Ear Flossing and Excited - Week 7 Run 1

[Jancanrunagain]

We've all heard of dental floss right? Good for your teeth and gum health. Let me introduce you to Ear Floss - the new super duper product courtesy of our very own    Oldfloss .

Having slightly messed up mental and physical prep for W6 R3, I had received wise words from    Oldfloss on remembering hydration and focussing on surroundings to not focus on speed, but to drink in the total experience of the run.

So my usual prep include this time, hydration, application of Pootler's Pink lippie, and a good ear flossing courtesy of Old Floss.

Mr JCR, Bobster the Monster and Fibi Fardashian were going to follow me on a walk, whilst I ran with the plan that we'd meet up when I turned around. The instructions were fairly clear to anyone with a brain - turn left at Baghdad roundabout (yes we are in Italy but it reminds us both of some major arches we saw once in Baghdad on the news) and run for 15 minutes until it's time to turn around, then we'll go for a restorative coffee, and we will meet up, whether I'm still running or on the warm down walk.

Clearly my ear flossing had removed all focus on anything else, and I misheard left for turning right at the Baghdad roundabout. That was definitely a mistake, because that particular lane is full of some rather snarly large dogs, behind (what seem to me to be) rather inadequate fencing.

Jo Cool was telling me that at this stage mixing things up a bit would help, well I did that right enough mixing up right for left - doh!

I started off too fast, and I recognised that at the 2.5 minutes check point and deliberately dropped the pace, which was definitely a good idea. Map My Run's Mechanical Voice Lady giving me a split time check proved I was going too fast and I wasn't exactly feeling the love at which point Jo Cool piped up. Or rather she tried to, but that blinking MVL kept on blathering on, so all I heard was Jo say that she had a trick for saying a mantra when she didn't like the run. Don't know what that mantra was, but it was helpful to know that there was one, even if I couldn't use it. Then about 15 seconds later, Jo piped up with the mantra - I think the famous C25K pausing bug must have occurred or Jo decided to wait until the gobby MVL lady was sure to have shut up!

It is to say to yourself 'I love running' even if you don't. Having recouped a better breathing pattern, I wasn't feeling running hate, it was just fine, I had a nice run pattern, my breathing wasn't hard and whilst there wasn't a ton of nice scenery to look at, I did have to keep my wits about me for the big dogs.

At this stage I'd run a full circuit and not come across Mr JCR, BTM, or FF. No surprise really because they had turned left at the Baghdad roundabout and were walking away from me. So I decided to do random running in and around the cafe area, met Maurizio the local community coach driver, who looked somewhat surprised to see me out of my usual running haunts.

Saying ciao to him, I got goosed by an over friendly golden retriever and received an 'excuse me' from his handler. But I was happily in the zone and not put off my stride and decided to run along the disused railway line, which enterprising Italians have turned into mini allotments for fruit and veg, despite all the notices saying it's a criminal offence to trespass on Trenitalia land.

Still no sign of Mr JCR with BTM and FF. At this stage Jo told me I had just five minutes left to run, and the distraction of dog evasion, with meeting Maurizio meant that I had focussed on other things not just pace, and that was definitely a win. I carried on with random running and then Jo Cool informed me I could put in an extra spurt if I wanted , which coincided with Tigerfeet coming on my playlist. My footfalls get heavier when I am tired so it was less Tigerfeet and more elephant feet, but the run was done and I wasn't shattered, I'd lost the rest of the JCR family but very happy to have achieved another milestone. For my warm up walk I tracked down MR JCR on my 'find me' tracker and made my way towards him, except of course I was going in the exact opposite way. Oops. Warm down walk done, and the C25K app, gave me a real boost by telling me that once I get to graduation some new post graduation runs will appear to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Lessons this time, I highly recommend Ear Flossing by Old Floss, it clears the mind, but maybe makes you lose your directional sense (only joking - that failure is entirely my own)

My directional sense is somewhat lacking so I really need to focus on left vs. right - Mr JCR did ask me whether I actually went on the route we'd agreed - mmm - that answer was a no then!

Started with ear flossing and ended up excited, because 25 minutes of running is doable, and was done by me and this is the second time I've run it.

Next time out I'm back on ups and downs, because I think flat running on the longer runs is all well and good, but I live at the top of a hill and I must acclimatise to the uppy bits.

[T2runner Graduate]

Blimey if you publish your c25k journey it would be a best seller, eventful non the less. Did the big dogs cause your pace to go up? You will have to take some dog treats, would be a bit of security.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to T2runner]

The dogs caused me to swerve into the road, which with Italian driving is a concern. Many Italians in the country have big guard dogs for their smallholdings and the dogs are specifically trained to be noisy and frightening to keep intruders away. It's the same when we walk our two, they get aggressive you do get used to it, it's just with earphones in I wasn't as alert as usual...

[Yesletsgo Administrator]

That's an adventure and a half! Glad you found Mr JCR eventually, I had this vision of you being fated to eternally roam the Italian back streets (can think of worse places to be lost).

My sense of direction is non existent too but Mr Y's is brilliant. If he says left I say right, but the one who is always right about it is definitely not me!

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

I can remember one screaming row in the car on an Italian autostrada when I was told to take the left and he said you’ve taken the right and I replied I had taken the left - and at that time we were both right! I had taken the left lane of the right spur - not the left turn. Which led to the JCR phrase do you mean left, left!

Along with rubbish spatial awareness it’s a wonder I survive every day 🤪

[Yesletsgo Administrator in reply to Jancanrunagain]

The first time I had to drive on the right was...fun? I still have to classify turns as 'easy' (right) or 'hard' (left) in Europe otherwise I have to think too hard (and I've done A LOT of European miles)😂

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

I like that phrase but fear I am too far down the left left route … to adapt to hard and easy phraseology

[Wavy-chick28 Graduate]

Sounds like Oldfloss as ever gave you wise words! Great write up too 👏🏻

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Wavy-chick28]

Floss is the best - nothing gets by her scrutiny

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

How can you mistake left for right? Easy done when running, ear flossing eh ?🤔

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to SueAppleRun]

I do struggle to distinguish the two but sometimes I’m just not really listening hard enough and I did hesitate at the Baghdad roundabout before turning because the route didn’t make sense… I think being more focussed on doing the run meant what little sense I possess had deserted me

[SueAppleRun Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

You were focussed on the run and that's the important bit, you are doing really well 😁