All posts filed under: Juliet’s Running

Running With My Dog

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

One of my most popular blog posts is ‘Dogs as Running Buddies‘ which I wrote over three years ago. Since then I’ve seen more and more runners getting dogs and enjoying their miles with them. It’s just wonderful to see. I still stand by all those reasons I like to run with my dog Honey and we’ve had lots of adventures running together. Running with a cockerpoo is fun and as a breed we definitely chose well for our family. Here are some of the many things I’ve learnt in over six years running with my dog: Build up distances gradually. There’s been a couple of times when I’ve randomly decided to increase my distance and taken Honey on a long run without any build up to it. I know I shouldn’t do it myself as a runner but sometimes you just need that long run! I’ve realised part way round the route that it was too much for her and she’s started really slowing down. While she hasn’t had any issues with sore paws …

Running in Williamson Park

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

There are over 27,000 public parks and green spaces across the UK and research done by the Heritage Lottery Fund found that over 57 per cent of people in the UK regularly use a park, that’s over 37 million people! It might be a huge parks with lots of amenities or a small neighbourhood green spaces but as a nation, we love them and use them. Unsurprisingly, people who live in urban areas use parks more than those who live in rural areas. Over 90 per cent of those with children under five use their park at least once a month. This fits with my park use. As an adult, I didn’t really go to parks at all until I had small children to occupy. Parks with play areas, ducks and paths suitable for buggies and trikes became a godsend. It wasn’t until parkrun set up that I really began to use and appreciate my nearest park – Williamson Park. Now I love running there and lead my 261 Fearless Club Lancaster women’s running group …

Making Strength Work Fun

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I know that doing strength work is important. I know that I need to do it regularly but if I’m completely honest, I’ve failed. I alway struggle to keep myself motivated to do it. I’ve tried various ways of incorporating strength work it into my fitness routines and daily schedules but it’s never lasted more than a few weeks. I think mainly because I find it dull. How do you make strength work fun? I finally seem to have found something that suits me and I wanted to share it with you. I’m 48 now and I’ve been doing so much work around the topic of the menopause. From the research and work I’ve done – writing, being a guest on podcasts and social media posts, I’m feeling really knowledgeable and empowered to cope with my own menopause. I’m pretty sure I have some peri-menopausal symptoms. One of the things I know is essential is strength work. I know my muscle mass will now be decreasing (you can read my blog on this). I know …

School Run Run

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

My kids are all at secondary school now. My daughter was the last to leave primary school and while I like the fact my work capacity has increased by not having to drive her to school every morning, I do kind of miss it. Her school was in the most fabulous rural location and the school run was really a pleasure. Unless it was icy, when it was a total nightmare! I would often leave the car there and go for a run from her school before heading home to work. I’ve found myself missing those routes so on occasion I’ve been driving up there just to go for a run. When you see the photos from my run the other day you’ll see why I miss it so much! I headed up one Sunday morning when the skies were clear and the wind not too strong as it’s pretty exposed. The route starts on a quiet country road with woodland on one side and views into a steep valley and across to the Lake …

Running Along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I’ve really been enjoying exploring new running routes recently. It’s helped so much to keep running interesting and fresh. During the lockdowns I’ve found lots of new footpaths and routes locally. One reason I love running so much is that you can grab opportunities to pop on your trainers and explore new places. My daughter was attending a dance audition in Shipley, near Leeds, so I found myself with three hours to fill. A quick look at the map showed me that the dance school was right on the Leeds & Liverpool canal – perfect! I figured I’d just run in one direction for an hour and then turn around and run back. The Leeds & Liverpool canal is 127 miles long and is the longest canal in Britain. I’d seen lovely photographs of it when my friend Jo Moseley (@Healthyhappy50) had paddle boarded along it for her #PaddleboardTheNorth challenge. I was looking forward to some flat running for a change too. My aim was a slow run to just enjoy the scenery. The plan …

Nature’s Treats: Running in Lockdown

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

Autumn running is certainly serving me up some treats at the moment. We’ve had endless rain in the NW of England but in between there have been some real gems of a day. After rain, the air is clear, the autumn colours seem even more vibrant and there’s that lovely chill in the air which is just perfect for running. I’m trying to run more consistently, every day if I can, but I’ve dropped my distances to make this doable and kinder on my body. I’ve been doing this since mid September and I can already notice a difference. I feel fitter and stronger and I’m definitely benefitting from a more regular endorphin boost. I’ve also found it easier to fit in my runs. Just aiming for 30 minutes on most days makes it more realistic for me. I can run early before work, in a lunch break or at the end of the day. Consistency really is turning out to be key. I was thoroughly spoiled by Mother Nature this week. I had to …

Come and Move The World with 261 Fearless

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I don’t know about you but my running motivation has been lacking recently. I know events are starting to slowly reappear and I’m sure parkrun will be on the horizon soon but there’s nothing like a date in the diary to give you a kick out the door, especially on the endless rainy days we’ve been having up north recently. Thankfully, 261 Fearless has come up with just the thing to ignite our running spark and get us in our trainers. The Move the World running series is a celebration of the power of running to unite people around the globe. In a time when we’re becoming more divided and ‘distanced’, goodness knows we need something to bring us together. I love working for 261 Fearless as their Women’s Health Lead and Master coach, being a Director at 261 Fearless Club UK CIC and coaching at 261 Club Lancaster. It’s pure joy and a lot of hard work but the rewards are great. Seeing the power that running has to create communities and empower women …

Why I Started Running

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

It’s fair to say that running changed my life. It’s not an over exaggeration. I went from someone who thought running wasn’t for her to someone who left her career to spend more time running, writing about running and helping others to find good health through running. I can honestly say when I started out, it was absolutely not my intention that any of that should happen. It wasn’t even on my radar. In trying to understand how to help other people to become active, I’ve been reflecting (as you know, I do a lot of this!) on why I started running twelve years ago. What was it that I was looking for? What did I need that I thought running could give me? And, in turn, how does that influence what I now say to people to encourage them to be active? I wanted to share it with you to see if you identify, if you are a runner or to see if it would encourage you if you were thinking about running. These …

Loving the Long Runs

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

Running is a funny old thing isn’t it?! Sometimes you can’t get enough of it and then there are periods where you just can’t seem to motivate yourself to even get out of the door. I’m particularly prone to this see-sawing when it comes to long runs. I started lockdown only doing short runs but I’m doing lots of long ones now and really enjoying them. I began thinking and analysing (as I’m prone to do!) what it is at the moment that means I’m already planning my next long run even though my legs are still sore from yesterday’s one. For me personally, a long run is anything over 10k (around 6 miles). I think the distance is irrelevant because in the past, my long one would have been anything over 5k. It just depends where you are in your running journey. Any run where the focus is on pushing distance rather than pace or speed counts as your long run in my mind. Here’s what I’ve come up with as the factors that …

Running Towards the Future

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

‘How are you?’ seems to be the most common way to open a conversation at the moment. For runners this is often followed by, ‘How’s your running?’ Many people have been running more frequently during our time of lockdown, using it to keep their mental health in check and add routine to the days. Others have been running less, either because it feels like one pressure too many or they’re key workers and are just too tired and busy. Whichever it is, lockdown has certainly been a time for us to reflect on our running. Whether it’s how much we love it, why we aren’t enjoying it or how much we miss it. I wrote recently about my lockdown running but this has lead me on to thinking about what I can take forward as a positive to use in my future running. What have I learnt? What have I enjoyed? How is my running going to look in the future? Here are my own personal running reflections and how I intend to use them …