Week 9 run 1 just completed, but it felt like hard work. I have a feeling it was mind of matter, but I was determined not to let the gremlins get me this morning. After them hiding my front door key for last run (it still hasn’t turned up), I came downstairs clutching a spare and ready to go. My laces were gremlin proofed, and I got through my warm up exercises with no wobbles, so I was ready to go. Or was I...?
Those pesky critters had taken my earphone and hidden it. It seems like “careering round the house like a mad woman” could now become an official part of my warm up routine – strange that it doesn’t appear on the Runners World website. Fortunately I found it, they’d taken it out of my phone armband thingy and hidden it in a cupboard.
At last, with the podcast turned on and MapMyRun poised to record my progress I opened the door to be on my way. As I started to close the door, I could only just hear the phone ringing (pretty difficult for me with one ear completely the deaf, and the other listening to the Lovely Laura telling me to get a move on and walk – actually she was much nicer than that but the sentiment's the same). Interesting technical tactic by the gremlins, but they weren’t going to stop me. It would either be a cold call, or the caller could leave a message… The gremlins weren’t going to get the better of me.
My warm up walk seemed slow and laboured, and not helped by a lithe 20-something prancing past me like a circus palomino, looking totally stunning in her co-ordinated running gear. But on I trudged, ready to start the 30 minute run, with Palomino disappearing into the distance. I thought that there would be some new and energizing music to run to, but I nearly exploded. I wish the singer would get over the liaison. I’ve had enough of hearing about “You and Julie” !
I started to get into a rhythm and then a hen pheasant popped out of the hedge, cocked her head at me, as if to say "you call that running" and started to run alongside me, Road Runner style, for a minute or so to show me how it's done. If I’d had my wits about me I could have got Christmas Dinner sorted in one fell swoop.
Road Runner had had enough though, so she went off to annoy the golfers, and I ran on. The hilly bit was a killer, and some kind soul had put a bench at the top, just to tempt me into sitting down to get my breath back. I was sure it wasn’t there the last time I ran this way (pesky gremlins again?) but I resisted and carried on, wheezing all the way. Fortunately it didn’t take me too long to recover.
Knowing that I would be running for a full 30 minutes (that’s 2 whole minutes longer than my last run) was really playing on my mind. By the time Laura said I had 10 minutes left my knee started to feel strange. I ran on, then the twinges shifted to my hamstring, then a little later on my ankle went weak. But then my app told me I had completed 5km 6 seconds faster than my previous run and I was spurred on to complete the last few minutes with added vigor.
2 more runs left until I graduate… ☺
Week 9 Run 1
Week 9 Run 2!
Week 9 underway!
Week 5, Run 3 - I've run for 20 minutes
Week 9 - Run 3. I've graduated!
