I can’t believe it’s been well over a year since I last updated this! Time for a catch-up methinks!
Well, as you may gather from the last post I was having real trouble with my shins and had to admit defeat for a while. I didn’t give running a second thought for several months.
Then at the beginning of this year I moved away from Canton and up to Cathays. Gradually, the itch returned!
It’s difficult to not think about running where I live. It’s just off from Roath Park, so day and night I can’t avoid seeing runners as they pass by my window. Inevitably, probably through the subliminial projection of constantly being bombarded with scenes of lycra clad, occasionally pony-tailed ipod symbiotes in my field of vision as I’m vegging in front of the TV, I realised I had to get back into it.
Of course, i was nervous about my shins playing up again, but I decided i wasn’t going to push myself and at the first sign of trouble I’d stop. So off i went, some spring morning, and ambled down to Roath Gardens. Doing a lap of this seemed to be a good aim as it provided the smallest, simplest circuit and I didn’t think I’d survive doing Roath Rec or the lake!
It went pretty well. No pain at all. And, whereas with Victoria Park I did run-walk-run-walk intervals for each lap, this circuit only needed one walk interval per lap. Great!
Over the next few weeks I went out at least once, sometimes twice-a-week, and did a lap and then two until I found i was able to run at least half the circuit without needing to stop.
For various reasons, which I can’t actually remember i then didn’t run for a a few weeks but eventually started missing the buzz you get after a workout and so went to try again.
One thing I do remember from this period is that due to a lot of stress in my personal life I had actually started smoking and at this stage, where I was about to pick up the running again I had crept up to about 5-7 cigarettes a day! Totally shocking, I know! Considering I’d only smoked the occasional cigar up to this point it was not something I’d ever planned on taking up. We’ll see where it goes though.
Anyway, there I was pounding the pavement around the gardens, wondering how my new habit would affect me. Now if you’ve read my previous entries you know that I find markers along the route to test my progress, things like a tree or a lampost, and that gives me an indication of how I’m doing. Well, as I approached my halfway marker I was fine, no problem.
As I approached my previous best marker which was about 3/4 of the way around the circuit I took stock of how my shins were, whether my calves were feeling tight, or if my chest was burning with effort. Upon assessing these factors I realised I could keep going!
Yes! New personal best!
Off I trundled, desperate to make it to a full lap for the first time. Coming up on the lap marker I found I had to control my breathing more, rather than let my footfall dictate my breaths. I had already started slowing my pace as I decided that it was better to go a bit slower rather than tire out the muscles for a marginally better pace. I was starting to think of running as a test of endurance rather than as a race.
I hit the lap marker having done another evaluation of my condition and decided I wasn’t at my limit yet. So, trying not to think further than the next few steps, I drove on.
I passed the quarter marker.
The halfway point.
As I inched towards the 3/4 marker which had previously represented the pinnacle of my achievement, the excitement inside me grew. With every step I was now at war with myself trying to figure out if I should accept my accomplishment or push on to do better.
My pace was getting slower again, but it was still steady and I just felt like I had a rhythm going that would keep carrying me on. My lungs were starting to reach their capacity though and although the controlled breathing had helped with increasing my stamina I did feel like I was ready to stop.
As my focus for this second lap had been totally on keeping myself going and consciously controlling the necessary elements to continue this final leg of the lap felt like I was coming out of a fog. Leaving the marker behind, I willed the rest of me to work together make it to end of the lap.
Step by step, breath after breath, metre by metre, that invisible line that I burned on my vision ahead pulled me toward it.
A big grin spread over my face along with a sense of incredulity that my body had so impressed me with its achievement tonight. I paced down and took the indirect, long walk home to give my legs a chance to loosen up.
As soon as I got through the door I jumped onto my old friend WalkJogRun to work out exactly how far I had run. I couldn’t believe it when I found out. The circuit around Roath Gardens was LONGER than Victoria Park! It came out at around just under 1.1km (yes, I’m using kilometres as measurement because its an easier target to achieve than my first mile!) which meant that I had run 2.2km without realising!
I knew it had been good but I had no concept of just how long it was. Needless to say I was well chuffed!
After that it took me a few days to recover, but as I walk about 3km to work each day I soon worked out the aches. Since then I ran once a week and was soon up to 3 laps. At this rate, I may be able to think about taking part in a 5k or 10k race next year.
The first steps towards my marathon!
