Love your running

In my preparations for the Bellingham Bay Marathon in late September, the philosophy of Matt Fitzgerald's Run: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel will play a huge part in how I will approach my training.

As I read this book, it explains much of what I've been feeling about my training in the past year or two, culminating in my decision to try a couple of ultras and cut out all structured and interval training for a period of four months last year.

That intuitive process led to, and was fuelled by, my writing of A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km.

I've reconnected with the sheer joy of running, which has improved my performance too, as evidenced in my Masters title and 5th overall placing at the BMO Vancouver Marathon this month.

As Fitzgerald says in his superb book, "Do more of what you enjoy most and less of what you enjoy least in training. The feeling of enjoyment is your body's way of telling you that your training is working."

That's exactly what I will do for the Bellingham Bay Marathon.