CATCH-UP-CORNER...WEEK 3... SLIP off YOUR RUNNING SHOES... THE CORNER is THIS WAY... ALL WELCOME! Update added...

[Oldfloss]

Hello running friends...

I simply cannot believe that here we are again... another week has whizzed by and the corner is warmed up and ready for everyone to come in and find their cushions!

I am very cosy here today, and feeling a lot happier with my running progress.. yes, yes ,still slow and steady but that works for me... . I managed a wonderful 5K on Sunday.... the first in many a long time and it was great! That pesky Covid leaves its presence felt but...fingers crossed!

I cannot wait to hear what everyone has been up to, although from what I have been reading you are all getting out there and working towards your goal!

Many years ago, when Adam was a lad, ( well maybe not that long), I started out on the running path that so many of you are travelling along now...I was dressed in grey, top to toe, moving quietly, stealth-like in the shadowy darkness of the winter mornings. I stuck to the same route... I had no posh watch or Strava to help, I just worked the distance out on Mapometer and listened to Laura! Most of my route ran through the village and up along the back lanes, in a loop.

It took me a while to realise that until the runs got longer, I had to turn and retrace my steps or face a long walk back home. The surfaces were pavement or tarmac road... the thought of off-road running never occurred to me...The fields, hidden behind the high hedges and the glowering low branches of the trees, seemed to be places where all manner of danger may lurk.

I got to love the route...in rain, ( and it was a wet winter in 2015), hail, snow, wind and all manner of weather! I got to know every inch,,, or at least it felt like it... each shrub or tree, the railway crossing, the deserted school yard and eventually the steam railway.... the home of sleeping dragons !

But.... after Graduation... WOW!

When someone said to me, as I say to many of you, Graduation is not the end... it is only the beginning... I had no idea of the delights that awaited me...I could bore you with all the details, but that would be a really long post! Suffice to say, the routes from then until now and ongoing included, hills, fields, trails and tracks, woodland, beaches, esplanades, treadmill, ( huh), my own garden ( Pandemic lockdown), and everything in between. My favourite route... my beloved fields.., every dry, dusty, muddy, frosty grassy pollen laden inch of them! Blooming fabulous!

Which begs the question, why I would choose a route on Sunday, that involved a heck of a lot of pavement pounding ! Well, I wanted to take it gently, I wanted to have an easy run and I wanted to be sure that I would not tire, get distracted, or become too involved with Nature, as opposed to running.

So, this was a route I have done before, all around the houses, past the industrial end of the Aerodrome estate back through the trees, across the new green space walk-way and the football field and back home down the hill! Full of the silence of a Sunday morning, but still much to enjoy! ( Again... there is a whole post here

But, why I am telling you all this, is because I, and we want to know.... da dah...

WHERE are YOU running?

New runners.... this means YOU ! But I do want to hear from everyone else too

What is your...how I reach Graduation, route.... is it the same one each run, or not. In the city, town, by the sea, in the hills, on a treadmill or where?

Do your routes change because of weather. or the day when the refuse collectors are banging the bins around, a big, scary barking dog, or do you change the route because of the weather?

Is there anything odd about the route, any part you really dislike or love... a hill that is...oh, so much fun or a very narrow, careful I don't slip, part !

Is there a really favourite route that you like better than any other? Or one that you would rather run anywhere than there? I must admit, I ran along the lane near me in the early days and felt really uncomfortable... I was a while before I ran it again! Last year a run through a tunnel scared me too! Wimpy or what!

But, enough of my ramblings … we all are waiting to share your routes... photos too if possible?

Strangely enough.... two posts I read yesterday echoed the theme for this post..  Annieapple and  Folkylass both ran a different route !

Anyway, you all know the way to the Corner, thank goodness. It is warm inside and there is a welcome for all .

Looking forward to seeing you !

UPDATE...

DO please check out this post... from our own AlMorr ... he runs in different locations, many of them stunning ones.. and finally he has posted a photo of him at Park Run. That is something many of you new runners may wish to take part in after Graduation... he is an inspiration to us all !

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Oldfloss x

P.S

Link to the , Being watched run!

healthunlocked.com/couchto5......

PPS

I do NOT dress in grey at all now !

Floss x

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Another great post from you Oldfloss, where I ran during my 9 weeks of C25K and where I have ran since graduating are just a little different but not much.

Since I retired at 60 I have always gone somewhere on a Monday, when I began C25K my 3 days a week during the course were Wednesday, Saturday and Monday, so the Monday was the last day of my C25K week, that meant that milestone runs such as R3W5 and R3W9 were not run near to where I live, I remember the exact dates of those 2 runs and where I ran them, other runs of C25K were run locally, I remember running run 2 of week 9 on a Saturday afternoon, during that 30 minute run I passed someone who told me that I was running too fast and at the very end of the run, 3 boys offered me a piece of tablet which I declined to take.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to AlMorr]

Ha ha... they did not know who they were talking to!

This is so lovely to know how and where you ran, and it is odd, how those special days stick so firmly in our minds. I wonder where those boys are now and how surprised they would be to know how far you have run since then!

I always run with Sunday as my last run day... we all have our little routines!

I would love to see where you run for real! Maybe if we head up North sometime ! Thank you for popping in Al, your cushion is always waiting x

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

If you want to see at least some of the places I have run go to my profile page and scroll down to the posts I have posted on this forum, a few to mention, I took a photo of Broadwood Loch 3 months ago when I was running "Tim's Run" the only HM I have ran, also, I took a photo of the place I ran my graduation run in 2018 when I was a walk, (Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland) this was taken 5 months ago, another photo of a 10K entitled "Historic 10K", this photo was taken near Stirling 5 months ago, finally there is a photograph of the moon setting over the snow capped hills with the caption "moonset 8K" this photo was taken around that disused school football pitch only a 3 minutes walk from where I live on the 30th December 2020.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to AlMorr]

I do hope that folk look at these photographs Al... I have seen many of them... it is so interesting to see the huge variation on the locations for folk's runs

[Lola-bear Graduate]

hello OF I haven’t posted for a while but have been running but less frequently it’s just been one of those times where I’ve put myself at the bottom of the pile.

I am now determined to get back to 3 runs a week.

I tend to run the same run along a path by a Brook but part of it is very secluded and for some reason I’ve been jittery about it (had a lecture off a friend about having earphones in and losing one of my senses) this week I got my daughter to drive me to our local park and ran back- 5k +for that one, then Across fields for the next run which I have not done before, worried about twisting an ankle but it was like running on a pillow I loved it.

I am away this weekend with my running gear so who knows what adventures await me.

Thank you as always for your post xx

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Lola-bear]

Hello and welcome... it is really good to see you here !

Time for you now, most certainly! I can understand that jittery feeling and you were right to change the route if you felt like that... The field run sounds fantastic... I love that description... running on a pillow! Your feet do get used to it and are amazingly adaptable..

I hope you find some new routes this weekend and we would love to hear where you get to!

It really is so good to have you in the Corner again x

[Dendev75 Graduate]

lovely to read you completed a 5k OF that must have felt good 😊 I know it’s been a while but you kept fit and you’re back to your runs again 👍🏻 so happy for you xx

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Dendev75]

Thank you...I just feel as if I have been up and down since goodness knows when...I make ground and then something kicks in...

The 5 K always feels like a turn around mark... I shall take it gently but try to carry on building up! x

[GTFC Graduate]

Having recently moved in with Tasha99 in Middlesbrough, your post had real resonance for me. I'm finding joy in new routes and surroundings.

Swapping the Humber for the Tees has been really interesting. Running with company is lovely too. I have always been a solo runner for the vast majority of my runs and followed a route alongside the Humber that I could adapt any distance from a 5k to a Marathon.

Now the routes here are different, they look different in the daylight and night time. Everything is new and exciting and fresh. We run mostly together (which is absolutely wonderful) as we train for Manchester. The weeks are filled with shorter runs or a mid distance one and the weekends for a Parkrun and Sunday long run. I've met some running friends of Tasha's that I see on a Monday night where we run around the Tees Barrage.

I prefer runs in the cold or rain because it gives me extra drive. I smile when I run because it makes me really happy. I'm grateful always of what running gives me. I explore through it, am mindful through it and value it immensely. There'll be new trail runs in the spring and summer, new Parkrun destinations and new places I've never heard of to run in. I feel lucky that I'll be experiencing all of this with her.

Running is my glue that holds all those things together. I don't ever worry about pace or time or how far. I don't compare, I just run. I go with it on the day and how I'm feeling. I can run then however I choose. It's my blank canvas to paint and each one will be different. Messy or smooth it doesn't matter. I'm out there experimenting and doing. I love it and it's a gift I'll cherish while I'm able to go.

Here's to more of this and a big 'well done' to us all each time we go out and run. The thing I enjoy perhaps the most is not my own running but cheering on others with theirs 😊

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to GTFC]

This sounds absolutely great and what a real mix of running and routes you are experiencing!

It really is whole new world out there with all the different locations and the experience of them seasonally as well.

I can just imagine the whole feel to the runs in the day or at night too, and the difference running with company. I am a solo runner and although on the occasions I have run with others, it has been fun and enjoyable, I am not sure how I would feel about it all the time? For you two though... just so great!

I love your description of your running..." It's my blank canvas to paint and each one will be different"... you know how I love my words.... and that is just beautiful...

Going with the flow, letting the run just flow, like wet on wet, water-colour. My running writing ( rambles) do the same for me, after the run.

We are, as you say, to be celebrated every time we run and your replies to so many of our new runners has been much appreciated...

Long may the joy continue....thank you for popping in ! x

[RunBrianRun Graduate]

Hi OF As promised I thought I’d pop my head in the door and say hello 👋.

My running couldn’t be any more different from when and where I started 5 years ago. Back then I lived in the hot Middle East country of Bahrain where getting outside was tricky to say the least. I ended up doing the whole of C25K on a treadmill in my compound gym. I really enjoyed it as the air was cool and clean and there were no mad drivers doing stupid things and scaring the life out of me on the un paved roads where I lived.

I remained steadfastly indoors until I returned to England for my Xmas holidays and ran a parkrun with my brother in Buckingham. It was AMAZING and I was truly hooked on outside running from that point. Back in Bahrain I just had to find quiet(er) roads and run in the winter months only. By the time I returned to the U.K. full time in 2019 I was a seasoned outdoor runner and was hooked on parkruns. I couldn’t get enough of them 😂

My longest and most memorable run was an unscheduled “suck it and see” run from Brighton to Newhaven, where I got lost several times, and scared myself a few times too, as dusk/night descended.

The somewhat sketchy cliff top path was deserted and really eroded and collapsed in several places and the wind was ferocious. You could hear the sea crashing down below and the spray was reaching over the top to where I was to my right. Looking that way there was nowt but blackness. It was truly scary as I had no light with me and no phone and I have a bit of a fear of heights.😬 I turned inland across a boggy and bramble filled field (ouch), and I found my way into a housing estate and told a guy I saw who was mending his car with a head torch (I noted that for future reference), that I was a bit lost having run from Brighton, andif he knew which way Newhaven was. He laughingly told me I was a nutter and pointed down the hill. 😅😂

I made my way back to Brighton along the main roads and was very very glad to make it back safely. Needless to say after that I got myself kitted up properly, and made sure emergency procedures were foremost in my mind on long runs. As it happens I only ever ran longer once so it never transpired that I would need them anyway.

No chance of getting lost on my runs nowadays as the lanes are very clearly marked on the track. 😅 Couldn’t be more different.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to RunBrianRun]

Hello... so good to see you and I so hope, as more folk drop in... over the week, that they read this. Wow...

What a different set of running locations and what amazing images you conjure up for us! I absolutely was out there with you in that baking heat, imagining those hot hot days and needing to find some relief from it...that run with your brother was a turning point for sure... and coming back full time must have been amazing! What a contrast!

The run from Brighton, I can tell you, I was holding my breath!!! Blimey that sounds totally exhilarating, exciting and downright scary!! I could actually hear those waves and I was imaging the darkens of the abyss below you! You were lucky to get away with it?

Oh my goodness... just incredible !Thank you so, so much for sharing that with us...and please, do pop in any time you feel you have time... just super!

[RunBrianRun Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you OF yes, it was good and bad in equal measure over there. I ran a desert relay marathon there and collapsed in the heat during my leg. It was really weird as I thought it was a panic attack but I went all wobbly and just fell over. My legs went to jelly and I blacked out. I wasn’t well that day anyway, and didn’t want to let my team down. There’s a photo of me somewhere waiting at the start of my leg and you can see that I don’t look right. I’ll try and dig it out. Anyway, lots of lessons learned there too.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to RunBrianRun]

That sounds equally frightening... but we would love to see that photograph!

[SueAppleRun Graduate in reply to RunBrianRun]

Brian!! It's bad enough driving from Brighton to Newhaven let alone running along the cliffs, I thought my aim for Littlehampton to Shoreham was ambitious but well!!! 😳

[RunBrianRun Graduate in reply to SueAppleRun]

Littlehampton to Shoreham is a really long run isn’t it? Definitely ambitious I would think. Good luck with that! My brother once ran from Brighton to Chichester! Crazy eh?

[SueAppleRun Graduate in reply to RunBrianRun]

Littlehampton to home is 10 miles Home to Shoreham probably under 5 miles, , Brighton to Chichester would be really long way but your run was a very long way ☺️ we are all a bit crazy I think, I knew you hadn't fallen over those cliffs but still read with bated breath

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to SueAppleRun]

Fantastic wasn't it!

[AngeScott Graduate]

What a great post Floss!

Today I went out for a slow and steady run past the duck sign! It’s down a towpath by the River Thames. It’s a short route but long enough for me 😊 This morning it was cool and cloudy. I met a friend, her husband and their beautiful dog - I obviously didn’t stop but was able to greet them as I shuffled on past! I am loving running right now - looking forward to finding new routes in and around Whitley Bay in the summer 👍🏼

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to AngeScott]

Hello !

This is lovely, and how great to see you here. Your cushion has been waiting for you Some of your routes by the Thames are so beautiful... and alwyas so much to see and to take in as you go...

You are going to have such and exciting time when you get back to Whitely Bay! revisiting favourite places, but this time... as a RUNNER... I for one, cannot wait to see those routes and read your posts too...Thank you for popping in and please , a photo too next time

Well done you!

[AngeScott Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Here you go Floss. The famous duck sign! X

Colour photo of a duck sign

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to AngeScott]

Yeayayyay. I love that sign ! I just need one with a snail on xxx

[JetsNanna Graduate]

It’s odd that you should ask the question “where are you running?” today. I did my first outdoor run in ages this morning - pavement pounding the ‘mean streets’ of East London - and it was glorious.

I had a fall on Christmas Eve whilst running in conditions that were far from ideal and not in keeping with my usual practice. Anyhow, I have been REALLY anxious about running outdoors since then. And oddly nervous about even walking! Seeing hazards everywhere which is unlike me. I have only done max two outdoor runs since my fall and have been running at the gym 3 times a week instead. I have enjoyed the exercise (once it’s finished) but have loathed the gym experience. It is far too warm and boring for me.

So this morning it was dry and cool so I thought I’d venture out for a gentle tentative 5k. I’ve missed running outside and I am so very pleased that I have had that run this morning. Breezy, cool, quiet and relaxed. I hope that I have now conquered that rotten fear of falling just as it’s getting to the point where pre/post work runs are a realistic possibility.

So that’s me - outdoors again and thrilled about it 😊😊😊

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to JetsNanna]

Lovely to have you here on a comfy cushion.It is very good to know you that you have got outside again...

Your trepidation is quite understandable, after a fall particularly. We are I think, always a tad cautios when heading out, even after illness.

Your run obviously was a success and with the lighter nights..and longer days...going to be easier to do.

Keep us posted please...and thank you for popping in! X

[Madmabeline]

My run takes me past our creek most days. But my running partners are easily distracted

Dogs at creek

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Madmabeline]

That is so lovely! yes, lots to keep noses twitching and ears pricked there... just wonderful... thank you so much for popping in ! Croissants and coffee are over there There are some GF ones too! x

[Katrey60 Graduate]

I run with my husband, and our favourite and most regular place to run is around the local cemetery, as we live in an inner city, it is has lots of trees, and wildlife, I love hearing the birds, and is exactly 5 mins walk from our house and is almost 2k for a full lap, the crocus are in bloom at the moment, and I am looking forward to seeing all the bluebells come through.

The downside it closes before I finish work at the moment, so we can only run there at the weekend, but we did 3k yesterday, so as I am building my runs back up, I’m really pleased with that. 🏃🏃‍♂️

I’m looking forward to the lighter evenings so my midweek runs can be there too.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Katrey60]

Oh wow... running with the silent sleepers resting easy as you run! I can just imagine the total peace and tranquility there... one of our other forum friends, Bluebirdrunner , did a run around a cemetery a while ago and posted about it.

Perfect calm except for the birds and wildlife sounds just right and with the Spring flowers coming too, I bet it looks beautiful! A good distance too! You could do a few laps to lengthen it, if you wished to, and a midweek evening run... something to look forward to.

Thank you so much for popping in and sharing this with us xxx