Mark Armstrong: How I'm adapting running training in winter months

With the weather well and truly turning this week it’s a good time to set some goals for next year, get strong and try and make 2023 one to remember. 

There’s no getting away from it – it's harder for a lot of people to get out and get their runs done at this time of year. There are fewer daylight hours, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s windy and there are fewer races to target as motivation. 

But if you can get yourself out the door, it’s such a good time to put down solid foundations for whatever goals you have next year. 

I know there are a lot of runners who throw themselves into cross country at this time of year. The East Anglian Cross Country League recently started and I’m very envious of the people that attend these races on Wednesday afternoons. 

However, I got burnt by cross country earlier this year and gave myself a problem, which was entirely of my own making. 

Instead of getting off-road for a couple of gentle miles here and there during runs in the months leading up to the event, I threw myself headfirst into the Norfolk Cross Country Championships. 

My body, or more specifically my calf, didn’t like it and I lost a good portion of the start of the year as a result. 

My point is that yes, cross country is great, getting off-road can have huge physical and psychological benefits. 

But if you are planning to mix up your training with it then it’s essential to do it gradually. Give your body enough time to adapt before you throw yourself into a race situation and the rigours that places on you. 

It’s also worth investing in some gear that’s more suited to running off-road, particularly when it comes to footwear. 

The Norfolk Cross Country Championships recently opened for race entries and as soon as it flashed up on my timeline, I was tempted to sign up but I have decided against it at the moment.  

Instead of getting off-road my time is better spent on more strength work to try and shed the ‘glass calves’ nickname I’m getting. I’ve been called far worse to be fair – an occupational hazard when you report on the goings on of a football club. 

I know I will have some serious FOMO when it comes to the Cross Country Championships but I can put up with that for a few hours if it means I can get months of decent training in thereafter. 

I haven’t yet decided what the ‘big’ goal is for 2023; I have a couple of races booked in the form of the Wymondham 10K and the Cambridge Half Marathon and I’m also really keen to get stuck into a few of the Sportlink Grand Prix races, which are pleasingly filling up pretty quickly so far. 

Whatever goals I set staying injury-free trumps everything. 

Of course, there’s still business to be taken care of this year.  

I’ve got the St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m hoping I can cash in some of the marathon training I did for Chicago and emerge with a shiny personal best. We’ll see. 

I’ll get my excuses in now... I’ve felt a bit under the weather this week, which isn’t really a surprise given everyone I’ve spoken to seems to have had some kind of illness. 

I’ve felt a lot better in the last couple of days so I’ll give it a shot and see what happens. 

The Sportlink Night of Celebrations took place at the Assembly House last Friday (Image: Aaron Protheroe)

Sportlink Night of Celebrations 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Sportlink Night of Celebrations at the Assembly House last Friday. It was great to see so many inspirational performances, particularly over the marathon, recognised. 

Thank you very much to Pat Brightman for organising the event and Neil Featherby for inviting me. 

Two people who work so hard for the Norfolk running community – we're really lucky to have such a great roster of well-organised events to target locally.  

Having raced outside the county quite a lot, I can tell you it’s not like that everywhere!