Date: Thursday, September 27, 2018
Distance: 3 miles/4.82 km
Listened to: Rita Ora playlist
This is an interesting conundrum and one my good friend Marissa posed me after my 10k treadmill efforts…and it is a conundrum I cannot figure out. The closest I can get is to say that I feel like I am closer to being a runner but still have days when I definitely do not think I will ever be one!
To be clear. This is not some attempt to glean shouts of “But you are a runner!” from people. I am genuinely uncertain when one becomes one or whether we are all runners if we at least try.
I am a real sucker for comparing myself to other people, but not in a negative way. I am not coveting for their speed, stride length, endurance, ability to speak while running (well, maybe a little bit of that one!), medals won, etc. but I am in constant wonder at the prowess of others. It’s kind of what set me on this journey.
Kingsbridge is full of runners. They seem to be everywhere. If you are not a runner, it seems like you are in the minority. I have friends and colleagues further afield who are runners. And some of these lovely people are utterly bonkers.
One colleague has run 20 off-road marathons (and some of these have been further than 26.2 miles and sometimes multiples in the same weekend) in the last two years and is still keen to do more. I tracked (a bit geeky but thoroughly satisfying) eight people in this year’s London Marathon and one mum I know killed it with a time of 3hrs 25mins. A good friend runs qualifying marathon times and casually nips off to do marathons around Europe. Then there are the ironman or half ironman (and woman) nutters. These are all people I know. I am not jealous. I am in utter awe. I think they are amazing.
But I also worship at the alter of more normal runners, such as my two ‘fast girl’ friends who run just that little bit faster than me and still talk! I admire my marketing colleague who finished a 10k with his wife. It wasn’t fast but they did it. And then I read about a lady who has consistently finished 50 marathons in last place. This blew my mind.
I recognise that mental strength means a lot in my running progress. For me, the hardest thing to accept is a bad run like the one I did the day after Dad’s funeral. If I have the wrong mindset, I really beat myself up, mentally and physically, and then I have a bad run and then I feel even worse.
If you have read this blog before, you will know that accepting I will walk some of the hills was a breakthrough moment for me as it meant I could run further. This was partly influenced by the lady who has finished last in 50 marathons. She has accepted her limits but still carries on running/walking at her pace and is thoroughly proud of it. I admire that mental strength – the strength to know you are never going to win or be fast – more than I do someone who has done multiple marathons. And I bet she thinks she’s a runner!
There are days when my mental and physical resolve are good. I recently ran 10k on a treadmill in under one hour. It was a goal I set myself last Saturday on a particularly wet and windy day. With our local leisure centre undergoing a facelift, it was not the most interesting run as there was no Saturday Kitchen, Frasier or The Simpsons to watch as I did it. I just faced the wall! For some people, running that distance on the treadmill would be unbearable but I have always been comfortable there. My brain can cope with it.
I returned there to do my last two miles of my 50-mile challenge too. That was going to be it for running this month until my husband commented that if I did two miles more, I would have done the equivalent of two marathons in September. Arrrggghhhhh! With the sun shining, beautiful blue skies and the delivery of a new running top in the post yesterday, it seemed all the signs were there, so I went back outside for the first time in 10 days.
I did not really enjoy the first mile but then came a truly run-defining moment. I met an 80+-year-old runner along the way. Jim has long been my local hero. He is a multiple marathon runner and is still going strong. He is also adorable. He always smiles and gives you a wave. If getting the wave and smile was not enough, I ended up running in his wake and then overtaking him (sorry, Jim!) on my return leg but he gave me a cheery “Go on!” as I did so. I broke into a big grin and tears at the same time. I had been cheered on by a running legend!
My 50-mile challenge (well, 53 to get the two marathons nailed), my 10 runs in September, two races this year and the sub-hour 10k on the treadmill all suggest that I am a runner. I just wish I enjoyed them all and they all felt good! I still do not think I am one inside but I think it nearly am….and that’s progress. 🙂
#runningfordad #slowrunningisstillrunning #nearlyarunner #committed
Running for Dad 