Thursday 5 January 2017

Thursday Double!

Hello blog lovers.

So far, I am on target for my 31 activities in January, but it is only day 5!  This morning I met up with the usual Thursday runners at the rec.  There were a few missing, they still on holiday or looking for their running shoes which probably hidden under all the wrapping paper and Christmas stuff! Anyway there we all were, all the speedsters were there and me and Tanya!  We were a group of our own.

Tanya hadn't been running for a week, and my bit of cold is holding me back slightly, (getting the excuses in while I can!) so I thought we would do the shorter route through the woods today.  I think Tanya was pleased with that I know I was.  The weather was blimming freezing this morning, in fact when I looked at my car the numbers on the clock showed -3.5 degrees! Brrrr, blimming freezing!  But it didn't put me off, I am determined, I want to do this and I will do this!

So me and Tanya were the first to make our way out of the rec, it was just too cold to stand around, I didn't think anyone else would be coming in my group anyway.  We made our way to Dog Poo ally and then turned right to follow the path towards Orpington Road.  The ground was virtually solid!  I probably could have worn my new trainers through the woods really, but that's fine, I am sure I will do fine in my muddy oldies!

The cold was really affecting my chest,  shifting gunk and muck from my lungs.  I am not sure if it's all down to the cold virus or because I was extremely naughty half of last year with the smoking!  Probably a bit of both!  We ran most of the way to the top before we walked for a bit to catch our breath.  The woods always put me in a good place in my mind, it feels so fresh and free!  you can lose yourself, you hear yourself think and you can chat with your running buddies!

It wasn't the fastest run of this particular route, but none the less still most enjoyable.  I am slowing, very slowly beginning to fall in love with my running again.  I won't 'jinx' it anymore by saying anything else about that!  We ran all the way (walk/run) to the top of the woods.  We could go down the middle path but that really would be a short short route. No, that just wouldn't do.  So I led us along the back of the woods to Botany Bay Lane.  Then we ran down it! No turning right to go along to Goss Hill, this is the shorter route.  It will be half a mile short of our usual Thursday run, but I am happy with that!

I had a bit of a shoe lace issue when I got to the river so I put my foot up on the ledge to do it up only to be greeted by the three dogs that were there.  Their owner was having a cheeky ciggie break while the dogs paddled in the water.  The dogs came up and started putting their noses on my shoes, have a good look at what I was doing, and then the next minute I had one of the dogs come right between my legs and gave me a cheeky kiss on my nose as I was doing up my shoe!

I think we should all be like dogs, just come on up and say hi, poke your nose in, see what's going on and if the occasion calls for it, give a cheeky little kiss!  No doubt you will get a slap around the ear'oles for even thinking about doing that now days!  Anyway we continued our run up to the rail lines.  My glasses were steaming up nicely!  I had to carry them in my hand, I couldn't see far ahead but what I could see at least, wasn't blurry!

We soon got back to Dog Poo ally and was back at the rec.  All done for the morning, and now ready for my track session later!

Geeky stats.



For the last few Thursdays I had lazyitus real bad!  I thought it could almost be terminal for my running mojo.  But a nice relaxing Christmas break does the world of good for mojos! It was a good crowd at Track this evening with a few newbies including J.J.  She was coming along this evening to see what it's all about!  She also is determined to get fitter, thinner and healthier!  We have both kicked the dreaded ciggies to the kerb!  She has never been to a track session before but she spoke with PhysioMike and he told her that she can do just as much as she wants and then just step of the track when she has done enough!  It all sounds so simple and easy doesn't it!  If only it was!  Nothing worth having is easy to come by.  You have to work at it!  Otherwise it will be like doing the treadmill while sitting on the chair.  Or having the travelators like those they have have Tesco's and airports all over public places!  Wouldn't that be good! When you want to stop you can just step off!

But not this evening.  This evening is all about hard work, it's all about what we can do, as individuals can do for our selves but with the support of all those who are a track and with PhysioMike in charge of the whole session.

I must say, it was blimmin cold, I mean blimming cold.  The frost was building up nicely on the cars, everything was twinkling away like we were all staring in Frozen, Live!  I know, excuses coming up!  But it's true, it's a reason, honest!  The cold does effect my breathing!  Especially with this cold.  I say cold, I was feeling worse yesterday, with headache and stuff, but today I am just left with this cough and drippy nose!  But I will still work hard.  I seem to use that word a lot, 'but', I shall have to try to think of a new word which means the same, kick 'but' while kicking butt!  My fat butt!  You see I am delirious!  It was cold out there, and I am rambling!

So the session that PhysioMike had planned was slightly different to what he was going to get us to do.  He wanted to make it a bit more interesting, especially after Christmas holidays!  So it was tempo running for 15 minutes, running at your parkrun pace!  I think both me and J.J. managed that bit! But then straight after that, and I mean literally, straight after that it was hard running for 5.15 mins rest for 90 sec and then hard running for 1.45 mins. Blimey, it really looks easy now that I've written it down, but really, it wasn't! It was tough!

I felt disappointed in myself that I walked when I should've been running!  Normally at track I have managed to run all the running bits, but today I just couldn't do it!  I told myself off and told myself to get a 'blimmin move on' and just kept trying and trying to keep up.  We had to do the 5.15 mins, rest 1.45 min rep three times, and then we did some relays after a little break. The relays were only 60 meters but we had to do 8 each.  We got ourselves into teams of three and then began the relays.  No timing this time, just do 8 each!

I could see that 60 meters is no distance at all, and I just pushed myself that little bit hard to hand over the batton to Ali.  She ran as fast as she could to J.J. to hand the baton to her and then J.J. ran it to me.  Eight times, at least I think I did!  I had lost count, especially listening to the faster runners saying 'That's 4'  I worked so hard I just couldn't count as well!  When PhysioMike said at the end that we all ran even faster on the 60's even after all that running we done before, I realised that yes, I did run faster, even when I thought I hadn't anything left!

Both me and J.J. left the Track feeling really pleased with our selves.  It was hard, it always is, but that's why I go.  A brilliant session this evening with some fantastic people and fantastic coaching from PhysioMike aka as Mike The Mod!  Who by the way is doing two marathons in two weeks, Brighton and London while running with his 'Scooter'!  You can go and sponsor him as he is raising money for some worthwhile charities!

Geeky stats.

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