In 2017 I ran a 13 long series of weekly blogs on a range of subjects related to running. Here’s the collection here. Some of it remains as relevant today as the day I wrote it. Some perhaps not so much. Enjoy.
Friday thoughts #1: Goals!
Mindset plays a massive part in achieving your running goals. There is no two ways about it. For many it will be the pass or fail factor when it comes down to what they end up realising. I’ve written before about knowing what you want and having…
Friday thoughts #2: Irrelevance is not a bad thing
Whenever I am asked to recite a running anecdote I have a vast bucket of mental yarns to dip into. We all have great wee stories that can get a reaction ranging from belly laughs to boaking and everything in between. One of my favourites is from…
Friday thoughts #3: Adaptable
How you react to an event, a setback or even a boost, will determine a lot about both immediate and longer term implications of said event. We are shaped by our experiences, but I would argue we also shape our experiences. One of the least used words…
Friday thoughts #4: Resilience
What is resilience anyway? Some call it mental toughness. I like to think of it as your ability to ride out problems. In the first Friday thought I touched upon some of the themes that align to resilience and a few folks have asked me to go…
Friday thoughts #5: Icons
Whenever I look back at my most recent races I always have one or two training runs I have done which I see as being pivotal in my preparation. During the race I draw on the experience of these runs and use them to push me on. They are my iconic training runs. These aren’t…
Friday thoughts #6: Niggles
The start of the ultra racing season is well and truly upon us. In Scotland there’s been some stellar performances already with course records being smashed left, right and centre. Abroad the big races are warming up too and the sport is growing rapidly. That means it is permeating in our every day. You can’t…
Friday thoughts #7: Eating
I’ve had multiple requests to write about eating / nutrition in my Friday Thoughts series. Asking me about nutrition is like asking Giant Haystacks about trampolining. I am a recovering wotsit addict for crying out loud. I didn’t eat a salad till 2015 and I used to think that if the pizza base was thin crust…
Friday thoughts #8: Positivity
This is a subject close to my heart. I am sure of it. Get it? No? What!!! I give up. Positivity is so important in anything you do. That’s being sure it is something you want to do, being sure it is something you can do and something you will do. Those are good checks…
Friday thoughts #9: Pain
Back about 20 years ago I dabbled with Tukido. This isn’t a far east dinner suit, no, it is a far east martial art based around TaeKwonDo. I was rubbish at it. I had all the suppleness of a poker, the grace of a space hopper in the wind and, at the time, the dedication…
Friday thoughts #10: Positive Disruption
My Pyllon Racing buddy John Connolly was chatting to me (in electronic form via the popular and still encrypted communication tool known as Whatsapp) about changes in his training schedule. He called it Positive Disruption. It got us into an exchange about what it meant. And how it applies in running. The thought had been…
Friday thoughts #11: Goals
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question I ask people a lot. A lot of folks wander around aimlessly with no ambitions. Many just want to be happy and content, which is arguably the most laudable goal of all. What many miss though is what is it that makes…
Friday thoughts #12: Futility
Futility. Taken from the word futile. Which in Glasgow tradesman parlance could be “that’ll take a few tile tae fix…” (geddit, few tile? Oh FFS!) but in the case of this week’s Friday Thoughts, it is something completely different. Maybe even starting with such a bad joke could be said to be a lesson in…
Friday thoughts #13: Racing
Well. That’s it. We’ve come to the end of the #fridaythoughts series. 13 articles on a variety of subjects. Some have called them insightful, others more like brain farts. What better subject to finish on that racing? There’s probably hundreds but I am already committed now so let’s do this. Racing is a funny word.…
James Stewart 