Took the skin off my back running
Thursday, February 05, 2015Running...my long forgotten hobby.
Despite all the pep talks, plans and good intentions I barely did any running over the last three months. It started when I got a cold in November, which wiped me out for a couple of weeks and by the time I felt better, I had some minor niggles which got me off the hook again. By Christmas I was 'too busy' and then I was 'too tired' and then I was too out of the swing of it to even bother with excuses.
Running outside is the only way I want to run really; I can choose to alter my pace at any time and know that I've got to get back home one way or another so keeping running is the fastest way. I'm point blank refusing to step outside with a run in mind when it's icy out; there's no way I want to slip over or give myself an injury. I think it was two weeks ago that I mustered the motivation to go out even though it was mighty cold, maybe three degrees Celsius. I wore my long leggings, tee with a hoody (nothing would persuade me that I'd start without it), New Balance running shoes, Garmin watch the size of a dinner plate and my brand new gloves. The Nike running gloves were a thoughtful Christmas present from my brother and I was pleased to find they fitted a treat, keeping my hands warm enough while out.
Although I timed the run, I wasn't aiming for a 'good' time, it was more the case that I just wanted to see what I was working with to start off with. The run was hard, after 1k I was ok, by 2k I was ready to give up and go home, by 4k I was ragged and weary. At 5k I was worn out and feeling sick and looking at a time significantly different to my PB I can tell you.
The good news is that I have a lot of potential for improvement this season, shall we say. I know that I have the drive to push myself to get back on track but getting started is the hardest thing to do. Now I've got my foot in the door this should be the start of training for this year. I'm still undecided about whether I want to compete in any races this year or just keep it as a casual affair.
One thing I really do need to get back on top of is eating healthily; I'm still not back on board with cooking much from scratch and I think I need to try a couple of completely new dishes to inspire some enthusiasm. I've seen a couple of recipes on upgradethishuman.com that have caught my eye! James has a really cool blog with lots of interesting posts on health, fitness and wellbeing, I recommend you check it out.
Bear with me, I'll need a while to get out of the starting blocks.
Sophie
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