it’s ok to walk – Running for Dad

Date: Monday, September 3, 2018

Distance: 5.83 miles/9.38 km

Listened to: Thirty Seconds to Mars playlist

Every year, my daughters, Ella and Maggie, my husband John and I try to catch one of the first leaves that fall from the trees at the end of summer. Cue lots of leaping around like seals out of water, pathetically trying to land the fabled good luck for the rest of the year.

On my second run of my 50-mile September challenge, a leaf flew right into my hand without me even trying. Was it a sign? A message from Dad? Or was it the luck I was going to need to climb the ridiculous hill from The Hen House to Belle Hill?! More on that later.

I spent this run ruminating about the fact that if I was a runner just starting out, my mileage count so far would not fill me with confidence that I truly understood the pain and uncertainty of just starting out. So where did my running journey begin?

I began running on a treadmill about 13 years ago (it has been a long journey). My husband was working overseas and was away for long spells of time. Ella was in nursery or with a childminder, so I did not have any time to myself after work. I began doing 20-minute sessions in my lunch break. These runs were at a stellar 7k per hour pace but I could keep moving and it did the job.

Then I did what any sensible new runner did and immediately signed up for a 10k. What was I thinking? I did do a few runs outside to prepare myself for the undulating course around Althorpe in Northamptonshire but in the fortnight before the race, I caught a cold, then a developed a wheeze, then I went for a last-minute panicked run, then I ended up at the doctor’s before leaving with the strongest asthma drugs I have ever taken. The doctor wagged his finger at me and told me in no uncertain terms that I should never run with cold. Paula Radcliffe wouldn’t, apparently. I pulled out of the race and stopped running.

When I moved to Devon, I began plodding on the treadmill again. Starting at 7.5k per hour this time. Woo-hoo…such a speed demon! I did a Race for Life in Exeter in memory of my grandmother and to celebrate my sister-in-law’s cancer survival, but did not really enjoy it. I was scared of running outside alongside others.

I booked in to do another Race for Life in Plymouth a few years later but suffered a stress fracture in my ankle during training, so pulled out of this one too and took up swimming.

Then in March last year, I ran 10k on the treadmill. It took me just over an hour, but at the hour mark, the treadmill kept trying to slow down and stop. I think it was trying to tell me something. GET OUTSIDE! So I did. Little by little; step by step. My first run outside was with my super-fit husband and my daughter on her bike. It was awful. So, I went out the following day and did the run again on my own and it felt better.

For whatever reason, I have not given up this time and this stubbornness was compounded when my Dad became really sick.

So you see, even though I ran 5-ish miles this time, this has been a long time coming and a very slow journey, which has encountered a few bumps along the way.

BUT nothing like the ‘bumps’ I encountered yesterday! I decided to tackle one of the most notorious hills in Kingsbridge. Known locally as Piggy Lane (it’s next to an old abattoir) or Cardiac Hill, it is gruesome (see above). Definitely a walker for me! Then I thought I would have a quiet shuffle down the lovely country road to The Hen House only to encounter a mile-long shocker to come out the other side. This is not a hill…this is a cliff face. See the red bit on my run route below. I went from the very bottom of Kingsbridge to the very top. However, the two-mile downhill run afterwards was glorious, if not slightly hairy due to the traffic.

It wasn’t an easy run. I think I still had Saturday’s in my legs but, more than that, the 10.5 hours of sitting in the car and day at my desk. My legs always feel stiff and swollen after a day at work. When I set off, I felt like a snail and felt like turning back to the comfort of my kids and my sofa. The challenge kept me going though. I walked up two of the worst hills ever, I ran roads I had never run before…and I caught my first leaf. Result.

If you want to tell me about the shocking hills in your life, I am all ears! Just leave a comment. Sharing is caring 🙂

#slowchick #slowrunningisbetterthannorunning #itsoktowalk #runningfordad #catchthefirstleaf

Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018

Distance: 6.04 miles/9.72 km

Listened to: Ariana Grande – Sweetener

I always need something to aim for as I am very easily distracted! That was the reason I signed up for the Bristol 10k at the start of the year, because if I hadn’t, I would have given up. And…tea and cake always seem more appealing.

My latest challenge comes from Race At Your Pace. To be clear, I am not being paid to advertise this! It has popped up on my social feeds a few times and I liked the sound of it. You choose your distance and commit to running those miles (I know, not kilometres!) in a month. You get a medal at the end of it. Yay! I have chosen 50 miles for September.

The reason it appeals to me is that I am not sure I am sold on the whole race scenario. Races terrify me. I was almost crippled with fear at the start, and during, the Bristol 10k. I went to the toilet (No 2s) three times before the race and my legs just did not want to run. I completed the course but at no point did I enjoy myself.

I think it is all those keenos that run with you. I was shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other runners in Bristol and it freaked me out. I was already uncomfortable enough but being uncomfortable in front of so many other people, who all seemed to be having a good time, did not sit easy with me. In reality, I finished midway in the field and there must have been some other sufferers behind me, but that thought does not help you while you are actually doing the race.

But I still choose to run. My About Me page will explain my motivation but the reason I feel am still able to run is due to two eureka moments I have had in recent months.

The first came on the morning of a friend’s mother’s funeral. (Sorry more death references if you have read the About Me page!) I ran, well shambled, along the promenade in Bexhill-on-Sea. It was a hot day and I had a fair bit of white wine in my system from the night before and it was, hands down, my worst run ever. BUT I did it. My poor friend’s mum couldn’t do it because she had passed away. My Dad could not do it because of his condition. And the same is true of so many other people. I run because I can and when it is too hard to run, I walk.

This was the real eureka moment. It is ok to walk. Who I am letting down? No-one…I am still moving aren’t I? This has opened the door to so many more runs for me. By starting a run knowing that I will/may walk some of it, I go further, rather than always looking for the flattest, shortest option I can find. Let’s face it, Bexhill prom is darn flat, but I still struggled!

I am all about the distance these days and keeping moving. If that means walking a few shocking hills then so be it. Believe me, the town where I live, Kingsbridge in Devon, has a fair few shocking hills, but I just walk them. This encouraged me to do the Kingsbridge 10k in July. This was a race I never thought I would do but my running/walking legs got me round.

Just about to run downhill today…I like running downhill!

The second eureka moment was swimming in a local outdoor pool. I went to accompany my youngest daughter and her friend but ended up swimming 50 lengths. I had done a swimming challenge a few years before that saw my eldest daughter and I swim 22 miles between us over 10 weeks. By the end of the challenge, we were swimming 54 lengths of our local 25-metre pool to tick off another mile each. Once I had decided to do the 50 lengths a few weeks ago, I had the confidence do it because I knew I could because I had done it before. It may have been a few years ago but my body knew what to do.

I am hoping running will be like this. I am hoping if I keep going my body will remember how to carry me the distance. This 50-mile challenge is like the swimming challenge. I am not competing in a race situation, but I know I have to keep putting my trainers on if I want that medal and to help channel my grief in a positive way.

If you are a reluctant runner, this kind of challenge may give you the inspiration you need. You can do 25 miles or even 200 miles (if you are mental). You don’t even have to run it. You can walk. It’s ok to walk remember!

#slowchick #slowrunningisbetterthannorunning #itsoktowalk #runningfordad

Tag: it’s ok to walk

Catching the first leaf

Something to aim for