Make it a game

It was very wet and blustery for my 850th consecutive day of running a mile this morning.

Actually, I ran just over 2 miles today, and only saw one other human being, other than those who were sheltering in their cars, even though it was after 9am by the time I hit the pavements.

After a little while on this morning's run I started to play a game of let's try and jump the puddles as quickly as I can, and see how long I can keep my feet dry. It was quite a challenge this morning! (Yes I know what you're thinking, and I admit that I am a 57-year-old man who still has the mind of a 12-year-old.)

That made me think that although I have been running for many years and have completed four marathons, I have never really managed to conform to the perceived wisdom of training PROPERLY by mixing long runs with speed sessions, hill sessions, interval training and fartlek sessions.

For me it has always felt far too serious.

And while it's still usually a daily challenge to get out of the door, I run because it's fun and I love it.

So the way I mix my training is running on my own sometimes so that I can clear my head and come up with new ideas, then running with others and chatting, running to explore new routes or routes I haven't run for a long time, and then there's making up games as I run.

Now these training techniques may never catch on and be adopted by the Paula Radcliffes and Haile Gebrselassies of this world, but they work for me, and they keep my running fun and they top up my running happiness, which are the most important factors for me.

One thing to say about the running games I make up is that I design them so that I can't fail at these games. I generally see how far or how long I can do something, so they are as much experiments as games, and they also have to be fun while I'm doing them, not only if I succeed at something.

Where can you make a game out of something you're trying to achieve in your life AND make it fun as you're playing it?