“Let your running be about more than running and your running will help you get better at more than running”.
Hello, running friends...
Well, I hear you say, this is a fine time be showing up to open the Corner. The sun is almost over the yard arm!
I agree, and am able only, to apologise... a few very hectic days, with all manner of issues have really slowed me down.. Appointments... meetings, extra care days with small one....
But.... today the Corner is open.., Late, but open some supper snacks here now, and in the morning... there will be plenty of snacks, smoothies croissants and coffee for all!
I am here at the Coast corner and after a torrential downpour on Tuesday....Wednesday and today have been lovely...sunny but breezy! The air is cooler and fresher and a coastal walk on the Pen Llyn, blew a few irritating thoughts right away...
I have not run for a fortnight and I miss it... but I listen to my body and with daily exercise and my normal S and F routines, I am staying physically strong. Recent blood tests results from my GP prove the point!. Mentally, I am struggling a tad... and because of that, I am finding other ways to stay fit...
Which does, by coincidence , add weight to my ramble today.
The quotation above, is from from of the guided runs which I have been using lately, and whilst running, I thought a lot about the words. I have used this quotation many times before... it is a good one!
We chat a lot about the mental as well as the physical benefits we get from our running and I do know of many friends on here, who feel as I do, that not being able to run can impact that mental well being...but just as our running becomes disciplined, so our mental aspect can be trained too... it may take time... but we can do it.
I wrote a post this time last year and I have shamelessly used chunks of it here... because the same things apply....
So!
When we begin C25K, there is an almost overwhelming amount to think about! So many links, the guide to read, other folks posts to read, ( I really hope you do that ), and so much information everywhere.
Breathing, foot-strike, pace, fuel, hydration.... taking it at your own comfy pace and not trying to zoom along too quickly!.
Then as we move on... we may think about how we run, how others see us, why we are not as fast as others...why we cannot make 5K in 30 minutes if others can..
After Graduation, the running thoughts, run on... where to next, how to progress... races, trail runs, marathons... and on we go. Luckily we have a super new Graduates club... opened and hosted by MissUnderstanding ....loads of ideas there... !
Now, as running evolves, we are able, if we simply let it happen, eventually, to take control of our running thoughts. We find what is right for us.... what our happy pace is.... what our unique style is... where we want to be and how we want to get there.
Yes, there will be times when we make a mistake, we have a blip and things upend us...we may, through no fault of our own end up on the IC...but, there is always another day, another run and another route. The runs are patient... they wait.
NOW, here then, is the clever bit...if we use the way we feel and think about our running, we might suddenly realise that we can use that, in a really beneficial way in so many aspects of our lives.
To think about things, yes, but not overthink...( that word sums me up perfectly, right now). We have to try not too get worked up sometimes, when we don't get it right, and instead of letting things work against us, use that stress and make it work for us...move us on in a truly positive way.
I am using some of my really successful running techniques, but not on a run... I am using those techniques in my head and in my day to day activities. They are, slowly, helping me in so many ways. My mantra, slow and steady, always at the fore.
Isn't running amazing! Works for you, even when you are not doing it!
So, that is all about me... and what I would like to ask is...what about you all and your running? .. how has your week been... have you got all the week's runs in... did wind or weather or heat hamper you... ? Have you had an illness, have you had an injury or has life just thrown you a load of nonsense?
How is your running helping you? And, if you are not able to run right now... what strategies are you using to get you through ?
Whether you are at the beginning, middle or nearing Graduation....if you are making a comeback, as many of us seem to to be, right now,; grab a cushion and tell all...
Looking forward to hearing from you...
Oldfloss
