A week or so ago I decided to check my recent running stats and was not surprised to find that I have had a couple of months of only running once a week or so. The usual things explain that: visitors, being away, being generally busy. I thought it was time to really get back into the rhythm of regular running and last week I ran five times using the NRC app which I love. This week has been wet and wild and full of visitors again but this morning the sun was shining and I decided while drinking my morning cup of tea that it was time for 5k again.
I have to admit that even when I have got out in recent weeks I have been choosing my regular circuit of 3.2k and shunning going further. A fortnight ago I did my first 5k since early September. I was pleased to find I could still do it but it felt like hard work! So this morning I thought I would just do it again, no excuses, no bottling it, allowing myself to go as slow as I like and looking at the beauty of the world on a bright, crisp day.
From the very beginning it was just one of those runs. Coach Bennett kept me company. The stream which runs beside the path as I headed out of the village gurgled and sparkled. A robin nipped in and out of the hedge. The path leads gently uphill so I was never going to be fast but the sun shone through the trees and I had a sudden surge of gratitude that I can run at all. Pull back a little, breathe easy. Smile. Smile for Tim.
The path meets the lane and I turn right, running gently level on a wide lane that skirts the hills. The hedges have just been cut and the holly hedge stands out sharp and clear against the blue sky. 2k run. I turn right down a narrower, rutted lane which gives me 1 and a half k of gentle downhill. I see I am going faster. I feel fast today. The stats would say different but sometimes the numbers don't matter. It is the feeling of the wind in my face, the sun on the hills, the lane running away under my feet. This is the first run for weeks when I am loving it right there, while doing it, not just afterwards.
At the end of the lane I turn right into a wider lane and begin the last nearly 2k to home. Coach Bennett is telling me about the joys of the measured mile. I might even try it. I come up into our village and past the school. Nearly home now. 5k done.
Inside I drink a glass of water, make some coffee and sit down to look at my stats. I knew I was faster! I have knocked two minutes of my time of a fortnight ago - 46 minutes! (I know, I didn't say I was fast, I said I felt fast!!) I feel happy. I feel alive. What a gift running is.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
