I started running again back in December. I would set the alarm for 5.45am in order to be out the door and running with my friend Rozey at 6am. Those early morning Winter runs were fun, but they were also hard. Jude's sleeping patterns were incredibly hard going at that point, and I have lost count of the number of times I sent Rozey a text at 3am to cancel our run for the following morning. Some days it felt like pulling my body through sludge. Other days it felt great to just breathe in the cold Winter air, have a break from my children and just to move and get some exercise before spending the day with my children. I cannot emphasize enough how much difference it makes having a friend to run with. I don't have time to think too much about how running feels because I am so busy chatting. Little by little, we have run further and faster, without trying particularly hard to do so. We have just put in the time and the changes have happened. Sometimes all I have felt able to is just show up, but that is enough.
Yesterday, within half a mile of running, my thoughts had transitioned from, 'I can't do this, I don't want to do this. My body hurts and I'm not even running yet' to 'this is amazing! I feel free! I want to go faster!' It doesn't mean that I then feel pain free or fast for the entire run. It doesn't mean that I don't stop and walk and have to find momentum again. But it reminds me that I don't have to go far to see a shift in perspective. It's always there, just on the horizon. Sometimes the horizon disappears from view, but it's always there.
*****************
I have written about running many times over the years if you fancy a read, just click on the 'Running' tab in the sidebar. Alternatively, here are the links to a few of them...
Running in Scotland 2011
Running while pregnant
Running when Ruby was little and I entered the season of feeling like my body had aged 30 years over night (I am still in that season now...)
Running & capacity
Comments
Post a Comment