A run to learn from ?

[sfb350]

I wanted to run this morning but because I was having a "fasting" blood test this morning, I hadn't eaten for hours so felt a bit too wobbly to try it. I decided that instead I would ask my Beloved to drop me off at my yoga class and that I would run back home afterwards. Beloved told me I was barking mad.

At work today, I sneakily checked out the distance on Google Maps - 2.7 miles. Well, I've done more than that a few times now so that shouldn't be too bad, maybe a bit slow as there are a couple of long steep hills.

I got home from work and got changed, Beloved came home expecting me to have seen sense as it was raining. No, I was still set on running home. He delivered me to my class, still thinking I was a mad fool.

After an hour of stretching and contorting, I felt quite ready for the run home. I didn't do the usual warm up walk as I assumed I was already pretty warmed up. I felt good as I set off.....but all too soon, my legs felt weary, I was struggling to find a rhythm and I felt sick. I decided to let myself stop after five minutes....I had to stop after less than three minutes. My throat felt tight, my legs ached and I could feel the contents of my stomach churning - it was three hours since I'd eaten so I'm not sure why.

I decided to walk home. Well, I got to the top of the hill and didn't feel too bad so I set myself a new target to run to and set off at a slow jog - this really was hard work. After a while, I decided to move the target further away - get to the big roundabout and then walk up the next big hill. Running on the grass verge made the jog more comfortable and I cheered myself up by splashing through muddy puddles. I just about kept going to the roundabout, my stomach still felt strange, I felt slightly sick and I was starting to fear I was going to have a Paula Radcliffe moment (sorry Paula!).

I carried on walking, determined I wasn't going to ring Beloved and ask him to come and rescue me. I started to feel a bit better again and increased my walking speed - by the time I reached the top of the hill, my legs were tight and achy but I felt able to run the final flat stretch home. As it turned out, it wasn't flat - I've just never noticed the incline when I've been walking! I made it though and staggered in through the front door, gasping and wheezing.

So what have I learnt?

I suspect I should stick to running in the mornings, this is the first evening run I've tried since starting the program;

I shouldn't underestimate how intense a yoga class can be;

I like running in the rain and jumping in puddles (I already suspected as much);

I care a lot less about what people think about the sight of me in lycra than I would have done 9 weeks ago;

I've listened to my own advice and, even while I was struggling, I was managing not to think of it as a Bad Run - I wouldn't have been able to do that 9 weeks ago either;

Beloved is almost always right (but that doesn't mean I have to admit it to him!)

I've also decided that when Stubbornness gets you home, it's only fair to call it Determination instead.

[Deryn61 Graduate]

Brilliant blog! It could be that you should have had a snack about an hour before running, I couldnt run if I had eaten nowt for three hrs?

[sfb350 Graduate in reply to Deryn61]

That's a good point too - but then I'd have been eating immediately before yoga and that would probably have made me feel bad too. I think running home from a class is probably just a Bad Idea

[Alaiyo Graduate]

Good for you for setting up a challenge for yourself...and sticking with your goal, even if you had to amend it a little to keep going. Running home after a fast from another exercise class in the rain definitely counts as determination. Also, I am glad to hear you talking nicely to yourself (it isn't a "bad run" and lycra is still a friendly fabric.)

[Anonymous36 Graduate]

i think running to the class may have been a better idea, at least then if you collapsed in a heap it would have been indoors and surrounded by people

We have to make these mistakes to learn what we are capable of. We're all different and there is no right or wrong way to do this, we just have to learn to listen to our own body and learn our limits (usually I do that the hard way)

Great determination by the way