Running backwards - Why running your favourite run in reverse works wonders

I am a creature of habit. I like my tea and toast in the morning, I sit in the same seat on the sofa to watch TV and I run the routes I am most familiar with, most of the time. It's boring, predictable and like being trapped in my own version of Groundhog Day, which is why I decided to try something radical when I strapped on my trainers last night, something that would push me out of my comfort zone and help me to cast off the shackles of routine.

I was going to run my usual route, but in reverse!

You only have to cast your eyes over my Strava run record to see that I have a handful of routes that I love. I enjoy testing myself on the segments I know so well and take comfort from knowing the routes like the back of my hand. I run these routes on autopilot, every turn, every hill, every crossing, junction, pavement and trail, they are all so familiar and require no thought whatsoever. However, I always run them the same way, starting and finishing at the same point and sticking rigidly to the clockwise or anti-clockwise routes I have always taken. Until yesterday.

Throwing caution to the wind, with the kind of careless abandon usually reserved for those rare occasions I choose Shreddies over muesli , I decided that I would run an ultra-familiar 45 minute route the wrong way.

So I set off, turning left at the end of my road instead of right, and so began an entirely new run. It was genuinely liberating, every road seemed different, every hill became a descent and every descent a climb, I noticed houses, gardens, roads and scenery that I had never registered before. I was seeing my home town and the roads I knew so well in an entirely new light. The route was the same, but the run was a true first.

The bizarre thing, however, was that running in reverse added around a minute to my time. I can only put this down to the fact that I was taking in my surroundings more and concentrating on where I was going, which suggests, of course, that familiarity makes you faster.

But it wasn't about time last night, I felt like I'd discovered a new route, and it felt great. So next time you set out on your favourite run, turn around and go the other way, you won't regret it.

Tick bites: The runners' summer curse

Earlier this month the Government loosened its grip on lockdown and allowed us to venture outside more than once a day. The news came as a huge relief for frustrated runners like me, who had spent two months in daily turmoil over whether to run on one's own, or walk with wife and children.

For one blessed week, I could enjoy the escape of a solo run around the streets of my home town, as well as the unutterable joy of a daily stroll with two ever-moaning, primary-age oiks. After such an extended period of enforced exercise restriction, this felt like we were being spoilt and that progress was at last being made towards a return to normal, or whatever normal may be in the post-corona world.  At least, all that was until I happened across a creature that would send me back into personal lockdown.

The creature in question was mere millimetres in size, but  when I noticed it firmly attached to my right calf as I stepped out of the shower, I knew instantly that I'd become bonded to one of Hampshire's most unwelcome of summer inhabitants, the tick.

A hasty Google search later and I was bent over my assailant, armed with a pair of tweezers. Pinch, but don't squash the tick and be sure not to twist as you pull in order to extract it in its entirety. The instructions were straight forward, but my new companion had done a Cummings and flagrantly disregarded all social distancing rules to bury himself head-deep in my leg. So, like extracting my children from McDonalds mid-Happy Meal, it took a surprising effort to heft the beast from its feeding place, thankfully in tact.

Thereafter, I did what all sensible, non-medically educated folk do in such circumstances and once again pored over Google in an attempt to reassure myself that I didn't have to worry about Lyme disease. However, the development of a suspicious looking circular leg rash over the next day or two saw me reaching for the GP's number and, one socially distanced trip to the pharmacy later, I found myself with a box of antibiotics and instructions to avoid sunlight for the duration of their course.

So, with the rest of the country enjoying repeated daily running in the outdoors - and my Strava feed seemingly mocking me with tales of intriguing trail runs - I have returned temporarily to the treadmill as I face a further week's lockdown. Well, almost.

Friday was, after all, my birthday, so the family and I did venture out in the sun and heat for a short celebratory run together. It was a pure joy, although wearing leggings, a long sleeve running top and a cap in almost 30 degree heat drew some strange looks from t-shirted neighbours.

My advice to everyone enjoying the sunshine and running al fresco today, avoid long grass and wear long running socks or tights if you can bear it. Ticks may be tiny, but they can pack an unpleasant punch and we've all got enough to deal with at the moment without them!

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Interval training - Runners' love-hate relationship with pyramid sessions and speed drills

Does anyone really like interval training? Even in normal times, when we could gather for group runs and share the pain of pyramid sessions, I suspect that 99 per cent of those who turn up for the nominated interval sessions would rather be tackling a leisurely long run, or a bout of diarrhoea.

I certainly fit into that category. I've never been a huge fan of the hill sprints, or lamppost-to-lamppost sessions. But, while I'd much rather tackle a threshold run or an out-and-back, I know that intervals are good for me. Like broccoli, carrot juice and Radio 4, I'll endure because I know that I'm getting something from them, but the experience itself can be hard work.

Are online intervals the answer?

During lockdown, however, interval sessions have been even harder than normal, not in terms of intensity, but in actually being bothered to do them. When run in groups, interval training is a shared experience, but even the most confident of runners becomes staggeringly self-conscious when taking on the challenge alone.

Indeed, there's something about repeatedly running up and down a hill by yourself - passing the same confused people eight times in 10 minutes - that is a little awkward. Finding the motivation to get out there and sacrifice a steady mid-week run for an intense stairway interval session is almost impossible.

However, the answer to interval malaise and paranoia is to go virtual. Having discovered Zwift early in my lockdown experience, I have actually enjoyed the workout options it has given me, allowing me to take on a number of different interval sessions from the comfort of my own home. No strange looks, no self-conscious moments and plenty of intensity.

I've also found that the more I do, the more I enjoy it and the more I think it's helping. The sessions on Zwift are varied, but interestingly I have found that - rather than the intensity - it has been the blend of fast and slower-than-I-would-normally-go slow intervals that has helped me the most. I feel that I am recovering faster and, I hope, building a bit more strength in my legs.

Of course, I'm always going to prefer a long trail run, but - while we're still in some form of lockdown at least - I think I've found my interval session answer. 

Now, time for a broccoli smoothie and The Archers! Next step: Join the conversation in our Facebook Group