Pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body....
Now I like that saying...it kinda rings true to me on every level...so much so that I announced to some friends yesterday that I was going to get this tattooed onto my body somewhere. Once the laughter had died down, I was asked if I was going through a midlife crisis, to which I immediately replied no, however, the more I think about it, perhaps I am.
I guess the definition of a mid-life crisis is doing something in order to regain your youth or prove to yourself that there is more to life than taxes and death. 3 months ago I decided that being in my very late twenties (34) I wasn't happy with what I had become and longed for the days when I could hide behind lamp posts, had the stamina and fitness of a middle distance runner and believed I was indestructible. Lets call that person Thin Sedge (little Sedge is something different altogether, and unfortunately he's got no bigger no matter how much I ate).
So instead of a buying convertible car, dying my grey hair or dating much younger women, I chose to buy some running shoes and luminous yellow vests, and have started trying to find that person I was 15 years ago before I found beer and doner kebabs. Thin Sedge is in here somewhere, I've started seeing more and more of him in the mirror, and he's started to help me make a few decisions lately, and added a bit of confidence for good measure.
So back to the programme. Today I completed Week 5. I believe the further into this process you go Preparation becomes more and more important... Having consideration as to how you rest, hydrate and fuel your body is essential. I went out for a few glasses of red last night, woke up this morning feeling fine, but did not drink enough water, and only had a light breakfast. Even though today I managed PBs in terms of distance ran over the time, I really struggled, especially the last two minutes, this is where Thin Sedge came to the rescue, and although I wasn't running as fast as I would have liked, I still made it, and it felt good.
When we begin this programme, we must all have a vision in our heads as to how we look whilst running, the reality of my running is somewhat different to the elegant, glowing, slim, striding, turning all the ladies heads fella in my vision. To be honest, I'm more of a sweaty gormless runner, mouth wide open in an attempt to 'scoop' as much air as possible into my lungs, people do stop and stare as the see me running 'Honey Monster' style towards them, but I don't care, once again Thin Sedge tells me that I am probably inspiring everyone I see, and making them wonder why I'm doing it, and whether if i can, could they....
Now week 6 is looming, with some loooong runs, but I know that after today, my body can do it, and more importantly, my mind can. In a month, I will be a 5k runner, I might even buy a motorbike to celebrate....
See you at the finish line....
Pat
Keep up the running and have a great week 6.
Fat Bloke Still Waddling!
Week 5 Run 3 - done!!
Week 5 run1
One year on - the boring, fat old bloke goes shopping
