Back on the Jantastic Track

As my friends and I have one of our fabulous (gin fuelled) rail trips planned on Saturday, I decided to get my long run in today (Thurs) after lecturing.  I walked the 2 miles each way to work, so decided to have lunch first, do some knitting, and then head out before it got dark - sunset being at about 4.30. I tried to come up with a good route on GRG, but I couldn't really commit to any mentally, and none of my old routes took my fancy.  Although I must admit I was a little tempted not to bother, I was kitted up and decided just to stick on my favourite CD/Album/playlist on my phone (Gilchrist singing Schubert's Winterreise - a handy 76 min recording!) and head out in the general direction of the Union Canal.

Normally, I would run out down the canal, and back along roads, but I thought for a change I would switch - and it was actually a really good decision.  Some of the more industrial areas look terribly pretty in the last rays of the winter sun - and the canal is well lit enough to run down at dusk (including path lights to stop you falling into the murky waters!).  I was feeling pretty good at about 2.5 miles, so decided to extend my planned 5 mile run towards the 6 mile mark with a wee detour.  

Did a bit of speeding up during mile 4-5 and even more of a push as I hit 4.85 miles, promising myself a wee touch of a walk break if I could keep bringing my pace up.  Unfortunately, this was also the point where my HR monitor slipped, so it looks like I have the heart of an Olympic athlete as I push myself towards the 7 min/mile mark (fast for me!) - my HR drops to 63. I assure you this wasn't the case! Hilarious Garmin stats can be found here.

After hitting my 5 mile target, I decided to run-walk home. Although, it was mostly run, and as I got within sight of the finish line, I kinda felt like I could have kept going for another mile or two.  However, I know that if I push myself too hard at this point I'll get either fed up, injured or just throw in the towel, and I really do want to try and keep this up for a bit. If only for the sake of my skinny jeans.

Finished my run with some yoga - I bought an app for my phone the other day with pre-run, post-run, and off day poses.  It's not the greatest of apps, and the exercises are not exactly ground breaking - many of them are just normal runners' stretches - however, the advantage was that I went through a routine, and got my breathing under control faster than normal.  Now sat eating quiche and a baked spud, and looking forward to my chocolate dessert.  I love running calories off ....

Runners are Awesome Human beings

This weekend thousand of runners across the world are running in honour of a woman they never met, and dedicating their miles to her memory.  This woman was not a politician, a pop star, Hollywood actress, or a self-made celebrity.  She was a loved wife, and mother to three children, and was tragically hit by a drunk driver when out running.  Sadly this doesn't appear to be an unusual story, but what is extraordinary is how the running community have reacted: a Facebook event was set up by Meg's running club (the Richmond Road Runners) to encourage the running community to dedicate their miles on Saturday 18th January 2014 to the memory of a fellow pavement pounder.  Watching the news feed of this event today is a moving experience, not only are there posts from all over the world, there are posts from people of all abilities, and coming in thick and fast as the day goes on.  Like myself, many of these people want to make a point that we are a community, who support each other, and who grieve over every member of our community who loses their life doing the thing they love.  The organisers have planned to consolidate this in a map on a dedicated website when they have collated all the miles, and it will be fascinating to see the final total.

However, this is not the only story of support from the running community.  A few months ago, when finishing my PhD, I sat in my University Library desperately waiting for news from a member of my Facebook Running club (the awesome Good Run Wall), who had completed the Boston Marathon - thankfully in time to be safe from the awful events that occurred later in the race.  A matter of weeks later, I was stood on the start line of the London Marathon, wearing an armband with the Boston logo on and taking part in a minute's silence for those runners who lost their lives.  Many people who passed me that day were wearing Boston t-shirts, or caps, or other clothing to show their support both for the running community but also for the city as a whole. When you hurt one of us, we all stand up to be counted.

Finally for this blog (but certainly not for the running community), an article appeared this year on the Runner's World website that never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Sadly, it is the story of yet another runner struck by a car when out doing his favourite thing - this runner (Jim Kelley) was well known in his running club for helping others and being selfless in helping others achieve their goals, while often sacrificing his own chances of a PB.  At the funeral his widow asked his friends to turn up in their running gear, as Jim would be buried in his own running kit as a final tribute to his passion.  The funeral director then had a fantastic idea - and asked the runners present to accompany the hearse in the mile  journey from the service to the cemetery - and this resulted in the most fantastic photograph entitled "Jim's final group run" ... people involved in this final run commented on the camaraderie and the chatting that reflected Jim's own attitude to running.  A smaller but no less powerful tribute from a group whose main commonality is simply that they strap trainers to their feet and go out in silly clothing in all weather.

Three small examples of how a group of crazy people in lycra actually form the most awesome community in the world. And however many breaks I take from running (and however long it takes me to really get to love it truly) I am proud to be a member.  Whether you run marathons, 10ks, 5ks, or just a slow run-walk mile around the block, you are a runner and therefore amazing.

Obligatory terrible photo for Meg's Miles ...