Sore Legs but another short run done

I knew my thighs would be sore one day after running for the first time in eight months, so whilst a Sunday would be the best opportunity for a longer run, I am playing safe and just did a mere quarter of mile more today to take it to one and a half miles.

Some drizzle but nice cool breeze.

Hayfever anyone?

8 Months Later

So for the first time in eight months I pulled on my running shoes and abruptly woke up the dormant running muscles.



A short run of just over a mile from my end of the village to the other end, planned so I could drop off some paperwork en route.
No surprise that I needed to drop to a walk a couple of times.

Will do a longer blog tomorrow once I work out how to use Blogger on my Ipad without the Blogger app which Google withdrew last year.

The Road To Thetford - Game Over - Or To Be Turn This From Being Negative To Positive, Why I Run

The fact there has been no blog update since the middle of August will be a big clue that the training plan for the Thetford marathon just is not being done - a big reason for this is that I had a stomach virus for about a week but if I am honest, my heart has just not been in it.

If I am really candid, it has not really been fired up for race events all year, hence I have failed to turn up for a single one - it would be easy to blame the challenges I currently have in my personal life that have at times overwhelmed me but the truth is, I am just not fired up enough to want to train as much as a race would require me to.

Does this mean I now stop running forever?  Absolutely not but I am going to free myself from the pressure of having to run x number of times per week that requires ever increasing mileage.

If we go back to why I originally started running, it was to not be unfit and unhealthy but what ultimately took over was a love of running in the countryside with great scenic views.

When I am truly absorbed, times and distances cease to be important and even the need to run can be part-exchanged for some brisk walking instead.

On a train, in a car, or even watching something like Le Tour De France, I am admiring the scenic views that in my mind I could see myself running, particularly the tough parts of the Alps that make or break the cyclists.

This blog has been tough to do, and I have put off typing it for a few days but what I have said is what I already know, and being honest with myself allows me to get running again without the self-imposed pressures, and the bottom line is we should be running because it is fun.

The Road To Thetford - Day 41 - seven mile run

With no pressure to be back early, I relaxed whist doing the run, and no bowel issues either.

I tried an old route hoping that the field was still open to walkers but having committed myself to the field with scratches and stings, I realised it was not accessible and retreated back to the road.

Young alpaca - there were a few more but I not visible from the fence.

Blackberries!  

I returned to the village hoping the closed road would have a gap big enough to get through - you could have got a bus through it!

The Road To Thetford - Day 38 - Facing The Truth

I was poorly/tired on Sunday which meant I barely did 3400 steps, missing out on a chance to do 100k steps in one week - I did about 92k which is still impressive given 80k of it was walking not running.

Last night I faced the cold hard numbers of the weighing scales which revealed what I had subsconciously suspected (but ignored), that the gains from running were being wiped out by overeating, particularly ice creams and crisps.

If I continue to remain overweight then I will continue to be subject to more tiredness and illness, and willpower by itself can only get you so far, hence the sporadic inconsistent nature of my running.  Also, the runs themselves have been slow and half-hearted.

With just a month to go until the Thetford Marathon, I am saying to myself "enough is enough" with the poor food choices - in my bullet journal, I will be adding an extra monitoring of good and bad food choices, as this will show clearly where I am making poor choices.

This morning I was up at 5.30am, and having done my meditation and affirmations, I did run as hard as I could, with the odd stop to give my lungs a chance to recover.

Sunrise.

Wickhampton Church.

Part of a rainbow in the distance.

The Road To Thetford - Day 34 - a run of two half's

Given the last update was Day 21, you might be wandering what happened to the last two weeks?

Those two weeks were somewhat challenging, juggling getting my daughter sorted for holiday club, dropping her off, then cramming as work in as possible in short working days, collecting her, and heading home - quite simply I was exhausted but I have come through that and today we carry on with the training plan.

So this morning having got up at 5.30am, I did my Miracle Morning silence and affirmations before heading out on a planned eight mile run.

The sun was still rising and fighting its way past some clouds.

There was a route at the back of Limpenhoe called Marsh Road that I have always wanted to know where it came out onto the river, as in past river runs from Cantley to Reedham I never found it - I now know why as it is unmarked at the river end and it comes out beside the Cantley Sugar Factory - the road at the river end is for their vehicles.

The view of the Sugar Factory.

The river was very clear and was reflecting everything but I particularly like the The Reedcutter pub reflection.

To continue the exploration theme, I also wanted find out where the station road in Cantley led to, and ironically it was to the other side of the train station.

At Cantley Village Hall I caught sight of the church through the path and thought it was a nice photo chance.

So lots of photos, a nice easy run, and all I now need to do is run home..........and then panic as my bowels decided to give me notice of intended activity.......

I did make it home but it was painful holding on, involving lots of clenching the butt muscles, waiting for the "contractions" to ease etc, and also praying no one would be in the bathroom.

102 posts! The 100 post milestone almost slipped past me!!

I was surprised to note that the last of the recent batch of blog posts was the 102nd entry, so I thought I should do a brief look back over this.

This blog was created back in April 2015 when I started my training for my maiden Ultra (100km Race To The Stones), and during those four months to July 2015, it is clear I was highly focused and fired up, hence 62 posts and 1.6million steps done at an average of 13,250 steps a day.

The effort to achieve this saw not a drop down  to a steady state of running and exercise afterwards but a complete switch off as for the following eleven months, the average step count drop to 7,350 with some months being as low as 5,800.
There were attempts to achieve 10k average in a month but it was half-hearted, without purpose and unsustainability in the way I was trying to achieve it.
Blog posts in those eleven posts was just 29 and a lot of those were talk of getting back to fitness etc but not much action in reality.

This month with one week to go, I have done 12 (including this one) blog posts, I will produce the most steps in a month for the last twelve months with a distinct reality of beating the my fourth highest (April 15) monthly step count.

The last twelve months have been extremely challenging for me personally as factors beyond my control have spiralled out of control, taking me to physical lows and stressed to the edge.
The Miracle Morning book made a big impact on me, and it allowed me to draw a line and start again but with purpose and more drive to achieve my aims.....I am not out of woods but I am moving closer to getting out of those woods.
Another thing that has kept me going is a blog by a friend of mine, Grant, who actually was inspired to do so because of my blog during the Ultra training, so it is ironic that his blog has been since inspiring me to keep on trying through to the successes of this month.
Grant runs, does triathlon, and recently did a half-IronMan which quite frankly is amazing - I well recommend following him as he continues on his own fitness journey - http://runtrisleep.blogspot.co.uk/