Hello there and good morning to you my friends.
I am LOVING getting back into running. In all seriousness, I am actually having so much fun it's ridiculous. Will I still be this chirpy in a few weeks time when the Autumn rain starts and I'm pushing my way through mountains of leaves? Possibly...possibly not...we'll see.
I am a big believer that fitness is much more fun and motivating when you have someone else to do it with. Never has this been more true than of this week. I have managed to convince a certain future female relative in law of mine to also download the Map my Run app (she had recently started to run anyway...so...I was just giving a bit of encouragement) and we now have some challenges going on which has really spurred me on and motivated me to get my little bum in gear so that I can beat her! Not that I'm competitive or anything...much. I also convinced Rick to come with me on my run on Sunday which I really was not convinced I'd be able to do and was half joking when I suggested it, but he came and he motivated me. Team work!
So as per my challenge I have indeed been running three times. Let's see how those went...
On Thursday I ran 2.89km and it took just over 25 minutes. Don't judge me for this pitiful time please because from the green dot (start) up until the first major corner is all up a MASSIVE hill, and this really affected my times. Annoying, but part of life and something that I will have to improve upon. I will happily admit that I walked up most of the afore mentioned hill.
My second run this week was on Saturday afternoon, and you may notice that it is a one-way run, not circular like before. I wanted to be able to do a long stretch of running without having to navigate any hills and kill my legs, so I got Rick to drive Bosun and me 3km away so that we could run home un-interrupted by hills. Is this cheating? I really don't care if it is. I ran the whole way (except for opening gates) and was muchly proud of myself...and my time was clearly much better.
Sunday was the occasion that Rick joined Bosun and me. We did a "there and back again" sort of run. There was a bit of a MASSIVE uphill involved in this run, but Rick would not let me even contemplate walking it. He says that even if you're basically pigeon stepping, you are going to "run" up this hill. So I was basically going even slower than I would have been walking, but I was on my toes, doing tiny little steps, just concentrating on the ground in front of me and I did it, I "ran" up that hill. And ran is in inverted commas because I use the term very loosely.
I have also set myself a mini challenge, within this running challenge. Can I do that? Yes I can...because this is my blog. Basically the MASSIVE hill that I first talked about, on Thursday's workout, I have not been able to run up yet. I really really REALLY want to be able to do that, so I have set myself a challenge to be able to run up that (I haven't designated a time...because I don't feel that's necessary). And what's the best motivation? A reward, and this is a real thing that I read about in the latest issue of Trail Running. Rewards are a great motivation. So when, and only when, I can run up this massive hill without stopping, I am going to treat myself to some new under-armour running gear. There are a few t-shirts and leggings that I really want, but they are a bit expensive, so I am going to earn them. I will let you know how that goes. Also, Trail Running is a great magazine so I recommend it. Highly.
And in closing, no I am not a gambling addict, but I have downloaded the free version of Map my Run which means that I have to endure adverts popping up every now and again. If I pay for the full version then I lose the adverts...I'm considering it.
How have you beautiful people been getting on with staying healthy?
Pigeon-stepping is a great expression thay I've not heard before. I smiled at the image it created in my mind. Keep going.
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