My Running Mojo was like a Shadow

It's been well over a month since my last post. Naughty me.

I have been running.... although, not as much. The running took a bit of a back seat as studying became my priority to achieve a qualification as a Clinical Hypnotherapist. And here I am in a rather cheesey shot, holding my certificate with Adam Eason (the chap who runs the school!).

So now, there's no excuse not to ramp up my running in preparation for the13.2 miles hurtling toward me on October 6th. But I haven't been completely ensconced in my study with the lamp light burning until the early hours studying, there have been a few notably races.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
My running mojo made a vigorous reappearance with the sunshine. And so a little jaunt with the ladies on a hot Thursday evening saw what was going to be a 9k meander around the countryside turn into an 11k trek. Through the countryside, round lakes, past horses being broken in, cute dogs being walked, being overtaken by faster runners, being bitten to buggery, getting lost in the woods was all part of that evenings entertainment.

Soon after this was the Marwell 10k. The infamous Marwell 10k. You start in the zoo and you finish in the zoo and in-between are lots of hills for about the first 5k. It was warm, the hills were long and hard but before you know it you can here the announcers as runners make it through the finish line. When you can hear that sound it's a pretty good incentive to pick up your pace and get a shufty on.  Unfortunately the lions, tigers and bears were all safe in their enclosures otherwise I would surely have got a PB by quite some margin. I'd have to make do with another medal instead.

10k and some New Forest Ponies
This was shortly followed by 10k run with a friend in the New Forest. This was a beautiful run, through some beautiful scenery and even a baby Shetland pony. Baby Shetland ponies are cute as! This was a tough run for me as a migraine hit half way round, which means that my vision goes somewhat, lots of flashing lights  like running through a disco. Luckily for me though I was able to run through it, and avoided the nausea and skull crushing headaches that usually accompany the disco effect.

And Then the Trainers Got Dusty
My running mojo had basically done one. Skulked off, was hiding, my running mojo felt like a shadow.  Very close to me, never quite connecting and just whispering quietly in my ear, 'just go for a little run', 'set the alarm early, go before work', 'I miss you, you know you'll feel better if you run'. And so the voice went on, quietly, not berating, just there.

Studying had to come first and as I got more and more desk bound, running became less and less attractive, even though I knew it would lift my mood and improve my day. The thought of running then became a feeling of guilt, filled with lots of 'shoulds', 'coulds' and 'musts', but no action.

Two weeks and no foot pounding action to be seen. Until today. Today I just had to run. Not running, leaves me feeling down, and then I find myself in a cycle of feeling bad, not wanting to go running, and knowing that it will make me feel better. So this morning I just ran. I had no route planned I just had to get out and run and run. Running first thing (well 9 ish) is wonderful, it's quiet, it's cool and there's hardly any traffic on the roads. The common is beautiful, dappled sun through the trees, a few people walking their dogs, a few runners and a sense of inordinate calm.

I ran just over four miles this morning and it feels good to be back out there, still not fully connected to my running shadow, but hopefully soon it will be reattached permanently just like Peter Pan and his.