Hello! My name is Steven Medd and I am a 34-year-old Maths Teacher. And I love to run (far). And talk about running (often when people don’t want me to).
I was a latecomer to running, possibly as a casualty of the mixed-PE experiment of the 80s/early 90s (I played a LOT of netball, though). Initially it was a route to lose weight, after piling on the pounds, but found I enjoyed it and it was so much more interesting than hitting the gym.
I was a latecomer to running, possibly as a casualty of the mixed-PE experiment of the 80s/early 90s (I played a LOT of netball, though). Initially it was a route to lose weight, after piling on the pounds, but found I enjoyed it and it was so much more interesting than hitting the gym.
The first distance race I ever ran was the Great North Run in 2000, at the age of 22. I struggled through, in agony as I approached the finish line, finishing a whisker under two-hours (although in the days before chip timing my official time was slightly over two hours). It was at that point I vowed to do it again, but actually train properly this time. And do it again I did – every GNR since, to be exact (the next will be my 13th).
I am now a member of Gateshead Harriers, after joining them roughly five years ago. In that time I have developed as a runner and still have the validating experience of gaining PBs every once in a while. In the past twelve months I have hit almost every target I have set myself, breaking 18 mins for 5k, 38 for 10k and 3 hours for the full marathon. I even completed my first Ultra Marathon, ‘The Wall’, which was 69 miles – I competed in the two-day challenger event (which I won!). The only target I haven’t managed to hit so far is sub 1:20 for the half, which is my target for the GNR in September.
In addition to training for this, I am also running the New York Marathon in November so I will need to balance both speed and distance training in my plans. After running the Ultra in June I wound down my training from a peak of 75 miles per week (with my longest run peaking at 30 miles, with 15 the following day) to 30, in order to recover. Over the next few months I will be looking to build that back up again. I will be reporting on my progress in this blog.
At 34 now, there is a sense in my running that I am getting closer to my absolute limit on what I can achieve. In addition I am hoping to start a family in the near future, so I feel that I must pour everything I can into achieving my goals now. Thankfully I have a very understanding wife, who can tolerate the inconveniences caused by my running life (“I must eat now”, “I must sleep now”, “No, we can’t do that, I need to fit a long run in”, “Would you like to go to New York? While I run a marathon of course and just for a weekend mind and we can’t do any sightseeing as I need to rest up before the race.”, etc).
I hope that articulating my training, etc will allow me to reflect more on what I am doing. Perhaps future posts will also allow me to share some good ideas that will allow others to achieve their goals? Only time will tell...
In addition to training for this, I am also running the New York Marathon in November so I will need to balance both speed and distance training in my plans. After running the Ultra in June I wound down my training from a peak of 75 miles per week (with my longest run peaking at 30 miles, with 15 the following day) to 30, in order to recover. Over the next few months I will be looking to build that back up again. I will be reporting on my progress in this blog.
At 34 now, there is a sense in my running that I am getting closer to my absolute limit on what I can achieve. In addition I am hoping to start a family in the near future, so I feel that I must pour everything I can into achieving my goals now. Thankfully I have a very understanding wife, who can tolerate the inconveniences caused by my running life (“I must eat now”, “I must sleep now”, “No, we can’t do that, I need to fit a long run in”, “Would you like to go to New York? While I run a marathon of course and just for a weekend mind and we can’t do any sightseeing as I need to rest up before the race.”, etc).
I hope that articulating my training, etc will allow me to reflect more on what I am doing. Perhaps future posts will also allow me to share some good ideas that will allow others to achieve their goals? Only time will tell...