Today's run was the last long one before the VLM next Sunday. It was only 7m but it was so lovely. The wind was fierce and the rain came battering me (which I adore) but I just seemed to float through it and couldn't stop smiling. It was at 11 pace so steady away 😊
Then I thought about all the moments leading up to this. I thought about how we all are 'earning the right' to run and run well. How all the runs leading up to this we face and overcome. Wind, rain, sun, aches, pains, not feeling it, good runs, tricky runs, struggling for energy, feeling too heavy or too slow or not good enough...they are all imposters.
We overcome them because we go out, we lace up and we go, however the weather is and however we feel before the run. This way whether it's 3m or 30m it doesn't matter. Whether it's a PB or we go far or fast it matters not. If we earn the right to run then whatever that run looks like we can take something from it.
There is always something positive. Then we go out and can find that serenity knowing we trained for this. The major runs are a product of all the ones before so personally I never get too up or too down whatever happens. Wish everyone could feel how we do as runners 😊
That is a very inspiring post from today GTFC and a good run as well, I have been watching theSheringham Webcam and certainly the weather where you are and not too far away Sheringham has been awful with strong North, North East winds with rain and big waves, that compares to where I live in Central Scotland with light winds and sunny periods, on the other hand you and Buddy34 love running in the rain, I wish you the very best for next Sunday's VLM, good luck. 👍 🏃🏾
Thank you Al. I love Sheringham and have been there lots of times. We've had brutal winds here the last few days. Running by the coast and open farmland there is no barrier but it really toughens you up 😊😊😊
Last night my niece who has run tons of sub 3 hour FMs responded in tones of horror to my estimated time for my first FM attempt.
"SEVEN HOURS???!! OHMYGOD Uncle John!!! - I couldn't run seven hours!!! That would be murder on my body! SEVEN HOURS!!! No way!!! "
To which I - despite my surprise at my nieces shock - in turn responded with perfectly timed nonchalance,
"Well, one does like to try something TRULY awesome every now and then young Emily"
And such was my perfect delivery and the fact that though my nieces are in their thirties now - but still have a charming propensity from earliest childhood to fall for Uncle John's line of mischief - all three, who run 26.2 miles on a regular basis with relative ease - were thinking I am the hard core runner in the house lol.
And, compared to my old couch days and as so well illustrated by G above - us lot here ARE hard as coffin nails Runners indeed
That's very interesting John that a runner who can run a marathon in a little less than 3 hours, that's about a 20 minutes 5K/40 minutes 10K pace would find it very hard to be running for 7 hours at a much slower pace, those gazelles as we call fast runners find it much harder running at 35 minute 5K pace than their normal sub 20 minutes 5K pace let alone run a 7 hour marathon.
haha! That's exactly what I buoyed myself up with on my last long run - I'm only knackered because I've been running for a very long time. Not all marathons are equal 😅
I can recall Baz discussing this. He expected to be on his feet a similar length of time. It truly is awesome that us older runners can do it 💪🏃♀️🏃♂️ It’s training though I guess,. Our training is perhaps more thorough and takes us longer to complete. I’m allowing 20 weeks rather than 16 👵🏻
So do I 🙂. I had a large buzzard over my head the other day. I stood a While to admire it soaring gracefully above me. It made me think about freedom. Birds have always been a symbol of freedom
A smile actually gives you a bit more energy on the run too! I hear Kipchoge always smiles towards the end of his race and it really does work 😁. 😉...🤗❤️
What a great post! Running makes us a rather philosophical lot! We all deserve the calmness and clarity of our runs. I had never understood running before! It is a very empowering and quite emotional thing to do!
It really does! The parallels between running and life are incredible and so valuable 😊
That’s fantastic GTFC, I really like your idea of ‘imposters’ and how easily beaten they are with just the lacing up of a running shoe 👟 ....it led me to thinking of the famous poem by Kipling, ‘If’
‘If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
......And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them:’Hold on!’
Reading it again now with a runners mind....says so much of what you have expressed here 😃
and if I’d known you were in my neck of the woods ( looking a bit thinner this morning now the storm with no name has done it’s worst ) I might just have been able to keep up with you this morning doing my tempo run 🏃♀️ 🤗
Roll on the days of the real running buddies for those of us who have only known this virtual running world.
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Love this! Thank you so much!! What a community we all are 😁
I think if we keep getting out there and have patience, it all eventually pays off and when you get one of those runs that just feel great it just makes you feel that everythings alright with the world if you know what i mean.
What a great post GTFC it perfectly sums up the whole running experience/ journey.
Your spot on, we do earn the right through commitment and determination. Incidentally looking at that title I feel a bit of an imposter myself! I’ve never been on this forum before and I’m not a marathon runner, 🤫but just had to reply to such a great post 👍
Hear, hear GTFC! Great post and like Roxdog, I find running so empowering. In the uncertain times we live in, it is something I can do to feel in control and strong.💪👍
Bravo! I’ve just started reading ‘Running like a girl’ and that seems to be the message too.
Yesterday I was wondering if I was really a runner, then I was like what distance are you going ti have to run before you believe in yourself? I’d always thought I was the imposter but you are right, it’s those doubting thoughts that are!
Maybe it's less about 'I'm a runner' and more about 'I run'. In my way, how I feel, when and how I choose. I find those thoughts keep my runs free of worry and very liberating. Running is an activity where we can truly be ourselves.
Yes it is very freeing. I like being able to think of myself as a runner, for me it keeps me believing that I can do it and it helps me have a more active mindset generally
Great post and hugely inspiring for someone like me. Good luck for next Sunday and I'll be eagerly awaiting your post and all the other super fit runners on here . 👍👍🌟🌟
This is such a well written post and one I needed today. At 1:30pm I was falling asleep on the sofa, by 4:15pm I was home after an 11 mile run, and it was the first time I’ve felt comfortable at any distance over 12km, and I finally now believe I will make HM distance in October 😁 and I’m going to enjoy it!
Oh how lovely to read! What a terrific distance. Going over 10 is such a great moment and those 2.1 miles more will be all yours very soon. When you run your HM and you get to 10m think of the last 3.1 as yours because you earned it and you deserved it. What a great post. Well done you. All you are doing is right. On the day, take confidence that you have done the work and have the miles in your legs...but above all, smile 😊😊😊
Love this GFTC. I have terrible imposter syndrome... your run sounds great and VLM just round the corner now. How exciting 😁.. you still won’t get me running in the rain though 😂
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