… and yes, it is okay.... I ran yesterday morning.
Warning... Floss ramble...but, it's okay... you don't need to read it
Well... the last week has been fairly hectic... all manner of things happening...but, it is, as my title suggests, okay, because, yesterday, I ran. I ran 5K ( more actually).
Back here at the coast for an unexpected, but still welcome extra few days, the runs beckon.
Sunday morning. I was determined to get out for a run. Not one of my Sunday, fun day, see where I get to runs...just a run... slow and steady.
Waking, the light through the curtains, seemed dulled. I had gone to sleep in the glow of the hugest moon and a star-spangled sky. and the grey light through the curtains this morning, seemed strange.
After my routine start and a warm up before setting out, the light had changed from grey to blue, and as I headed out, the silence of the morning was palpable.
The voice of CB, murmuring gently in my ears. I had chosen an, It's Okay, 5K guided run, and it was from the onset, okay.
I ran easily, relaxed and open to the advice. Easy is a watchword from the onset, I am finding that helpful currently. Down the site and up to the top of the grassy hill. Slightly harder effort needed, but still, not pushing too hard. A quick breather and out onto the route. Still learning about my new earphones, I seem to spend a lot of time, in the first minutes of my running, tinkering with my watch or phone, and am switching things in and off without realising it.
As I slowed down on the hill, to take a photograph, I got nettled almost immediately, but it was okay...a few yards further on... I found a dock leaf
Carrying on down towards the next village...steady paced and taking time to warm up easily, ( one does not argue with CB). The sheep cropping quietly and the distant hills shimmering in a slate-blue haze; under-lit clouds resting on the tops, as lightly as the softest sigh. I never tire of the landscape... every run, every time, shows it in a new light.
Turning earlier than I had planned, ( that is okay, mind changing is permitted ), and back up the hill. My laces came undone, and I had to stop to tie them; having run a little further CB, was telling me I had run 1K, my Garmin however, was still on pause, it said, I had not run that far...but it was okay... I trust Coach Bennett.
I headed down to the town. The sun catching on the sea... and the small town, as familiar a sight as any I know, lying below, dozing in the indolence of a Sunday morning. I ran down , easy paced, not allowing myself to speed up at all, over the railway crossing and along the Esplanade; deserted for now, except for the first early arrivals for the Sunday swimming group. Steady breathing and round towards the Blue China Tea Shop , suddenly I was brought to a halt, by the emergence of the lifeboat from its home. Volunteers checking and rechecking, and an opportunity to jog up and down whilst taking photographs. It was okay, I love watching the lifeboat coming out
I remembered the Mayday Mile I ran, for the RNLI. earlier in the year, I was not back on form, but I managed to run something every day, and made a few pounds for this amazingly worthwhile cause. Heroes and heroines of the Deep.; how many lives have been saved, how many folk have been so glad to see the blue and orange of those boats cutting through the waves.
Road cleared and I run to the end of the jetty to capture yet another few, fleeting shots of the boat as it heads out to begin its exercises for the week.
Turning back and then, along the Esplanade, because I am later setting out, the tide is on the turn and I am determined to get a beach run in, I push a little harder now, still listening to CB, and making sure I feel comfortable, I head towards the path to the far beach. My pace is steady, my breathing is smooth, and I feel at ease. The swimmers look to be far out, but the beach is flat and the sea is calm and they swim, dark silhouettes against a backdrop of blue and white. I make the far beach as 4K is marked, and CB is telling me that I shall finish this run exactly as I wish to. Okay.
Over the apron of stones, shells and pebbles and down towards the sea.
A couple of dog walkers in the distance and a shimmering runway of sand; the smallest of frothy white waves are nibbling their way along the shore line, devouring it with small bites. I run and fully aware, I do increase my pace. The sea air, the glint of sunlight on the water, the far mountains and the huge, billowing clouds are intoxicating. This morning, even at 72 years of age, I feel as if I have sipped from the glass of life, its effervescent bubbles filling me, body and soul. I am light, I am strong, I can achieve anything. I'm okay.
Some folk will not, in any way, understand what I am saying, some will understand perfectly, but whatever, I am, I am simply, me, and as CB keeps telling me, that is absolutely okay!
5K is done... I have achieved the goal, but my Garmin says not, so I run for another 300m... I have to do it properly, that is one of my funny little quirks and that is okay too!
I walk slowly back up the field hill, looking back at the sea and skyline... clouds billowing, and a flag flying bravely at half mast , on the castle tower. The winds of change are blowing; for many, on a world changed forever.
The Winds of Change. We must have change. If the change is for the good, it makes us stronger, and if the change is not for the good, then that makes us stronger also.
I finished the run feeling stronger and ready for the day.
The words in my title ring true...
Floss x
PS
Words taken from the lyrics of the title song of a TV programme called New Tricks. Somehow, as I get older, they make a lot more sense than they used to.
Today's a good day to run 10k!!
30 minute run ‘Running on Empty’
Still here, still okay
