Late News!

Hello blog lovers.

I have been a bit late posting my last couple of blogs.  So here they are!  I hope I can remember what I was doing, and how I felt!

Ball and Beans 

 So the first is about Thursday evening.  We had Illustrious Leader being our tough but fair leader in the speed and core training session.  I was a tad late, I very nearly just collapsed on my chair and took root that night.  I was a long day!  But the Old Boy said, "Go on, go and run!"  I knew I just had to get out and do it! It was just too easy to sit down and watch mind numbing telly.

I had text Tracy to see if she was coming along but she was away for a couple of days!  I had forgotten.  No one to pick up, it really was so easy to sit down, But still I got ready, and went out, not to the car but to the shed. To help me warm up I got my bike out, I was going to ride there!  Feck knows how I had time to do that and to get to the rec for the beginning of the first two laps of the rec, but I did.  There were not as many people as there usually is, but then summer is here (honest, it is, the schools are off and everything!) so holidays have take a few of our usual Thursday rec'ers. After locking my bike up I managed to do a lap and a half with the rest of them and then it was straight into the drills.

Then next exercise was really a team effort.  Illustrious Leader  had put us into two teams.  The fast runners, and then the really fast runners! I was in the fast runners!.......What?.......What?...... Anyway, the two teams were handed a ball, a foot ball.  We were going to be running around the cricket square thingy all in a line, with the slowest runner at the front (me in our case) and then while we were running we had to pass the ball back to each member, then pass it forward again and then back again  and the pass forward again, all before the other team got back to the start.

We had a team talk while the faster runners had their team talk, then Illustrious leader blew her whistle and we were off.  Our team started to pass the ball back immediately, the other team, who by the way were on the outside lane of the cricket thingy so had further to run, kept hold of the ball!  I couldn't quite figure out what their game plan was!   But it soon became clear when we both got back to the starting position and they quickly sent their ball back and then forward and then back and then forward again!  Well, their plan didn't work, because we still won.  We had to do that again, this time the faster team had tried another plan, but guess what,  we still beat them! That concludes the 'Ball part of our session!.

After that it was a pyramid speed racing.  Again two teams were chosen, by Illustrious leader.  A mixture of fast runners and really fast runners into two teams.  I.L. had laid out two rows of four cones in a row.  Each member of the team had to run to the first one, run back and the next runner had to run to the first cone until all runners had done it.  Then it was to the second, to the third, fourth and then back to the third, second and first.  It's what we have done before, but to help with our running posture I.L had bought along bean bags, which we were to place on our heads and get to the first cone only, as quick as we can before passing the bean bag to our team mates!  That was fun!  And it really did make you think about our posture!  And so that concludes the Bean part of our session!

After that we had our core exercises, some star jumps, lunges, push-ups, bicycles and squats.  That was my Thursday evening. I didn't manage to get out on Thursday morning, so I really tried hard to push myself on the Thursday evening.  I am glad I went.  My mood picked up immensely after that, and I was really glad that I went to the rec and not just vegged in front of the telly.

parkrun!

As usual I was out on Friday night!  Just the usual 3 pints of lager, but then followed by pizza when we got home, probably not the ideal preparation for Saturday morning parkrun!  But it is what I usually do.  But still, it was no.1 reason for just staying put in my bed.  No.2 reason, you just had to look outside the window to know that that was!  It was raining, not my favourite thing to do on a Saturday morning.  I got dressed regardless!  I texted NaggyNeighbour to see if she was coming but her little boy was sleeping soundly and there was no way she was waking him up, no.3 reason for staying put.  I texted Tracy to see if her and Ade needed picking up!  They had come back really late from the time away they were not 'feeling it' for parkrun, no.4 reason!  I really had to drag my ass out of the house.

My mind was not really into parkrun mode, but I knew that I would feel better. The nagging voices in my mind, the still quiet voices telling me to just 'do it' is what got me out on Saturday.   Endorphins work!  Even just a few minutes, but the fitness levels stay, and hopefully get better each time!  

I had no one to run with, I was helping no-one, I planned on helping no-one!  I just wanted to run.  So after meeting up with all my buddies, J.J. was back to running, LittleJ had come back from her holidays and Carole and Michael were there because they just love it!  PinkladyJo had joined us too.  Everyone will be running together with someone but I was just going to do my thing.  See how I could do it!

The usual chat before the start was done and then we were off  "See you at the end" said J.J. and the rest.  Some will be there first, some will be there after I get in.  I settled into a pace and just stayed focused, I didn't want to run off with the fast runners, but I was going to go just a bit faster than the other girls behind me.  Then PinkLadyJo joined me!  She normally runs with K and Tracy but she was on a mission I think.  We were chatting for the whole of the first mile, but then she just kept on going while I started to flag a bit!  I tried to catch up with her but by then I had lost the momentum.  I was really annoyed with myself.  

I started to beat myself up for the rest of the next two miles.  I kept catching up to a couple of girls, there were my 'targets'.  I caught up with them and then over took them, then I had a bit of a walk and then they took over me!  For the two miles left of the route that was how it was.  But again, when I had left it too long to be able to catch up to them again I beat myself up!  I knew that I wouldn't be able to beat them to the funnel this time!  I took a look at my watch.  Now it is all against me and time.  If I try hard enough, for the last half mile or so, I could at least beat my PB for this year.  So I tried to stay focused, I just kept on running, trying to pick up the pace.  I looked behind me, towards Hook farm car park and I could see J.J. and LittleJ, they were waving to me!  I waved back and then just put my head down, metaphorically of course, because our heads should be up, always when running, and kept on running.

I was so pleased to be able to see the finish funnel and I just started running as best as I could.  People who had finished were calling out saying, 'nearly there, keep going'  I could see the orange of the funnel, I stayed on the pavement for as long as I could.  A runner overtook me about 10 feet from the finish funnel, he had taken the grassy approach, I tried to catch him up but I am not as fast running on the grass as the pavement!  He beat me by about 5 seconds!

The now familiar feeling of nausea was coming over me, as I walked through the funnel to collect my finish token.  I had to concentrate real hard on not throwing up, try to get my breathing under control again and just wait for the feel good little magic stuff to do it's thing! 

I did, it.  Two days of not really feeling it, but I managed to drag myself out.  I felt good, I felt really pleased that I had got out and did exercises, I usually do. No, let me correct that, I always feel better after exercises.  It's when I don't do exercises that I feel yucky!  I really need to try a lot harder!

Geeky stats for parkrun, which by the way wasn't the faster for the year, second fastest though!