Hey – what happened to the sun?

This week I’ve felt mentally low as reality takes it toll with little reward. Thank goodness I can still run.

W/C 24th June

Tuesday

At this stage, we were still experiencing summer. So Tuesday at a slightly earlier time of 6:30 (had to get back to watch that exciting England game…) Lindley Running Club met at the park to run the last bit of Huddersfield parkrun. For those that are familiar with it, it’s the path from behind the cafe to the finish.

Hearing the words ‘parkrun finish bit’, the temptation to run quickly is always there. I admit I probably went faster than I wanted to but I soon settled down.

What really helped was that there were some runners who ran a similar pace to me so we could motivate each other to keep going.

It was boiling. It was suggested we do between 6 to 8 efforts. We stuck to the 6!

I still didn’t get a tan though

Thursday

Wednesday I had some first interviews to prepare for. Some opportunities weren’t suitable, but if you don’t try you’ll never know… I was however feeling quite low about it. I wasn’t sure I was going to run on Thursday but I went…

Another Lindley running club session, this time we ran some of the Lindley 10k that was happening that weekend. The course is well known for its hills and climbs, but that’s running in Huddersfield for ya!

Despite my low mood, it did help me to run with good company. Even running up East Street followed by Cowrakes, I felt fine. Just a bit tired.

I’d commented earlier in the run that I thought it was going to rain! It did – for the last mile. Whoops, sorry team!

Saturday

I was volunteering at Lindley 10k the next day so the plan was to run my long run on Saturday morning. I’d then finish with parkrun, making up 13 miles.

The idea was exciting, something different. I gave myself plenty of time to get to the park just in case. However I was hopeful I’d boss it.

Sadly, as soon as I set off at 7am I felt so sluggish. I figured it was because I wasn’t used to running so early. Yet as the miles ticked by, my legs just felt so heavy. It wasn’t an enjoyable run. It started raining on the canal which I found refreshing.

I think the only thing that kept me going was knowing I had to get there in time for parkrun. The road up to parkrun is called Gledholt Bank. I haven’t run up it before and I soon realised why. After 9 miles of running, to then run up that was soul destroying.

But I made it with about ten minutes to spare. I had time to do a few mini loops to round up to ten miles.

By this point, I was so exhausted that I ran/walked most of parkrun. I just had nothing left.

I don’t know why I found it so difficult, I’ve run 13 miles loads of times. Incredibly frustrating.

After the run, I did feel sick and had to sit down for a bit as things did flash and spin. Not exactly what you want to be experiencing after parkrun!

Sunday

The morning involved me cheering on some fantastic runners at Lindley 10k.

This was great fun, with it being a local race it meant I saw lots of friendly faces who I hadn’t seen in a while. It was also quite nice to get up on a Sunday and not have to think ‘Oh I need to run XX amount today’.

I admit, this did mean I had a few whiskies before bed the night before but it was all good.

I did actually have to run today, JUST 3 miles though. I left it until the afternoon, just before the exciting football match to head out.

I wasn’t expecting much after the run the day before. It was a simple uphill to start with downhill to finish. The most rewarding type of run 🙂

As I headed uphill I was surprised that I didn’t feel terrible. I didn’t push it, but I observed that I didn’t need to slow down or back off. It felt almost… comfortable?!

I reached the top and headed back down and I had to admit it felt wonderful. All the aches and pains from the day before had gone. I could speed up, I could slow down… I was in control of my run.

When I experience a spell of tough runs, a positive run like this reminds me why I love running. I was free to glide down the road, dodge the miserable couple who couldn’t separate for a second and even say hello to a cute looking dog.

I need more runs like this please, just like the long run in week 1.

Week 4 thoughts

Even though it’s a pain to run in, I am annoyed the sun has gone. There’s a high chance it’ll pop back when I’m running 20 miles during this training and I will struggle to cope!

Either that or it ends up being an absolute scorcher on actual race day in the actual Scottish highlands. EEK! Is that possible?

There is then also my inconsistent form and generally feeling unwell. I am still waiting for answers but I hope to have something in the next week or so. If I can at least keep going, when I do feel well I should fly. It’s how I felt on Sunday so why not?

Next week I leave the half marathon behind and my long run is 14 miles…