Tag: Running

Imparting my wisdom and signing my life away, well June anyway

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The morning runs are definitely the way forward at the moment, especially with the weather being so gorgeous. Thursday morning was swapped for Friday and I set off round the village with all the good intentions of a nice 30 minutes before work. What I learned on that run was that it’s all very well and good to go freestyling with a route, but it’s a daft idea at 6.30 in the morning. It started well, left at the front door, down the road, decide that big hill isn’t on the cards, so let’s turn right. Off I go, tra la la, faced with a crossroads idiot girl here thinks let’s not turn right back to the main road, let’s go straight on. Hmmm. As my watch beeps onto 30 minutes, I realise that I’m still a good mile and a half from home and there’s not really a possibility of a shortcut. So on I plod ending up with a 42 minute run, just shy of 4 miles and 10 minutes late for work.

Today’s effort was totally different. For starters I measured it before I set off… I ran with a mate from work who is running the Race for Life in a couple of weeks. She has a similar story to me, hated running at school, started gymming a while back and then decided to run. This was her chance to fit in a nice outside run (she’s a treadmill bunny at the moment) before  the big day. I have to admit that I was dreading it in case she was better than me – I had visions of me having offered to go out with her and then being left in a trail of her dust. As it was, it was rather lovely. It was really nice to be able to offer advice that people had given me (don’t set off too fast, it’s better to keep running at a steady pace than go belting off and have to stop, use nearer landmarks to break down the distance and keep you going, don’t use ducks as landmarks, those sorts of thing). And without coming over all C-list celebrity opening their old school fete, it was also nice to feel like I was giving something back. When I started out, my other half and my friend the bully slowed down and run-walked with me from doing a couple of minutes up to 3 miles  and now it’s my turn.

So today’s morals are:
1. Don’t invent runs when you’re supposed to be going to work because inevitably you will end up late.

2. Go out running with someone who’s just starting out if you get the chance because you’ll both get something out of it.

3. Don’t let your husband talk you into signing up for Juneathon III because potentially it will end in tears for one or both of you.

100% success!

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Well then! Woo, and indeed yay – at 6 o’clock this morning I was outside, propelling myself forward in a manner not dissimilar to running. And you know what? It was alright.

Years ago I got very into the whole 6.30 gym before work lark, but since then have got myself a proper job and motivating myself to get up and dressed is sometimes tricky enough for me. I did enjoy it mind you and with this in mind, I’m giving it a another go. I’m hoping that it’ll be harder for me to weasel out of than waiting til the end of the day when the lure of the paper and a nice cup of tea is far more tempting.

Good stuff about this morning: seeing the world’s oldest paperboy out delivering in his Rover, being spotted by someone I know, the warm fuzzy glow of smugness that lasted throughout the day, getting home at 5pm and knowing that I could have a guilt free sit down, feeling motivated to do it again.

Rubbish stuff about this morning: waking up before 5.00 worrying that I hadn’t heard my alarm and would oversleep, not being sure if the strange man in the anorak was pointing to his watch in a “oooh you’re out early” kind of way or whether it was more along the lines of “Look at your time! Go faster woman!” (I suspect the former as the other is kind of weird, even for the village), getting a bit stitchy at 2 miles, not having my guilt-free sit down but going to tesco instead.

So that was 3 miles of sweaty loveliness, listening to Matt Costa and home in time for breakfast.

On the cards this week, an after work run with my mate, another early one on Thursday and Sunday morning out either on my lonesome or with work.

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Living up to the name

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Hmmm.  What have I learned in the last couple of months? Well, setting targets for major events is not a good idea for me. Since setting up this blog and planning to enter the Mersey Tunnel 10k, I have done the running equivalent of hiding under my duvet. I’ve probably run every week, but nowt particularly challenging and certainly nowhere near my target of 10k.

I’m very ashamed by this and what narks me the most is that I’ve no better excuse than just being lazy.

Of the runs I have done, I’ve enjoyed most of them; I’ve seen all sorts of nature (rabbits, ducks, goats, a heron, sheeps, cows, horses, geese, moorhens/coots…); I feel fitter and stronger when I run; I have more energy and, dammit, I’m dead proud of myself for doing it. I just need to do it more.

So it’s back to the drawing board for me. When I started to lollop along at more than a walking pace, I stuck to a routine and I need to get back to it and get my lazy arse outside. So… Forget about big targets, my new one is to go out at least three times a week by hook or by crook.

Failing that, I’ll just do another apologetic post in August.

Nothing to declare but my laziness

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Hmmmm. I signed up for this blog back in January. Since then I have managed a fabulous tally of zero posts – this should give people an idea of how I go about doing things. With all my projects I have a tendency to travel hopefully but rarely arrive – my knitting bag contains a pair of slippers (each foot in 6 pieces) and 10 rows of a shawl. I have never worn a shawl in my life, but that didn’t stop me cheerfully embarking on the thing, carried away by gorgeous wool and a mental image of me sitting outside a tent with my shawl wrapped around my shoulders. Incidentally, in this picture I was a stone lighter and working a stylish barefoot, outdoorsy vibe,  rather than the ‘only allowed out with a responsible adult’ look that I tend to work whilst camping.

My point being, I rarely finish a bloody thing (but have lots of good intentions).

Now, the thing I’ve found with running is that there is no end. Well, there’s the bit where I collapse in a big sweaty heap, my head gently pulsating, but you’ve got to keep going with it. You can’t just say, “well I can run 5 miles, that’s that”, there’s always 6 miles, or a faster 5 miles, or 5 miles with a big hill in the middle.

Also, I’ve learned in spectacular fashion today that being able to run 5 miles and then training haphazardly for a couple of months does not mean that I can pick up where I left off. Which is funny, cos I thought I could….

So why have I finally started writing this? Well, at the start of the year I set myself some running goals one of which was to run my first 10k. Since January, I have done nothing particular towards achieving this. In the last couple of days, I found No Boots and read about her goal of running the Bristol Half. I found myself feeling slightly shamed that the only excuse that I have for not doing a paltry 10k is laziness. Laziness and a fear of coming last.

So, I’m now the proud owner of an entry form for the Mersey Tunnel 10k in a couple of months. All I need to do now is fill it in, send it off and get off my lazy bum.