A change is as good as a rest

After a my week off I am happy to report that the running is back on track. Clearly giving both mind and body a much needed rest was the best plan, for me at least. On a gorgeous Friday morning I set out with two running friends, which added to the joy of being on the move again as one of them showed me the most delightful new route.

As he pointed out a new run is just the tonic you need when you are getting jaded. When you are traversing different scenery - and this route is mostly off road - you don't dwell on the hills you know lay ahead on your usual routes, or fret about how far you know you have to go, you just run. It was great fun, which is something running really hasn't been for me in a while.

I remembered the delight of discovering hidden backwaters in my local neighbourhood that I never would have known existed. It was also a real treat to have someone to chat to, although I am not sure my inane wittering was that entertaining for him, it was a good way to keep my mind off the niggle in my hip.

After planning a short 10K jaunt, I ended up going the whole 18-mile hog prescribed by my marathon training programme. I will admit that my muscles are howling in pain today, but it was worth it for the psychological boost it gave me. While I did wonder quite how I would hobble through another 8.2 miles once I pulled up, I also kind of feel I have it in me now - and any serious marathoners please don't ruin my illusions.

I know many say that 20-miles can feel like halfway, but hey, I am where I am and I can't, and don't want, to train hard for much longer. If I believe I can do it then I have the battle at least half won, and I do believe I can do it. I am not sure I will be able to walk afterwards, but never mind, I will celebrate by sinking into my sofa with sighs of relief, that is until my half marathon training begins again....

PS pop over to Girl on the River who has honoured me (along with a lot more worthy contributors) in a great series of posts about how to keep the weight off while training hard. You also get to see a particularly flattering (not) before pic of me in my pre-running days.

The trouble with training

Last August I did me first 10K at the Resolution run in Finsbury Park for the Stroke Association. While Finsbury Park isn't the most spectacular location (indeed during the post race cool down I had to physically restrain my two-year-old from playing with the used condoms littered around the post I was using to stretch out on) it was a great run. A few undulations made it challenging for a new runner, but it was flat enough to offer plenty of scope for recovery.

What this event really did for me was to make sure that I was well and truly bitten by the racing bug. Oh dear. I immediately entered another 10K, the Women Only Shock Absorber run in Richmond Park. That was a delightful race despite a freezing day and I managed a PB of under 50 minutes (OK only three seconds, but who's counting?).

Next up is the 8.2 mile Whole Foods Breakfast Run in Kingston on 1 April and then I have my first half marathon in my sights in July, The Down Tow, Up Flow half along the Thames. Really I would have liked to run one sooner, but my other half wasn't too pleased by the idea of being left in charge of childcare in the depths of winter while I trained and therein lies the rub.

I really wish I had had the foresight not to waste my 20s in pubs, clubs and bars and had instead got a marathon or two under my belt when I had all the time in the world to train, and indeed a younger body to do it with. Now training has to be squeezed in between ferrying my sons to their own activities and parties, making time for my beloved and doing all the general household chores that accompany being a mum of four.

I cannot a long run that I didn't do with a guilty conscience perched on my shoulder. It is not my desire to improve my PB that drives me ever faster, it is the need to get home and relieve my husband of his domestic duties. Bless him he rarely complains, but he has put his foot firmly down about doing a marathon until the kids are older and easier to manage (we hope).

I suspect is the same for all running mums. I have a friend who gets up at the crack of dawn so she can get her long run in before her family surfaces at the weekend. She has also immensely upped her time on her usual route as she speeds through it to get back home to her role as wife and mum. Others have simply given up now that the dark, cold days have curtailed the running window of opportunity so much.

It is a shame that my responsibilities make achieving my goals that little bit harder, but I am not sure I would have remained so determined if I didn't want to prove what you can do no matter what your circumstances. I am often tempted to run in a shirt that says "Yes, I might be slower than you, but do you have four children aged under 10?"  I can't tell you the pleasure it gives me overtaking younger, less encumbered women too. I really am that shallow, but on race day I say whatever it takes you to drive you to the finish.