2023 has been a great year in running for me. Previous running round-ups are here (2022, 2021).
My two main goals for 2023 were to run 3000 km and also to run 50 HM-or-more distance runs. I managed both with a couple of weeks left. I also bagged new PBs for 5K, 10K and half marathon as well as a handful of segments on Strava. I won no races but I did win two little running competitions at work.
The Distance
Here are mini maps of all the runs I completed in 2023. If you are interested in the technical details of how the graphics were generated (see last year’s post). Briefly everything was made in R using gpx files for maps or csv files downloaded from Garmin Connect for everything else.
My cumulative running distance for 2023 was 3,110 km. To run 3,000 km in a year means running about 8.2 km per day. I could chart my progress against this linear target. Apart from a bout of COVID in January, and a couple of niggles, I was injury-free and healthy for most of the year and stayed ahead of target from March onwards.
Mid-December it occurred to me that just another 108 km would have got me to 2000 miles (3218 km), but it was too late to go for that – and I needed some rest!
The route to 3000 km
Looking at the mini maps above, you get a sense of how I reached the distance goal. Basically, it was a mix of run commuting and long runs on a Sunday. Let’s look at that in more detail. This is how the number of runs and daily distance was broke down.
The calendar view shows that the long runs were mainly done on a Sunday whereas weekdays were typically two runs of ~5 km each. Using a treemap, we can look at the how these runs and distances make up the total.
Or we can use a histogram (either using counts, or a weighted histogram). All views show that the run commuting is essential to building up a big annual total.
Over half of the distance was done by run-commuting. The direct route to or from work is between 4.2 and 5.5 km depending on weather (because the shortest route is impassable for half the year). I only commuted by bike three times (when I needed to carry something too heavy to run with) otherwise it was run-only for the whole year.
The remainder of the distance was long runs, typically HM-or-more distances. There were very few 10-16 km runs, these are mainly when I’m away at a conference, otherwise it’s pretty much a bimodal distribution.
The half marathon goal
As in 2022, I wanted to run 50 HM-or-more distances. I did this without having to count the one marathon I ran as two HMs! I like to vary the courses as much as I can as you can see from the minimaps, there is not much repetition. The minimaps are shown in date order. They were all done locally apart from the two identical point-to-point runs where I ran from Middlesbrough to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. I’ve run that route before but this year (due to pollution and the fact that it was cooler) I didn’t jump in the North Sea at the end!
Getting faster
I ran a few HM races in 2023. The most satisfying was Coventry Half Marathon at the end of October. Where I knocked 4 minutes off my previous PB and nearly went under the 90 minute mark.
The graphic shows that last year I chipped some time off my PB but there was a big drop this year. How did I do it? Especially considering I ran two other HMs this year and posted times that were… meh.
Firstly, my form going in to the race was good. I had tapered a little and was in the “fresh” zone at the right time.
Second, I had worked on my lactate threshold (which I am not posting here). This sounds technical but essentially I added some fast 5K runs (parkruns) to my schedule. I started in July and got my time down to 19:26 (according to parkrun). I think this made the biggest difference to my HM time.
In fact, at the Coventry HM, I ran the first 5K in 19:41 and the first 10K in 41:00 (which was a PB). Which reflects this improvement in speed. I haven’t targeted 10K as a distance previously. If I can run 10K in 41 minutes with energy spare to do the rest of a HM, I am thinking I could improve on this time next year!
A final fun challenge
My University runs a Tri-Grid Challenge three times a year. Points are awarded for distances run, cycled, walked, and swum. They have many prizes for individual performances as well as team awards. I won the running medal twice this year (summer and autumn) by running over 150 km over the two weeks that the challenge is on. I’ve placed highly in previous competitions but was usually beaten by an ultra-runner or two who went further.
Conclusion
If you made it this far, congratulations! This was a very self-indulgent post. I am thankful that I stayed healthy this year to do all this running and I’m happy that as I get older I am still getting faster.
Tracking my running is also a hobby I enjoy. Now that Strava have put their annual recap behind a paywall, the ability to summarise my data using R is proving even more valuable. Onwards to 2024!
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The post title is taken from “Running Around” by D.R.I.