Sunday 1st February
Run #32
18k Richmond parkrun Route + Tamsin Trail
The major level of
procrastination between getting up and actually managing to leave the flat this
morning should have alerted me to an intrinsic reticence to today's run. I knew
it had to be a long one - I've been pretty slack on the higher mileage since
the start of this Run Streak and knew I needed to get on that. And I wasn't
feeling too bad about the prospect. At this point anyway.
Knowing that,
currently, the trainers that are the most comfy over distance are my trails I
wasn't too keen to devise a pavement long run route. So I decided that I'd do
the Tamsin Trail round Richmond Park as usual, but I'd tack the Richmond
parkrun route on first. I felt quite pleased with this choice; it'd bring me up
the mileage I wanted to cover almost exactly, it started on a good quality
downhill to get warmed up before the ups and, I reasoned, there had to be some
kind of placebo effect to doing my usual perimeter of the Park with 5k already
under my belt. I was sure I must be able to convince my body that, as it hit
the first significant uphill, it was only 3k tired, not 8k….
A few steps out the
door and I knew this one was going to be a struggle. Recently, any fatigue
seems to locate itself firmly in my thighs. Like a valve in my quads has been
opened without my say so and all the energy is leeched out in the night. But
I'm fully willing to admit it is far more likely to be in my head than in my
legs. The problem with being in that headspace (apart from being a whiney pain
in the ass) is that I become hyper aware of every tiny little thing that could
be an irritant; where my shoes is laced too tight on one side, an itch in the
middle of my back I can't reach to scratch, the possibility of a headache. Gah.
It's endless and can so easily become all consuming. So I've started forcing
myself to not indulge these thoughts. Or rather acknowledge them then don't
give them any further brain space.
Instead I try to pick
out positive things to focus on; When the sun breaks out from a cloud and
lights up the leaves. A woodpecker flying out of the bracken nearby. The
squeaky chirping of all the green parrots filling the trees these days:
Richmond Park really does have some awesome things to pay attention to when you
try.
And also that I should
be more bloody grateful that I get to run when plenty of people that would love
to can't. And that one day that'll be me too. Weirdly this thought does often
help me pull my socks up and quit feeling sorry for myself when some runs feel
harder than others.
I think what long runs
are doing for me most at the moment is challenging my attitude. I am trying to
curb my tendency to see the world through half empty glasses and the discomfort
and monotony that some long runs can bring is ideal fodder for me to do this.
It's a work in progress but keeping up with this is almost as import as keeping
up with the Streak.
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