Category: Blogging

Posted on

I Ran 1000km in 2022

Running track with 1000 written on to signify the fact I run 1000km in 2022

I started running at forty-two and on telling my wife about my new soon-to-be obsession, she laughed at me! The idea of me running was funny but my wife should have known better. As per the title, at the time of this post I have run 1000km this year.

The beginning

The first two years did not go well. I ran around 200km in 2020 and the same again in 2021. I wasn’t very consistent and even though I got a little faster and hit some self-set milestones, I didn’t feel like a runner.

This year came with a change of mindset, I decided to become a runner. This was a me problem, everyone that runs is a runner. I ordered a new watch (Garmin 945 – thank you wife) and decided to start taking things more seriously. I was going to up my mileage and follow all the advice – run easy, build up gradually, warm up, you know the drill.

The new goal

I decided I needed a goal, so I set myself a goal that was challenging and yet seemed achievable. I was aiming to run a total of 400km in 2022, so doubling the mileage of the last two years.

I did not follow all the excellent running advice, none of us do. Slow easy running does help but I’m terrible for wanting to always hit a new personal best.

1000km of running

As of today, I’ve run 1000km, well 1067km. I’m well on target to triple the goal I set for myself at the start of year. I’ve taken 6 minutes off my 5km time, hitting 24 minutes and got my 10km time down to 52 minutes. The impressive part, to me at least, is that neither of those times are race times, they were set during training, and both started off easy. I’ve no idea what my go for broke times are.

I’m forty-six next year and before I get there, I’d like to get my 5km time down to 21 minutes and my 10km time down to sub 48 minutes. Both targets seem achievable and according to my watch I’d be able to hit those times today given perfect race conditions, so we’ll see, I guess.

Next year

Next year I don’t think I will be able to reach the same mileage. I’ve been freelancing this year and am free to run when I choose to as I can do my work any time of day. I’ll be contracting next year so it will be slightly more difficult to fit the runs in.

I’m aiming to enter two ultramarathons next year, both 50km. That’s a new challenge and I’m really looking forward to them. It’ll be a big step up for me as the longest single run I have done so far is 20km.

Early next year I will write a progress post explaining how I got on this year.

Posted on

We all need a Development Manager

As a solo developer, it is easy to get lost in what you are doing and not necessarily working towards where you should be going. An excellent example of this is refactoring; “If I refactor this method/class, it will be easier to maintain.”

The chances are, if you smell an issue with a class or method, it needs to go through your refactoring process, it isn’t as though anyone else is going to do it, you are just one person.

The question is, does it need to be dealt with now? As developers, we are all guilty of wanting to refactor, and then persuading ourselves that the task is more urgent than it is.

I’m working towards releasing our SaaS product, mid-way through last year I decided I needed a little help to ensure I get to the release as efficiently as possible and not stray too far off target.

I decided to recruit the Wife.

Every Sunday, I gather all the tasks I’m planning to work on over the next week, the Wife and I then have a short meeting.

My Wife is not a Developer and has never worked in a field related to development. That doesn’t matter, all that matters is that your sounding board knows you.

I start by stating what I’m aiming to achieve for the week and then go through each of my planned tasks. For each task, I give a one-line explanation of what it is and how it will help achieve my goal. If I’m unable to provide a reasonable justification, or my Wife questions the validity of the task, it gets moved off the list.

Your sounding board needs to be someone that understands you. Your partner isn’t deciding whether you are working on the correct tasks, they are there to listen, you’ll both know if a task needs to go to the back of the list.

The longer you keep this up, the better the result.