Many, many of you amazing friends here, know that I am back on track and back running again three times a week. The messages of support and encouragement and the messages celebrating my return have been unbelievable.
Running is not the most important thing in my life, but it plays a hugely significant role in it... those who have known me since C25K times, know for me... it is about much more than the run... it is about the whole thing... !
Strangely, watching the news yesterday evening.., a certain Football manager quoted the philosopher, George Hegel...”The truth is in the whole...”
That again sums my runs up...
It is about the sights, the sounds, the scents... the people, the places and the rambles afterwards... Running frees my body, my mind and my soul...I run, I write...
So, any prolonged time on the IC is difficult; although my issues pale into insignificance, in comparison with the life changing issues of so many of our friends here.
After the welcome news from my lovely supportive consultant... I was back out there.
“It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it...”
For me, that quote, is one of the simplest and most apt, to describe my running.
So...I needed a plan... even with the strength and stamina exercise regime of the last three months...I needed to be sensible; and so yet again, I embarked on the incredible 10K plan that our own amazing ju-ju- has devised. I have done this 3? or maybe 4 times... after injury ( all I hasten to add non running related)... and the reason why...because it works.
Yes, there are other plans... and other apps...but this is written by a runner...a runner, just like us... ( speedier, stronger and ,certainly in my case, far more attractive than me..
), but a runner like us none the less. She has run on the paths we run.. and still does.. .she knows how it works.. and she knows how to make it work.
I trust her.
A structured, safe plan that builds up slowly and almost secretively, over the weeks, until suddenly... from the familiar, friendly confines of the 5K forum... we are breaking new ground...sampling new speeds, and defining new distances... running 10K.
So... yesterday morning.. Week 2 of the plan... Run 3... 6K to complete. Out into the morning...later than usual and the last days of calm before the start of the new School Term.The last day of August and the wonderful golden glows and the bronze beauty of the approaching season. A really brisk warm up... the chill in the air and the slightest frisson of the Autumn days to come.
Down into the village... a quick cut through Swan Passage and along by the stream... flowing freely, burbling happily... and my feet keeping time with Laura and C25K + podcast Stamina..I do love Laura... the relevant reminders... the timely tips...and the helpful hints; Rounded ankle movements, relaxed shoulders... light steps.
By using this for at least part of the run, I know it will keep me from starting too quickly..( yes, I did say that), I do tend to rush off... and this way, I know that I won't!
The pace setting keeps me steady.... feet kissing the ground and the breathing, easy. Up and through a newly discovered footpath.... the hedgerows still thick and verdant... berried and bejewelled with the too early, but nearly ended, blackberries. A thick heady scent fills the air... humid and soporific as my feet cover the ground. This is where my legs take over. The familiarity of the podcast.. the feeling that I get when my legs find their happy pace...this is what running is all about.. for me.
Laura is reminding me about challenging...keeping going., holding on and staying strong... and again, so opportunely @ju-ju's words from her Magic 10 video, echo around my head.. motivation...the key word, staying focused and moving yourself forward.
Down the lane and halted in my tracks by a reversing timber lorry... keeping moving and then on... up past the other Primary school in the village... through the village and up and through the churchyard. The silent sleepers who know me so well, as I run, almost on tiptoe, so as not to disturb their eternal slumber.. up the hill and past the other school. The yellow galleon, marooned on the tarmac playground sea... repainted and resplendent in the morning sun.. whilst the Bosun', (caretaker), on shore, cleans the windows of the land based, deserted school .. awaiting the motley crew that will return on Monday.
Up onto the Old Road... the scene of mystic and mysterious happenings, way, way back in the Winter following my Graduation in 2015, no shades, or shadows here to day ...no secret watchers... just dappled sunshine and the berries, Scarlet and glossy... fattening in the early morning sunshine.
Along and round and up past the Steam railway...the echoing clangs of metal on metal, as the early morning enthusiasts awake the sleeping Iron dragons, in preparation for the adulation and entertainment of the visitors to come. Reaching the Bridle Path I turn and on returning, squeeze between the hedge and the gate, which is too heavy for me to open! A quick change of pace now.. the podcast has long ended.. so down the field... the crop, cut close...spiked stalks, yellowy brown...a hedgehog-hair field... stretching down and away... the sharp edge of the path catches my feet as I run... and my pace increases... an almost overwhelming feeling of sheer exhilaration, as I reach the bottom and crossing over the track, head for the last kilometre of my run.
How everything moves on... we suffer injury... we become despondent... and yet... with some structure and planning, our return becomes possible, and we find ourselves back on the familiar highways and by ways...a tad slower, a tad more cautious..but still out there and running.
Run completed. Week 3 to look forward to... no haste, no speed... me, running my way and soaking up every precious second.
We are all different, we all run for our own reasons... my reason is an all consuming joy...I challenge only myself... I test only myself... I compare myself to no-one and make no attempt to compete with anyone...and although I run on my own...I am never, ever alone.
I have friends on here who have been beside me on every single run since 2015...I have new friends joining me every day... supporting , encouraging, commiserating and yes... giving me the odd shove if necessary. I am able to run because of you.
Thank you.
When is a hill a hill? 
Unwelcome Gremlins sent packing this morning, yes oh yes! 
When your run becomes a swim…
A new version of 🎶YMCA 🎶, Helped me beat my target today!
