I love running for so many reasons, but primarily for the simple reason of the freedom, it gives me and the huge benefits to my mental well-being. I often joke about “6 minutes on a treadmill feels like an hour” or “When you think you’re 5 miles in, check your watch and realise that actually, its 1.7 miles”. But actually, there are few things I enjoy more than being completely lost in my thoughts whilst running, even if sometimes they are less than ladylike…
*I think about topics I’d like to write about – Running is such a great opportunity for me to clear my mind, take my foot off the pedal and focus on my creativity.
*I’ll just speed up a little until I get to XYZ – Surely we all do that though?
*My shorts have escaped so far up my behind that I’m fearful for anyone I run pass. – I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.
*Do I smile at that other runner? – No, I did that weird nod that makes me come across like some sort of strange bobble head. I wonder if I added a creepy smile into the mix? No wonder they sped up…
*I need the toilet. Often followed by, I’ll wait until I get home or alternatively I’ll be spending the next hour focusing solely on finding the right bush.
*That’s a nice cat/dog – If only I could pet dogs/cats whilst running, that would be nice. I would like that.
*I’m unmotivated by this track – But I don’t want to go into my pocket and grab my phone, because It’ll slow me down. So I’ll spend the next 3 minutes hoping the next track significantly improves my mood/pace.
*This isn’t going the way I want – So, I’m going to walk, for just a minute and reconsider the situation. Just on a side note, this doesn’t work for everyone, but I do find just giving myself a break for a minute or so, gives me enough oomph to keep on going. Or just gives me simple gratitude for being able to get out and run.
*I really want a cold diet coke – This often happens on hot sunny days, when I’ve not had enough to drink beforehand and the craving just gets a little bit too real.
*I’m holding a really good pace today, this is easy – Checks Garmin, only to realise that it’s because I’m actually running a much slower, easy pace. Nothing like the feeling of when a GPS watch steal’s your sunshine!
*At Park Run – I’m never going to catch up with my friends, I’ll cling onto that person with the nice leggings. Okay, this is great, one lap down, is that a pacer? I’m sure this lap feels longer. Why do 3.1 miles suddenly feel like 10km, I’m sure my mind is playing tricks on me? I wasn’t this slow on Wednesday 29th August 2017.
Katie x