December 24, 2008 at 3:08 pm · Filed under Running
The non-runner dragged me out on another run this Saturday, and I mean literally dragged. I clung on to her belt for dear life as she tried to master pace setting on the bike. It’s obviously fairly tricky cycling at my running pace and more practice is clearly required. I’m pretty sure that we hit the giddy heights of 8 minute miles on some of the down hill sections. I couldn’t verify it on the garmin as any downward glances were destined to lead to messy “running shoe – in – bike spoke – acrobatics”.
It gave my lungs an unaccustomed workout though and my legs couldn’t believe what was happening to them.
By Monday the legs were moaning in that positively satisfying, muscle torn way. Every time I had to stand up I’d feel a rush of self-satisfaction and accept another Quality Street, safe in the knowledge that I jolly well deserved it.
That got me thinking today. How much better would Christmas feel if I dragged myself up on Chrimble morn to feel the achy thighs of a self-righteous, long distance, runner? I could hobble down stairs and start on the nuts from the crack of dawn and not even feel a hint of guilt at my festive excesses. Excellent plan. So I headed out this morning for quickish pootle along the river to M&S to buy nuts. At 2 miles it perhaps doesn’t count as a long distance run but I’m hoping I did it fast enough for my legs to ache and provide the necessary sacrifice for bone-fide excess offsetting.
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Tags: christmas, Garmin, non-runner, Richmond Park
December 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm · Filed under Running
I got accused of mis-selling myself this morning. It seems that I have a record of portraying myself as an active sort who is known to occasionally entertain with stories of puddle running, cold water immersion and wholesale slug annihilation, but who now seems to have turned into a bit of a lazy good for nothing. Albeit a grinning, happy, good for nothing.
Despite managing to accidentally close off my last post to feedback, the most tenacious of my readers still managed to get through and post astute comments, some of which could be paraphrased as: “stop enjoying yourself and get running again!” So with a definite theme emerging from the outside world it seemed like the time had come to re-acquaint myself with myself, and that means running, gardening and blogging.
The non-runner valiantly offered (actually under duress so it may not count as valiant) to become a cyclist for the afternoon and drag me around the river for 4.5 miles until we arrived at the allotment – in time for garlic planting. It must have been exactly 3 weeks since my last run and that was only a titchy one so I was desperately in need of dragging.
Running is so tough, I can’t imagine why anyone would do it really.
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Tags: allotment, Bone Idle, non-runner
November 8, 2008 at 8:18 pm · Filed under Rambling, Running
I struggled with the running concept again this morning. I was awake from 4am thinking that I might just go out any minute and take in my required 10 mile pootle but I was still flouncing around at 11am throwing anti-running strops on the living room floor.
The new non-runner in my life has taken to questioning my strange obsession with this odd masochistic feature of my life and as a result I’ve found myself slightly bemused by the whole thing as well. I really and truly did not want to run today but at the same time I knew I had to, ought to and should go running!
What’s that about, when did I develop this addiction and do I need to go into rehab?
Sometimes I really want to run just out of the sheer pleasure of bounding around but I think I mostly run to escape myself. It’s much worse at the moment because I’m in the middle of exam stress and so am supposed to sit around on my arse all day studying. It doesn’t take much of that to make me want to run from my own company. I used to be able to sit around just fine without driving myself nuts but this exercise malarky seems to have given me boundless energy and without an outlet it turns me into a serious irritant!
I left the house knowing that a 10 miler was on my schedule but under the circumstances (I’ve no idea what they were) I’d settle for 8. In fact it was actually quite clear that I was open to negotiation and my baseline requirement was that I at least started running and I needed to get as far as Marks and Spencers for biscuits. Not a good start to a long run – I anticipated my inner whiner would kick in at the 1 mile turn off for M&S.
As it happens I seemed to be enjoying myself. I positively bounced past the first turn off point and then it started to pour down again. Rain is such a joy on a run, I love it. It makes me feel cool, committed and vaguely but satisfyingly ridiculous. I got to run past miserable walkers, huddled under the cover of trees, splashing through the puddles and calling out “light weights!”
Why is it that only runners smile in the rain?
I started to remember how great I feel when I run – you can continue forever and ever, meditating on the joys of your life and composing literary masterpieces (or even mediocre blog posts). When you finish you feel so goddamn smug that you can relax on the after affects for at least 3 days. I’m going to have such a productive revision day tomorrow!
The sun decided to put in an appearance over Twickenham Bridge and removed my perverse enjoyment so I turned round and headed back. I did nip into M&S but with my new found runners self-righteousness, I settled for grapes instead of ginger nuts.
8.5 miles – 1hr 46 mins.
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Tags: non-runner, why?
