Apart from my c25k app with Laura (who’s mostly silent by w8), this run was ‘naked’ (no music, no podcasts). Just me, M, the elements... and dozens of other runners and walkers, all circuiting and cross-crossing the same piece of precious uber-urban greenery. 🌳 🌳 🌳
Had been itching to get out yesterday. The weather was just wonderful and the forecast for today cloud with c.50% rain. But we have to take our rest (aka ‘non-running’) days to protect our new and future running selves, so sensible patience prevailed. Thankfully, we woke to an equally gorgeous morning of hazy autumn sunshine. Yeah!! Exactly what I need for my first ‘awe-run’.
For W8R1, I’d intended to try out the ‘awe-walk’ (discussed on Claudia Hammond’s All in the Mind, Radio 4) but as a run. However, I forgot, having become totally absorbed by the mindful running podcast (I take this forgetting as a very good recommendation for the podcast). Today, I switched priorities: awe-run first, I said to myself, with Steve Hobbs’ voice and advice now in my head, ready to reach for ‘as and when’. To underscore the change, I decided we’d switch to the clockwise circuit. M always gets a bit unnerved by this (relative) unfamiliarity. I ignored the squeak of protest as I channeled Laura’s instructions ‘3, 2, 1...’ and took the lead. Clockwise it was.
This run was so much fun!
I was utterly profligate with my awe-targets. Obviously it’s hard to focus on, say, a blade of grass while running, even as slowly as we do, though I tried and there were lots of blades, which was itself amazing to think about. Awe-running demands its own scales.
The other runners 🏃🏼♀️ 🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♀️🏃♂️ 🏃🏿🏃🏿♂️🏃🏼♀️🏃♂️; the different groups of elderly power-walkers; the young woman boxing with her personal trainer 🥊 🥊🥊; the guy using an incline to train sprints; the al fresco yogis 🧘🏾🧘🏾🧘♂️🧘🏽♀️🧘🏽♀️🧘♂️🧘🏾🧘🏽♀️🧘🏿♀️🧘🏻♀️🧘🏾🧘🏾: I studied them all, reflecting on the sheer diversity of people. Awesome. The park keepers sorting their tools were a great counterpoint to the leisure. The old chap telling us we weren’t going fast enough. What a wag he was! 😂 😂 I even shouted back agreement (but then swiftly re-concentrated on slow running principles).
The views of trees in colour🍁 🍂 Of course. Say no more. The squarks of feral parakeets. 🦜 🦜 🦜
☀️ Sun in the face, sun behind, sun from the left, and from the right. ☀️ 🌞 Runners’ tracks worn into the grass, in the shade along the embankment (rough and uneven and damp); others traversing still-dewy grass; the four-lane runners’ highway, dry and in full sun across the north side.
The shiny blue unidentifiable thing tangled in the branches, sparkling. ‘Do you think that’s a party balloon?’ I asked. M looked up and judged it to be a coat that some teens had tossed. Ok, maybe not so nice (I thought of the poor coat-owner and the bully laughter) but the initial sight, at least, was fascinating.
🐕 🐩 🐶 Everywhere. The pair of tiny foods gambolling and tumbling, the one able to do a perfectly gauged leap along (not over) the other’s body. Hilarious. How amazing is that? An even smaller chihuahua sniffing last night’s pizza boxes 🍕 from an overflowing bin 🗑 It was skipping back and forth sideways to avoid falling under the steps of passing humans. So cute. Two very well trained collies crouching for their balls to be lobbed. I see them and their owner often, so we now smile and say hello. Nice. The huge Alsatian who stepped onto the embankment trail just in time to nearly trip M. He (the dog) had a ball firmly in its mouth. Not me. Fantastic!
That’s it, said Laura, well done! You can slow down now.
Verdict: My first Awe-run experiment was a total success. 28 minutes were gone in a jiffy. I ran with a smile on my face. At times, we were ‘(slow-mo) gazelling’ along.🦌 🦌
Later, over coffee, I asked M what he thinks about once into the run. ‘Nothing’, he replied. 👌
It's good to mix things up with a different route, or different way round. Must do that myself 😎
The small one and I ran race for life
They think it's all over - it is now!
W8r2 An interesting run
W8R2: bad run 😕
