I Beat The Block!

Hi Blog lovers.

I am so flipping pleased with myself today!! Very Pleased. I said to naggy neighbour that I wanted to do a short run today of two miles only. I can feel you all looking at this blog feeling disappointed with me, but don't be. I wanted to do the two miles without stopping! Its a sticking point in my head. I know I can do this, I know I can!

Yup that's right NO STOPPING!. I am presuming that you are all guessing why I am pleased with myself now! And those apologies please.....for the disappointed eye raises.....thank you.

I told the old boy today what I am planning to do, and he said, "Yeah, you can do that", with out a hint of doubt in is mind. So I just agreed, but there was just a slight doubt in my mind, only a very tiny bit, just in case I didn't do it, then I wouldn't be so hard on myself.

I knocked on naggy neighbours door, all ready and psyched up, 2 miles, none stop, around the park. Psychological it seems just around the corner, the park is just two mins walk from us, so with that in mind, it seems just running around it twice it wont feel like it, because our houses were just on the other side of the houses that we are running next too!

Naggy neighbour was very encouraging and very insistent that we are jogging this whole two miles non stop "Even if you slow your pace down, you are not stopping" she says.

We start out from her house, just opposite mine! and the pace is good. Not too fast, not too slow, and naggy neighbour says that its a good pace and to keep this up all the way. "Yeah, right" were the words going though my mind, but I am trying not to be negative, its only 2 miles, around a park, 2 mins from my house!

Coming up to the first half mile, and a "Quarter of the way" from naggy neighbour. I'm wasn't sure then, whether to feel good, because already done a quarter, or bad because there is still 3 quarters to go!

But I'm keeping up the pace, I am trying to run in sinc with naggy neighbour, so that we sound like a well disciplined troop, I should start singing the song "We can run 2 miles non stop" and the response should be "And I will run until I drop!. Sound Off," etc etc. But I couldn't keep the pace going, I didn't want to not keep up with naggy so I just opened up my pace a bit and sort of did less steps. Why I haven't tried that before I don't know. It seems I was kind of running less steps that her, but still keeping up! Its amazing how 'Couch Potato' head comes in useful occasionally.

First lap completed! "You're doing well" says naggy neighbour, looking at her gizmos on her arms, she has these fantastic gizmos, they are so going on my Christmas list, its a watch that tells you how fast you are running, with stop watch, and the other thing on her arm is really cool, it uses the satellites in space to track your movements, it tells you how far you have run, averages out your minutes per mile.

Any was I digress, its because by now, 1.5 miles into today's run I was running on pure "Get your ass running girl" will power! I really wanted to stop, and I kept saying to myself "Why, whats hurting?" Because by this stage my legs are not going to hurt any more than what they are right now, at least I'm fairly sure of that by now, and my breathing is not going to worsen, I can even talk to naggy neighbour at this stage! So this is where the psyche comes in. Ignore any reasonable request from my mind to stop jogging and just keep by backside moving!

I'm listening to naggy neighbour saying "come on, your doing well and I'm thinking of all the quotes that I been reading, like pain doesn't last for ever, and limitations are set by man, so don't set any! and my mantra that I borrowed from a MMR member "I am not a quitter"

We go through the "Kissing gates" as naggy neighbour called them, and she said something about we got 400 metres to run and 3 minutes to do it in, or something like that, "It's do-able" she says encouragingly, "pick up the pace a bit........ and so she does" says naggy neighbour as I start to edge slightly in front of her. And then amazingly she tells me to slow down slightly, or I could "burn out" which I don't want to do.

I have noticed, in this 2 mile stretch, that I haven't once said "UUGGHH" or "OOOOMPH" I have kept it together so far. I feel I want to smile but I don't want to lose concentration, "300 metres, your doing so well, we're nearly home" Don't smile yet old girl, still got to get up this path, keep it together, keep the pace going, nearly there.

We are on our road now, the road that nagging sister used to make me sprint to my door. I'm not doing that now!! No way! but just as we were nearing the path to her house, she said "Race you to the door" and my last mantra came in mind "Finish in style"

So............I raced her! I sprinted all the way up the path to her door, "Wow you still got energy, that's great" she say, I just wanted to finish it in style.

So the time on her super dooper gizmo watch is 23.22 mins with the average pace of 11.22 seconds per mile! Blinding!!

Of course now naggy neighbour says that the interval running is totally out of the question!, and next Monday we are running 3 times around the park!!!!