Joy and Diminishing Magnificence

A few words today about the joy of running. Glimpses of effortlessness. Moments of bliss. 

Many runs are business runs, especially at the moment with Schedule calling the shots. It's about getting the job done. Showing up. Banking the miles. I may not feel much like going out, there are other things it seems like it would be nicer to do. But commitment being what it is, out I go. 

And (even) within these runs, there are times when everything feels fantastic. There's a sense of ease, of being able to run forever. To do anything. Be anything. Overcome, achieve, manifest everything one desires. 

And then the moment is gone. 

But that glimpse. That sensation. It's addictive. It's a hit. Maybe it's the bliss that any meditation offers.  Connection (with a higher power). Flow. A quite exquisite joy.

Tis a powerful lure. For sure.

I'm intrigued as to what the ingredients are to create the moments. Can I create more of them? Can I make them longer? Or is very the essence of them the fact that they are elusive and transitory? Tasty food for thought...

And what of the diminishing magnificence I spoke of in the title?

 A massage student, grappling with my somewhat sturdy and sizable calves, once commented, "they are rather magnificent, aren't they?" But just the last few days I've had a sense of them changing. I feel their form is altering, and I wonder if there is a decrease in size going on as a result of all this running. With this in mind a friend measured and recorded a widest girth point of 15 and 3/4 inches. Watch this space - I shall have a re-measuring in a few weeks ;o)

Training Update Tuesday: Week 7, Day 2

I've taken Schedule in hand.

She's becoming more and more demanding at the moment. Sitting there expecting me to do 35 miles between now and Sunday. She's got some nerve.

We've negotiated it down to 30, because I'm doing the Tough Ten on Sunday when Schedule wants me to rack up a 15 miler. She tell me she's OK with it, as long as I make amends next week.

I'm not thinking about that just now. All I can think is that when I finish the race on Sunday that'll be the whole of the first page done! Hoorah! 

Yes, that is a Hoorah in advance! Might as well celebrate now in case I don't make it ;o)

Face it.

You can find glamourous, sparkly female faces everywhere on the interweb. Just ask Dorothy.

So for something a little different...

State of play at 13:45

on completion of today's 13 mile run. 

Sweat. Fatigue. And is that a hint of fear in those eyes? 13 miles is but half a marathon.

Training Update Tuesday

Short and sweet today.

I got my elusive 11 mile run done yesterday. And it was surprisingly fine, despite freezing rain and sleet throughout.

A colleague gave me the tip of getting another runner to join me towards the end of the run for a bit of company, a lifting of spirits and the illusion of a fresh pair of legs. It worked a treat with a very good friend running the last 4 miles with me (THANKS FRIEND!) I think this could be the way forward.

Now this week the long run challenge is 13 miles...

Flapjack Friday

Today has a theme of ups and downs. 

UPS include eating some of possibly my best flapjacks to date ;o) Mango and goji berry. Perfectly moist and deliciously sweet.

DOWNS include snow stopping play. This afternoon I'd been planning on doing an 11 miler, having had negotiations with Schedule re. my weekend plans. But cycling to work this morning was slippy and walking to the supermarket this afternoon was double slippy and now I really don't fancy running in the slidey slush too.

Current conditions at 16:09

If I could run in the road that would be one thing, but cars don't seem to like that ;o( 

So two rest days in a row, and I'm feeling tired. What's that about? Surely I should be feeling full of energy. 

There's nothing else for it, pass me the flapjacks.

Training Update Tuesday: Week 5, Day 2

Week 5.  Already. Week 5.

Today is a big day for training. It's the first official fartlek session. Schedule says "1 mile jog, 4 miles fartlek, then 1 mile jog". Which begs the question, what the freak is fartlek? 

Cue some googling and Runners World Website forum searching,... 

And apparently it translates as Speed Play. And it's for fun! 

Now, it's been said many times, by many people, that the only way to run faster is to Run Faster. And the only way to run further is to Run Further. And while running faster and/or further is rarely pleasant at the time, it's hugely satisfying afterwards, and that's what lures and seduces us into doing it. 

And it's on this basis, that this evening, I'll be seduced into the best part of an hour's sweaty activity... all of it in trainers and all of it outside in the snow (if there's any left after this glorious Bristol sunshine has worked its magic).

Fartlek is about running really fast for as long or as short as you feel like, then taking it easier for a while, then speeding up again. Kind of a "hey, let's leg it to the lamppost" approach. I love it for its randomness. And its flexibility. If you get out there and feel brilliant you can fartlek to the max, man. And if you feel a touch under par, you can fartlek like a wussbag with longer rests and shorter sprints. But you're still getting a session done. Another tick on the schedule. Another wave of smugness to enjoy and savour. Another excuse for double pepperoni pizza.

Not sure that's the way Paula sees it, but hey, it works for me. Happy running, happy fartlek, happy tummy ;o)