"Once upon a time there were three beautiful ladies who tried running by themselves. They were each assigned to look after people, a carer, teacher, NHS worker. Running by themselves was tough but I took them all away from that and now they run for me. My name is Norman"
Weekends are no longer ours, they belong to Norman! Training happens, no matter what! Yesterday again it was running through nearly 800 civilians in the secret training groups. Normans Angles, well, it is not going to be easy! Week in and week out running through the park, avoiding crashing into anyone. It's difficult to get started. Norman allows us to chose our own starting position. Naggy with her speed and stamina starts some where in the middle of the pack, blending into the unsuspecting crowd of 'parkrunners' as Norman loves to call them.
It is tough running with all those people in front of you, I expect that is what Norman wants. He is waiting until we all move up in the crowd, get a focus on what needs to be done and then just go for it! Right, that has to be the plan, maybe next time, for now I will just stay where it's safe, where I feel comfortable! It was a chilly morning yesterday, not as cold as it has been, I still wanted to get the training session done! I always feel so much better after it's all finished. We were giving the off, another RD this time, could he be Norman? I have a feeling he is always there, keeping an eye on all of us. How else does he know, there are not cameras about!
So I finished the run, Naggy was there at the end encouraging me to move faster, she must have been on a mission, she was all wrapped up and looking toastie and warm! Naggy had told me that I had someone coming up from behind me, I just had to push a little bit more, being so close to the finish funnel I just couldn't allow anyone to pass me by, not like last week. I also didn't want to feel sick again either! I pitched it somewhere between 70 and 100% effort to get to the finish! I was pleased that I managed it, I hoped Norman had seen that! I looked behind me to see who was catching me up and it was Kathy! At least I raced against another pal!
And so to todays training session. There is just no let up! The weather really had taken a turn and it was so cold out and wet! Naggy had been given instructions to contact both me and SnappyH to get back to the park today at 13:00 hours! We were a bit late, due to me enjoying birthday celebrations at Church! At least I could say to Norman that the cake I had was fuel for the training session! Naggy was driving again and we collected SnappyH and drove to Normans Park. We did say that if the weather was really horrible then we would just do 2 laps. When I told SnappyH our plan then Naggy said "Only if it pours down!" I wonder if she has had special instructions to keep us out in the wet and cold!
I really wasn't feeling it, my calf was hurting a bit, but I put it down to it being so cold outside! Once I start running I will be fine, at least I hoped that would be the case. After we synchronised all our gadgets we started our running. Straight away again, Naggy with her special talent of speed and stamina, started to pull away. SnappyH ran beside for a short while, saying that she was just going to take it easy this time, but soon she started to pull away too, she had already been busy with her special talent, of taking pictures! Here, take a look, the beginners of our 'uniform'!
There was one good thing about running today, when it's so cold and the threat of rain, there Norman couldn't persuade too many families out with the kids on their bikes! At least we wouldn't have to dodge that particular hazard. Of course there were the dog walkers, dogs need their walkies even if the little people don't! The dogs were all wrapped up though, some with their legs in the coats. I can help but think they are dogs in baby grows! Most peculiar. I don't think I would have been too distracted by the little furry faces of the pooches today, I was just concentrating on staying focused and trying to keep warm. My calf was complaining a bit, I really don't want to run too hard today. I was thinking of still only keeping to two laps, even though the rain is still just a threat.
Running for the first time up the long straight the wind really made me feel so cold, the threat of rain now seemed like a promise of rain the nearer I got to the top of the park. I was not enjoying this. Naggy and SnappyH will both be passing me at this rate! I just listened to my music, thoughts of finishing early going through my head. What would Norman think if I only done one lap? No, that can't happen, two lap minimum otherwise it's just not worth getting in your running gear! At least that is what I was saying to myself as I ran down the long straight to Hook Farm. This session is not going to be pretty! I got to the start of the second lap, I took a look around for the other Angels, there was no sign, They really are going to catch me this time. Will I be kicked out of the team, who else would take up recording, will I need to be 'eliminated' because I know to much? It's all too much. I started the next lap, it seemed to go by in a blur. I just filled my mind with the beat of the music, 155-165 bpm. that's what it said on my play list. Stay with the beat, don't think about the cold and the wet......hang on! It's raining! This is not good. It seemed that it was particularly windy up this end, the raindrops came sideways stinging my face like little needles piecing me! I was not enjoying this at all. By the time I had got to the top of the long straight I decided that only two laps, that's all Norm was getting from me today, if he sacks me then......well, I sure he wont!
The rain stopped again as I was running down the long straight for the last time, it didn't matter that it had stopped, I had made up my mind that this was the last lap, I was going to stop at the start line and wait for Naggy and SnappyH, I wished Naggy had given me her car key to look after, I could sit in her car and wait for them, oh why did she have to have pockets this time! When I was maybe over half way down here Jabra kicked in, saying that I had done 2.5 miles blah, blah blah. I looked towards where the finish like was, just behind the wooded bit. Stuff it, I will do 3 miles, if that takes me pass the start line then so bit it. By the time I got to the bottom of the park the sky was again very dark. I don't think the rain is going to be able to stay in the clouds for much longer. I am not going to change my mind again, 3 miles is my minimum this morning and that's that.
Well that took me around pass the wooded bit, pass the start line and up towards the first pavilion. Sure that that should make me get to 3 miles. I looked at my Garmin, Darn it, if I do a 'U' turn here it will still leave me short. I continued a bit further, checking my Garmin all the time. I got right up pass the 'dog poo' bin and just by the bench before I turned around. That should do it. No doubt I will come accross Naggy now, she will be doing her forth lap for sure. I was running back towards Hook Farm when I spied her trade mark orange flash around her head, she obvioulsy felt the cold too as that didn't come off!
She caught me up and then decided that we can both run back together, well, when I say together, I mean to say that she is doing a U turn too and we all just going to finish once we get back to the start point! I followed Naggy again, and she got further away, again. I was looking forward to this finishing. Nearing the finish now, watching as Naggy and Snappy do some sort of stretching! It was just way to cold for that. I looked at my Garmin, would you believe it said 2.91 miles. I couldn't leave it there and just carried on towards the woody bit, checked again and then spun round to end at the finish! Three miles done, not very pretty, not very memorable, but it was done. We all one pretty bloody well! There you go Norman, we did it, we went out in the cold, was rained on by stinging rain, we were frozen by the freezing winds, plus, plus, there was one family out in force with not just one, not two but three kids on bikes, just as I was approaching the the path that goes around the woody area!
It was a an ok run, but a run none the less! Janathon day 27!
No comments:
Post a Comment