Miles this week: 0
Still
to go: £1,179.00
Most
runners simply step outside their front door and run, however safety should
always come first when planning any running route. The only way to truly determine whether a
route is safe is to scout it out by walking it (or taking your car for a spin,
depending on how far you hope to run!) It’s important to check out the
potential route at around the same time you plan on running it, as Sunday
morning traffic will be completely different to that on a mid-week evening. Most
beginners to running will start off by running around the block, or down roads
by their home.
However
before you hit the ground running, I would ask yourself a few questions first:
What type of runner am I
going to be?
By
this I mean are you going to run on soft ground, so more trails and parks, or
do you intend to stick to pavement/road running? Even consider whether there’s
the possibility of running on a local track (this option may be at some expense
to you).
What do I want to achieve
from running?
People
start running for all different types of reasons, including: weight loss, new
hobby, healthier life style, or to complete a race such as a 5k, 10k, half
marathon etc.
Shall I join a club?
A
running club is the perfect way to commit to running regularly. Most clubs have
running groups to cater for different abilities, including beginners. They’re
also a great way to find running partners to run with outside of club sessions.
I have been asked to join a running club, but as of yet haven’t done so… My
reason being that, at the moment, I can still easily motivate myself to go out
on solo runs, though maybe I eventually will sign up to one!
When
you have an answer to these questions you will pretty much be set to tackle
those miles.
I
have been running on and off for around a year, so I do have quite a few pre
planned routes that I use, depending on distance, weather conditions and, more
importantly, how I feel. Now and then I do like to try a new route though, to
keep my mind and body from getting bored.
It doesn’t matter what route
I take though, as I always end up running up hill!! Well, I say hills, but
really I think they’re secret mountains!
As
I previously mentioned, I have a few pre planned routes that I like to run. However,
these are not set in stone and I do change them up, but I don’t head out of the
door knowing I will change them. When I get to a section of my run where I can take
two different routes I just do a quick ‘eeny meeny miney mo’... Yep, very grown
up of me I hear you say. All I can say is it works for me!
I
find having pre planned routes helps with my timing per mile, as I’m not concentrating
on where to go next. I have started a different approach, where I run half my
distance and then turn around to come back. I feel a little bit stupid doing
this, as if people or cars are around at the halfway point they must look at me
and think I have forgotten something! Maybe they even think that I left the
iron on and therefore dashing back because of that! However, I do find this
strategy a great motivational tactic when I am out on either a long distance
run or a very hilly route.
I
purposely make sure all my routes are on pavements and that there are plenty of
street lights around, which does result in me weaving past the occasional
person here and there! The bonus of sticking to these is that I know the paths
will be well maintained. Despite this, on my short easy run, I do have a little
gripe with the local council - they always neglect to sweep away the leaves and
chestnuts on one particular pavement, which just so happens to be on a pretty
steep hill!!! Now, I could understand if this path was out of the way or not
near anything, but it’s right outside a skateboard park/field, so people use it
regularly to enter the park.
Maybe
it’s just me, but have you noticed when out running
everyone seems a lot friendlier! By this I mean they either smile or say hello.
I suspect it’s because of the expression of pain plastered across my face, so
people feel sorry for me and smile or say hello… Maybe I should ask them for
sponsorship money to tend the aching limbs! But yer, I reckon if it was the
same sort of time but I was walking, they’d probably cross the road to keep a
safe distance.
Harking
back to last week’s news, it’s time for an ‘injury update’: To be honest, it’s
not great, folks - my ankle is still very painful to walk on, though I have
managed to get rid of the limp now, which is a plus in my eyes. Regardless, I managed
to brave the pain and get back in the pool this week for a spot of swimming –
the thought of sponsorship money makes it all worthwhile! I also did some light
home workouts (mainly core and abs), but to be on the safe side I decided that
running and football was still a no no. I did, however, turn up to support my
team both at training and for the match on Sunday - sadly we lost one-nil and
have fallen to eighth in the table now.
I
did pop to the doctor’s mid-week to be informed ‘there is a lot of fluid around
my ankle and it is swollen’ (not that I can see the swelling) he did go on to
say that there was no point going for a scan as if there was a crack it
wouldn’t show up. So I am now on a course of anti-inflammatory (naproxen) or
an-flams as the cool kids call them. So I’m hoping these bad boys will work
their magic ASAP so I can at least get back to running next week.
If you like what you read, or even if
you don’t, please visit my fundraising page to sponsor me
Leigh
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