

Photo: Kris Jones

Happy with life as it is

Fitting training around a full time job requires sacrifice but I’m happy with that. Whatever your circumstances, training requires sacrifice. A three week training camp gave me a glimpse of what it might be to be full time but provided me little experiences of the sacrifices required to make it a long term option.

At the end of the camp I was happy enough to return to the security and routine of the nine-to-five routine; armed with a bit of extra fitness and experience.

Kris Jones features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Kris on Instagram and Twitter, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Are full time athletes really living the dream? appeared first on Fast Running.

I am continuing to work through my injury issues, getting better each week but progress is slower than I would like. I have a plan, but it is not set in stone; if I need more time, I will take it. Patience is not coming easy, I want to be back racing, but I am trying to think of the bigger picture.

I’ve always found that it is consistency rather than pushing the boundaries which has had the biggest effect and it takes time to build consistency. In the mean-time, let me tell you about the sport that got me into running in the first place, and why you should give it a try.

The world of orienteering

Imagine a race where you can’t respond to your competitors or prepare tactics beforehand. The race is about you and you alone. You start alone, your competitors starting at intervals in front and behind you, and the course will not be marked.

You know little before the start of the race, just the distance and the type of terrain. During the race, you will have to find your own way using a map and compass. You choose your own route and you will have to take on a variety of terrain over the course of the race. That is orienteering in a nutshell.

The race starts when you pick up the map; more detailed than an ordnance survey map but designed to be easy to use on the run. The clock doesn’t stop, so reading and understanding the map on the run is key.

The videos (by Swedish orienteer Goran Winblad) below and another one linked here follow Swedish international runners Tove Alexandersson and Jonas Leandersson on part of an orienteering race. The map – and the runners’ progress – is shown in the corner of the screen. You’ll notice quickly that this isn’t a walk in the park; these guys don’t hang around.

Being able to run fast is a big advantage, and the top orienteers are also top-class runners. Swedish Tove Alexandersson was World Skyrunning Champion for 2018 and Maja Alm just set the Danish indoor 3000m record; both are multiple world orienteering champions.

Finnish athlete Topi Raitanen, who recently won Armagh 5k in a staggering 13.42, has raced for the Finnish national team in orienteering.

Fast running is an advantage, but success is about balance

Imagine sprinting up a hill; lungs on fire, heart beating out of your chest. When you get to the top of the hill and you will have to make a decision on which way to go. Make the wrong choice or hesitate and your hard-won seconds soon disappear.

The win doesn’t necessarily go to the fastest runner, but the runner who gets the balance right; the tortoise can beat the hare.

If you make a mistake when orienteering, you don’t get another chance to try again. Every orienteering course is different so that the navigation remains a challenge. Variety is built in; you’ll never make the same decision twice.

The same forest provides different challenges on every visit, and open hillsides, sand dunes, country parks, towns and cities all provide their own unique challenges. This to me is the biggest draw of orienteering; the demands are dynamic, and you must adapt to be successful.

I have been an orienteer for most of my life; taken along to local events with my family at a young age. We all had a go, choosing the course that best suited our abilities at the time. I wasn’t good to start with, I got lost a lot. I stuck at it, not that I had too much choice in the matter to begin with, and started to learn from my mistakes.

Over time, I took on longer and more challenging courses and that is what pushed me toward running. I wanted to be faster so I could be better at orienteering.

Give it a try

Orienteering has always sold itself as a family sport, rightfully so, but I also believe that orienteering has a lot to offer any runner in search of some variety.

My advice to someone wanting to start out; find your local club, go to an event and give it a go. Start with a short easy course and move up as you begin to learn the ropes.

South London Orienteers have a series of videos that can give you an idea of the basics, but even better would be to go to an event targeted at newcomers.

Most clubs will put a few of these on throughout the year, with someone on hand to guide you through the initial hurdles. You’ll make mistakes, you’ll probably get a bit lost, but the feeling when it all comes together is as good as any runners high. At the very least you’ll have a new experience and add some variety to your running.

Kris Jones features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Kris on Instagram and Twitter, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Add some variety to your running appeared first on Fast Running.

Training well, ticking off the miles without fuss. Improvements starting to show in racing, one good result after another. Looking forward to the early mornings when you pull on your running shoes and escape for an hour.

Everything falling in to place; until it is not.

It starts with a little pain, barely worth mentioning. After the run you forget about it. “How did the run go?” “Fine.”

Next day, same pain, but is it worse now? Skip a session, take it easy instead, but the pain remains and it’s definitely worse now. A full rest then. Remembering the stretching and strengthening that you’ve been neglecting.

How long have I had these shoes? Hindsight is clear; as easy as it has felt, you have been working hard recently. Those extra miles looking like a bad choice.

No matter the injury, no runner likes being side-lined. Missing out on the thrill of racing, the camaraderie of the training group or the simple pleasures that come with getting out the door.

Motivation and confidence seep away quickly, disappearing with every passing day; fitness too. What running you can manage feels awkward and uncomfortable. Those mornings of escape feeling like a distant memory.

Races will be cancelled, plans remade. Time will be spent correcting imbalances and weaknesses, staring at the blank wall in the gym as the seconds tick by excruciating slowly.

It’s not glamorous, it won’t get kudos and it won’t make the Rocky training montage, but it is necessary.

It’s a story that will probably be all too familiar. About getting carried away. About getting the balance wrong.

Thinking that training is about miles and sessions, not about recovery and maintenance. Unfortunately, it is the story of my last month; hampered by an Achilles that doesn’t want to play. I’m not the first and I won’t be the last.

I should know better

The most galling part of it; I should know better, I’ve been here before.

I should have recognised the signs and been more conservative, but now I can only deal with it as best as I can.

It’s not that bad in the grand scheme of things, there will be runners out there to whom a few weeks off will seem like small fry. It’s down to me to make sure that it doesn’t develop into something bigger.

Frustratingly, it is one of those injuries which gets better quickly, only to return with a vengeance soon enough. A false sense of security, an invitation to get carried away once more.

I’ll build back into running slowly now, cautioned by the false dawns I’ve had over the past few weeks. I’ll reassess racing plans and continue to work on my weaknesses.

I love racing and I hate missing out, but the long-term view is always better in running; despite how rubbish this can seem. I have been relatively lucky with injuries over the years.

What issues I have had, have been small and relatively short-lived.

I hope that this setback will serve as a reminder: Don’t chase miles, take care of yourself, do the unglamorous work.

Improvements in running don’t often come quickly, and there is no shortcut. Consistency is always the goal.

Kris Jones features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Kris on Instagram and Twitter, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post An all too familiar story appeared first on Fast Running.

Orienteering is Kris Jones’ first love but he is also an established distance runner who continues to impress whether it’s track, road or cross country.

After winning orienteering medals for Great Britain, the Welshman made his GB athletics debut at the European Cross Country Championships at the end of 2018.

Looking ahead to this year, and with no sprint distance at the World Orienteering Championships, Jones has more flexibility than he usually has with his season. The 27 year-old plans to make use of this time by exploring a few new things, including taking on the marathon for the first time.

Profile

Name: Kristian Jones
Age (Jan 2019): 27
Hometown: Swansea
Club: Swansea Harriers and Dundee Hawkhill Harriers (Athletics), Forth Valley Orienteers and Lillomarka OL (Orienteering)
Main discipline: Orienteering, focusing on the sprint discipline and relays
Other disciplines: I’ll try my hand at a bit of anything: Track, cross country, hill running and road running. My preferred distance is probably 5 km – 10 km.
Full-time athlete/work/studying: Full time / Research engineer

Goals or targets for 2019

1) Continue to progress as a runner and to push myself out of my comfort zone
2) Marathon debut – learn about the distance and have a positive debut experience
3) To represent Great Britain

*There is no sprint distance at the World Orienteering Championships next year, as a new alternating schedule kicks in. This gives me a little bit more leeway to explore other things, rather than building a season around the World Orienteering Championships as I would normally do.

Running highlights

1) 2018 European Orienteering Championships, Sprint – bronze
2) 2018 European Cross Country Championships, 12th
3) 2016 World University Orienteering Championships, Sprint and Sprint Relay – gold

Personal bests

1) 5000m: 13:45 (Loughborough BMC Grand Prix, June 2018)
2) 10,000m: 29:05 (Highgate Night of the 10,000m PB’s, May 2018)
3) Half Marathon: 63.55 (Cardiff Half Marathon, October 2018)

Interesting or fun facts

I have just completed a PhD studying the biomechanics of the golf swing, but I have never played a round of golf myself.

I’ve never had a ‘proper’ running coach.

I listen to podcasts and audiobooks almost every day on my commute but rarely listen to anything while running. If I am listening to something, then you know it’s because I’ve had difficulty getting out the door or that I’m on a really good bit.

I run because…

I enjoy it. The reasons change quite regularly; the scenery and getting outdoors, the feeling of progression or achievement and often just because I can relax and switch off.

I rarely come back from a run feeling worse than when I started.

Favourite training session

Long runs in the hills are always nice, but I get a lot of satisfaction from the routine of everyday training, so one type of session doesn’t stand out as a favourite.

Least favourite training session

Anything that keeps me indoors; so mostly strength training.

I try to maintain one session a week because I think it helps me stay relatively injury free, but it isn’t something I look forward to.

Favourite pre-race food

Porridge or cereal.

Favourite post-race food

Anything sweet and sugary.

Favourite runner or runners

Steve Ovett and Charlie Spedding from a running standpoint. Jamie Stevenson and Jon Duncan from an orienteering standpoint.

Rather than pure achievement, it’s the work ethic which inspires me. I also get a lot of inspiration from my competitors, it inspires me to up my game when I see others working hard.

Kris Jones features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Kris on Instagram and Twitter, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Fast 10: Kris Jones appeared first on Fast Running.