An adventure

[Beth5]

Today I went on a little adventure for which I have been psyching myself up for the last week and a half. I finally took the plunge and ventured out into the real world to try running out there. I knew I was finally going to do it yesterday when I happened upon a Sports Direct and came out with a long-sleeved sports top.

Seems that I chose a beautiful day for it, sun was out and the weather could possibly be mistaken for suggesting that winter might be coming to an end. I've been looking at the location of the two park runs nearest to me and had been trying to decide which one to check out. I eventually last night decided on Barking as I discovered that the bus which runs near my flat goes right there.

Managed to pick up the park run route by following the arrows chalked onto the path and the odd sign tied to a tree and was pleased to see that it seemed to lead away from the Sunday league footie taking place - big enough issue that I actually was going to run where children could see let alone 22 blokes playing footie. I took myself back to the W1 podcast as from reading this forum I understand that running outside is quite a different undertaking to running on the treadmill.

Stupidly I forgot to turn Runtracker on to work out pace or distance but once again ParkRun came to the rescue during the last minutes of my final run with a chalk maker saying 2.5km, so as I turned back towards the park gates instead of going for lap 2 of the 5k distance I think I got through just under 3 km. So I know I was slower than I am on the treadmill as I normally manage 3-3.25km in the gym but at least I got out there and did it and will try to make it park of the weekly routine. I might even volunteer for the ParkRun so I can meet a few new people as I'm relatively new to the area and maybe I can find a running buddy to help encourage me out of doors.

Tomorrow, I think I'll be going back to the gym and the treadmill to take on W2R2 for the second time as I don't think I'd feel comfortable out running on my own at 6.30-7.00 in the morning. Another little victory in the me v running battle!

[greenlegs Graduate]

Great work, Beth! Doing some parkrun volunteering sounds a really good idea to meet some other local runners. New adventures are exciting but also scary!

I wore my running leggings for the first time today - I bought them weeks ago, but hadn't been brave enough to actually go outside in them before. Maybe that was part of the reason I actually ran 5k?! Who knows, but it felt good!

[Beth5 in reply to greenlegs]

Thanks Greenlegs! Congratulations on your first run in your leggings and on hitting your 5k. Glad I got out there as can see why people managed to keep getting out in the rain, wind, sleet and snow. As a naturally cold creature I'll keep to the indoors for a while longer yet! Though I will try to do a run outside each weekend!

[oona Graduate]

Hi Beth, good for you for getting out there in the great outdoors! It is harder outside - you have to watch your feet, the wind might be blowing and then there're the hills! On the plus side the fresh air and sunlight are so good for you both physically and emotionally! When I first started I felt very self-conscious but very quickly you lose that when you realise that either people don't notice you or are wishing they could do what you're doing! Best wishes for your next run.

[Beth5 in reply to oona]

Thanks Oona, there were some parts of the path which were a bit uneven and rough looking and I feared for my ankles - have two dodgy ankles. There were a few slopes but nothing too dramatic. Don't think people paid too much attention to me but it was nice to be out in the sunshine, think it'll be a once a week outing at the moment but spring is coming so who knows...