Eastleigh 10K

Roger's Profanisauras

Now that's something I might have swallowed and regurgitated this morning at about 9.30, only manners kept my mouth closed. It's Spring right? It should be all chicks, bunnies and daffodils, shouldn't it? For goodness sake, what's with all the white stuff, what's with the minus temperatures. Where's this Global Warming I keep hearing about (I do know that the Gulf Stream could make it colder for us in old Blighty). And so, donned in Lycra leggings, trainers that have seen far too many miles, an orange beany, fluorescent gloves and a rather fetching fluorescent T-Shirt (thank you B&Q) and the 'now' obligatory bright red lipstick (the red lipstick seemed like a fun thing to do for the Santa Run, and now I think it's fun for any race I do and will drag as many of my chums along to do the same with all other races) I was outside. And that ensemble is  not enough clothes to wear on a morning like this morning. And so I managed to refrain from spouting from Roger's Profanisauras as the excitement at the beginning of the race took over and I jumped excitedly in an effort to keep warm and warm up some muscles that were shortly going to get a beating.

In a strange way, just in my mind, 6.4 miles sounds longer than 10k.  I'm not sure why, it may because breaking the race down into little chunks of 1k at a time make it easier to get round, and also to see how far you're going tots up quickly (well, I say quickly!).

And soon the gun went off, the elite runners shot off (in case you were unsure, I wasn't at the front with the elite runners) and eventually I crossed the line where the first chip reading was taken and off the crowd went.  I was running on my own, which I'm perfectly comfortable with and was able to give myself some positive chat as I went round. Remind myself to relax, go with the flow like the sound of train meandering across the country side, lengthen my stride and enjoy myself.

There was The HILL which, after training with the Lordshill Road Runners last Monday was fine, I worked my arms and tried to push myself up a little faster and after the hill it was downhill and flat all the way. All the way around the route each k was marked and in no time at all I was over half way round and then mentally I'd already won.

My legs thought differently however. Their desire was to curl up with a good Sunday afternoon movie at about 5k was quite strong. The only difficulty being that there's no going back at this point, the sofa, a movie and a hot cup of tea were just mere pipe dreams at this point.

But round I continued, and then before I knew it the end was in sight and it was like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. And I completed it, my legs didn't fall off, I didn't throw my toys out of  the pram, I didn't cry, I just ran and ran and ran, until I reached the finish. I did it in 1:15:44 and now I have something to beat for the next race and I can't wait.

For this afternoon though, I will engage with my sofa, a nice glass of red, a good movie and enjoy the endorphins that feel like a giant warm hug.

A big thank you to my running buddies who are always an inspiration and motivator. And a massive thanks to the Marshall's who must have been colder than liquid nitrogen.

They say, every second counts . . . really?

Who are 'they'? Mystical people who lurk quietly in the background and invent stuff that is universally accepted by many. So every second counts. Does it? Counts towards what? Does every second asleep count towards less wrinkles? You'd never get a woman out of bed if that was the case. Do seconds actually count?

Hell yeah!

If you're a runner, every second definitely counts, do doubt about it, no forgotten seconds when you're a runner.

My first Southampton parkrun since the beginning of December 2012 on was 9th March. Ouch, that's a fair amount of lie- ins on a Saturday when my pj's should have been swapped for my running gear. And the joy of 'Route B' for my first parkrun in ages (large groan and look of trepidation). Any parkrunners of Southampton common will know that Route B consists of the killer hill, twice, with a mini hill at the beginning. Oh my lordy how on earth was I going to manage this. Well, it appears bullying, and sheer determination work quite well.

My goal is to run 5k in 30 mins, well to start with, I may amend that time and make it shorter the faster I get, but at the moment my goal is 30 minutes with my fastest time coming in at 36 something so metaphorically speaking I have some ground to cover.

My neighbour is another crazy fool who runs, and is considerably faster than me and we were going to parkrun together on this particular Saturday (yippee?). And luckily for me, she is also very good at bullying friends, crazies, other runners and now it was my turn. Gulp, there was no escaping now and it's not as though I could outrun her. The whistle went and off we set, hill no. 1, completed, only another 2 to go. And around the route we went, encouraging words all the way round.  My conversation limited now as I panted at an increased pace round the 5k route, sounding like an extra for a horror movie. I'm sure I was responsible for others getting a PB as those ahead of me were running for their lives rather than planning a new PB!

On the last leg, my faster neighbour jetted off to the finish. She was the good cop, then I was left with bad cop. And she pushed me (not literally of course), and pushed, 'stretch those legs', 'just a bit faster', 'nearly there', 'keep on going, one last push', 'you can swear at me when you finish'. If I could have, I would have sworn at her there and then all the way to the finish.

The end is surely nigh

As I crossed the finish line egged on by parkrunners, I thought my lungs were going to turn inside out, but there was a knowing grin stopping 'The Fly' moment from happening. I knew I'd a new personal best, I just didn't know by how much. And in the words of the Money Supermarket advert I felt 'Epic'.

I waited with excitement and trepidation for my results and when they came through, my smile could have split my face. I had a new personal best, not just 2 or 3 seconds, not even 10. I smashed my PB by 33 seconds, and every one of those 33 seconds made my weekend.

A light bulb moment

It was an eye opening day for me, that demonstrated how easy it is to get complacent about my ability to achieve more than I thought I could. I'd labelled myself as a slow runner and to a lot of runners I'm sure that my times are slow but it's a huge mental block that I've overcome. And now I'm a faster runner and there's no turning back and no stopping me. Bring on my 2hr half marathon in October.

Losing lbs

Incorporating a new healthy eating plan is also contributing to my belief and ability to reach my desired goal, and as the lbs fall away, the speed increases, and so my life continues on a positive merry go round.  I would not have believed a year ago how much running would enhance my life, so much more than I ever believed possible.

This Saturday I'll see if I can knock a few more seconds from my time.

And if I could only work out how to use my Garmin watch I may be able to be my own bully, to push myself  a little harder and make some more of those little seconds count.

Give me a cocktail of drugs . . . NOW!

Following my first long ish run a weekend or so ago, I followed it with a trip to the Lordshill Road Runners Club the very next day. My drive to keep on running even stronger now that I managed a 5.2k route, I just wanted to do more, to get back to where I was in October when I was doing practise runs of 8 miles.

Of course I didn't expect to sprint off like Jessica Ennes but, to be out in the brass monkeys weather with a still slightly twingy knee is kinda liberating.  Inside my head I'm strutting like the Fonz, well chuffed with myself, out in the freezing cold, ard as nails. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but then delusion can be as well.  It was tough, it was cold, my knee complained a couple of times, but I had a word with it, was a little more gentle and finished the evening without a limp. So I was pleased, at last, pounding my stress out through my feet.

A crazily manic week ensued and my next run didn't happen until the Sunday by which time I was feeling a little stir crazy, a little twitchy, eager to don my glamorous running outfit. Sunday morning arrived, outfit donned and I planned my route, all 7.19k of it, around the houses and common and off I set. I ran all the way, no stopping, no walking, all the way home. And I felt amazing when I got back, that cocktail of drugs: epinephrine, serotonin and dopamine (so Wikipedia will have me believe) and it's a wonderful feeling. Like you're having the best day you could ever have but just a little knackered, knowing that I could still do it and I wasn't going back to my pre-running self, knowing that I wouldn't give into the sofa and allow it to meld around me and suck me down. And I have to wonder, why on earth didn't I get this years ago? Why didn't I twig in my 20's how great exercise can be, why is partying hard, so much more attractive in your 20's . I bet natural drugs are far better than any processed drugs?

But the drugs are paying off
It seems that this healthy 'ish' lifestyle is paying off. A quick visit to the GP for those female checks that you have to have from time to time include a blood pressure check, your weight as well as the god awful lolly pop stick test. Yeuch. Anyway back to the blood pressure. It appears I have the blood pressure of a teenager. Picture smug Fonz strut. Yep, the blood pressure of a teenager, I've no idea what that actually means, but I'm presuming it's good and it's the closest I'm going to get to feeling like a teenager!  The other part of the check-up is the dreaded scales and the scales declared that I had the weight of someone who likes to eat cake, cook good food and go out to dinner. Bugger, I knew there was a reason that I didn't replace the battery in my scales. Unfortunately I cannot un-know what I know and now I have to do something about that too. Add expletive of your choice.

Mothering Sunday
This weekend will see a visit back to Southampton parkrun, somewhere I haven't ventured this year. I will be laying out my running garments on the floor next to my bed, ready to slide into first thing, to ensure that I get my arse running 5.2k.  With my drug cocktail flowing round my bloodstream I will then get myself up to my lovely Mothers and Step Dads for some family get together time this weekend.  And this is where I'll enlist the help of Mum to take some crucial measurements so that I can no longer hide from the truth.

Hypnosis for Running by Adam Eason
While reading this book I realised that I was lacking in goals. Yes I was running, yes I was eating healthy food the majority of the time, yes my wine consumption had dwindled to a glass or two a week and yes I was still off the fags. But I didn't have any goals. And so I've got a couple of good SMART goals now. To reduce my weight by 18lbs and to run 5k in 30mins. As yet I haven't planned the end date or how exactly I'm going to do it or over how long. But I will post on here how I'm doing, and what my plan is. I may not put my weight or measurements but I will post my losses.

There, I've done it now. Committed myself to blog, and it's a little scary but as the teenagers say YOLO!

Now where's that Justin Beiber CD . . . .