Monday 19 March 2012

Running for fun

Last week I rediscovered running for fun, as opposed to training for a race. Don't get me wrong, running is (nearly) always enjoyable, but it's been a change to vary my runs a bit now I'm not focussing on any race goal.

My only typical run was on Monday, when I got out for 3 miles in the evening. It had been a sunny day, but when I ran the streets were shrouded in thick mist, which I didn't enjoy. I actually heard a couple of cars hit each other behind me, although thankfully it was only a small accident and no-one was hurt. I felt very tired and my shins hurt, and I wondered if I had a virus of some sort.

My parents arrived on Tuesday to stay for a few days. The kids had a great time seeing Granny and Granddad, and on Wednesday they babysat each other so Pete and I could run together! It's been at least a year since we did this, so it was a real treat. As Pete hasn't run for a while, he is quite a bit slower than me, but it was great to have an excuse to run slowly! We did 4 miles at 10.23 min/miles pace and I was able to chat the whole time - how annoying for Pete. I really enjoyed it.

On Friday I cycled 10 miles, then on Saturday morning I decided to do a Parkrun race.

In a week full of sunny weather, it was cold and drizzley in the park, and I tried to shelter under a tree before the start. This was my 2nd Parkrun of the year, and my 2nd in Eastbourne, and I improved on my last time (Jan 28th) by 39 seconds! I felt as though I was running flat out, and finished in 25m24s, which is about 1 minute off my 5K PB. However, this course has a fair bit of running on grass and was quite muddy, so I should expect it to be slower.

It was probably the smallest race I've ever run, with just 55 participants, out of which I came 32nd. I was 5th out of 17 women though, which sounds a bit better.

I needed a longer run though, so I had got Pete and the kids to drop me off at the start so I could run the 3 miles or so home afterwards. What a mistake! I had not realised how tired my legs would be after some flat out racing, and I really struggled to get it done. I stopped and walked a few times, but the bits I ran took just over 30 mins for 3.1 miles! I might as well have tried to jog 3 miles after running a marathon, it felt so tough.

Then on Sunday it was Mother's Day. This was a big event this year as Robbie had been preparing for it all week at school and Emma at nursery. I got 2 homemade cards, a paper flower, some homemade chocolate, and a bunch of flowers. I also got breakfast in bed, lunch and dinner were made for me, some chocolate cake, and a new camera!
















It was great, especially as Robbie was really keen that I should be spoilt, and kept saying 'Happy Mother's Day', and making sure I was relaxing!

In the afternoon, we all went to a local park, and the kids cycled around on their bikes, Pete shot some hoops on a basketball court, and I ran loops around the park for 2 miles. It was not my furthest or fastest run, but it was a fun end to the weekend!

So in total I ran 15.2 miles and cycled 10 miles, but more importantly I did some running with the rest of the family and really enjoyed it!

6 comments:

  1. The tulips are beautiful - one of my most favorite flowers! So cute how your son was so excited for it. Glad you had a nice, relaxing week of running....we all need to just take a deep breath sometimes with running sometimes!

    Have a great week! :)

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  2. Glad you are having some fun running! And LOL on the grandparents and the kids babysitting "each other"! ;-)

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  3. Quote: Last week I rediscovered running for fun. (Unquote)
    Good for you Liz, that's what running is all about. You have some great kids, looking after you like that on Mother's Day!
    Looking forward to seeing lots of nice pics from your new camera.

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  4. All my running is for fun at the moment and I relish every little bit that I can do. It's nice to be able to run without pressure and just to rediscover the joy of movement.

    Your tulips are gorgeous!

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  5. Okay here is what you wrote to me and I could write the same thing right back to you!

    So you raced a 5k, then ran 10 miles and cycled 11 all in 2 days? You are so hardcore! I would be exhausted!

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