It’s all about balance and knowing your body, running and fitness expert Chas Allen said to me earlier this week whilst we were out on a 90-minute easy trail and woodland run with the rain pouring down.

I love running in the woods and it’s even better in the rain!

The beauty of these long slow runs is that it not only allows your body to benefit and adapt from the specific stresses applied during such a run without going overboard and blowing a gasket, but it is also a great chance to chat, share thoughts and of course put the world to rights.

However, knowing your body and understanding what balance means does not always mean that those who regularly give out information follow these guidelines themselves. Me for one.

At the end of the day, we are all human beings and of course the person who usually knows us best alongside our parents is ourselves and whilst we are good at dishing out advice, sometimes it is us who should also take heed to what we tell others.

During the last three months I have pushed my weekly mileage up from a tick over 20 to maybe 30 miles a week to what is now between 60 and 70 miles and don’t my legs know all about it!

I know I should take a few easy days out, but my obsessiveness with pushing myself just won’t let me. It was the same back in my heyday when running sometimes 140 to 150 miles a week when knowing I was doing too much but could not stop.

Why?

Well after turning 66 in January, I went on a bit of slump trying to come to terms with being a pensioner.

One of the great men in my life as a youngster was my granddad Walter Bell, who passed away at 66 years of age.

He would follow all my early childhood sporting exploits albeit mainly Saturday morning school team football.

He never missed and then one Saturday he was there no more. I used to look up to see if he was watching and then realise what had happened.

He was gone and that was my first realisation of just what it meant to lose someone forever. However, he is one of the special people in my life who has always been in my thoughts especially when it comes to my many years of running and lifetime in sport.

So, despite now being at an age which I really do not like, I decided that I needed to get my head out of my backside and just see what I really do still have left in the tank hence the increase in what is currently my new weekly mileage.

Needless to say, we all need that little something extra in our lives to retain motivation for which I can feel another challenge coming on.

The few people who know what I have been doing with regards to upping my mileage have also been asking me why which of course makes me smile.

There have even been a few rumours that I am doing this or that, but as yet nothing is nailed on. My answer to those asking has been “yes, I am thinking about it, but just right now I am still not sure.”

Being 66 – I did laugh to someone and say I am thinking about running the 2,000 plus miles of  Route 66 in the US and whilst I would love to do that, there is no way I would ever leave my dogs and animals for more than a day or two. Even the thought stresses me.

So, we will see and whilst I am keeping things a little close to my chest, I will do my best to be sensible whilst listening to my body which just right now is aching quite a bit, especially my quads. Thankfully, my freezer has plenty of ice packs in it.

Have a great weekend everyone, wherever you may be running…