Independance, a hard run, a terrible long run & thanking the Lord for still being oblivious.

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Week two of freedom is mine and it feels good. What is this teeny tiny thing that has helped my running move on in just the space of nine days and couldn't have come at a better time? ...

... Behold the running buggy. We dusted it off, pumped up the tyres and like a Formula One (more like 100) driver biting at the bit in the pits I was off and there's been no stopping me since. I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel about my running, about myself and the fact that Comrades might even be a possibility (there's the oblivion again lol).

Since having Aston and therefore not being able to run when I wanted to I was finding running more frustrating than enjoyable. It bit into my day and it bit into Tom's day and it was stressful trying to get out of the door and back again so as not to impact too much on everything and everyone else. Tom would tell me the times of any spare window he had so I could get out. If said window didn't fit with Aston's feeding times then I would watch my running window get smaller and smaller. More often than not my run was reduced from an hour to thirty minutes and when I got back Tom would literally be waiting for me at the front door to hand Aston back so he could go back to work. It wasn't the best way to have a whole thirty minutes of me time I tell you. But now that Aston and I have wings (snail speed ones with wheels) we don't need any window except one that fits with us and I feel so much happier. All hail the mental positives that come from independance, worth it's weight in gold I tell you.

So what mileage have I been running and how's it actually going. I mean seriously, while I was on holiday and not even running the bear minimum I did think we actually might not do Comrades. Now, I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere and all it's taken is a 49 mile week and a running buggy.

Tom put together a basic training plan which is on here somewhere. Other than the long runs I haven't even looked at it. My basic week of training will barely change other than the long runs I would have thought. Last week (my first buggy running week) I did the following:
Monday: 6 miles (buggy)
Tuesday 7 miles (buggy)
Wed: Forced rest day as had Rosie and Aston & no Tom
Thursday: 6 miles (buggy)
Friday: 10miles (buggy)
Saturday: 6 miles (including a hard parkrun, more of this later) no buggy
Sunday: 14 miles with Tom (no buggy-Grandparents!)

The only thing about running with the buggy is I'm slow with it. Carrying two massive (but slowly shrinking milk jugs) and a lot more weight than normal means that when I hit an incline I really, really feel it. Hopefully though an increase in mileage and a decrease in feeding Aston now he's discovered real food will mean that I might start getting smaller top and bottom, but hey who cares, I'm out there pounding the streets and I'm loving it.

On Saturday my mate Hannah who has helped me immeasurably both mentally and physically over the last 6mths came over to pace me at Harrogate parkrun. When we were in San Fransisco I ran their inaugural parkrun and was really pleased (considering how little running I'd done) to run 22mins 52 secs. Tom promptly told me it might not have been accurate in distance (thanks for that Tom). Anyway I wanted a short hard run at Harrogate and was totally encouraged to do this by Hannah. Tom said he'd be impressed if I ran 23mins 59secs on that course. So there it was, the gauntlet, thrown down. I'm not sure who wanted me to get it more, me or Hannah. I didn't quite hit 23:59 but I did do 24:09  which is pretty close. I couldn't have done it without Hannah telling me to dig to the bottom of my milk jugs (not sure I'll ever forget this motivational quote Hannah!!) and Tom then said he thought it validated the time I'd run in San Fran (cheeky bugger). I was so pleased with my effort and the time yet at the same time can't believe that I'm still a whole 4 mins away from where I was and that 4 mins (at the mo) feels like it might as well be 44 mins. Small steps, small steps. I'm making progress and that's all that matters.

Visiting my parents in South Shields on Sunday, Tom and I took the opportunity to get out and do our 14 miler together. I made a string of errors in my preparation. Having had a late lunch on Sat I wasn't hungry for dinner on Sat eve so didn't bother. I got to bed at 10:30pm but Aston woke up for a feed at 2am, Rosie woke up at 3am and Aston woke for another feed at 5am, after which I didn't go back to sleep and got up. Stupidly I didn't have breakfast either as I ran around sorting everything out to make looking after Aston and Rosie as easy as possible for my Ma & Pa. Consequently I wanted to die and eat my own feet (all at the same time) at about 8 miles. We ran all along the coast which is beautiful and bimbled about the riverside winding our way through the dry docks and random piers and all I kept saying to Tom was, ..."How far have we done now?" My legs were tired and heavy and I was hungry. The whole thing was such a slog. When we got home I ate the entire contents of my Mothers cupboards. Runs like this make me scared because hey I can't be oblivious about the fact that I would still have the tiny sum of 42 miles left to run on the day, eeeeek!!!! Thankfully though I still have no real idea how far 56 miles (very, I hear you say) is going to feel so I'll hold onto my oblivion for now thanks.

So there you have it, it's happening, the running is well, running. Today (Weds) while Tom's Ma & Step Dad are here I took the opportunity to let them have time on their own with the kids... actually who am I kidding... I took the opportunity to escape from my kids and ran 16 miles and enjoyed it all. I'd had sleep and breakfast so although I'm a little snail ticking along, I was a happy little snail.

And this little snail needs some sleep so it's time to hit the pillows. Everyone else here (except me) is filling the house with zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's. It's time for me to add my own.

Night all.

H :)