The Honest Truth about ME and my Running

I think there is a perception that I am always running, that I clock up heaps of miles each month.

Well, I am afraid of late this has not exactly been true…I am lucky if I get out once a week for a run…and even then I have to force myself.

  • Is this because of the cold dark nights? Nope
  • Is this because I haven’t got any races coming up? Nope
  • Is it because I have fallen out of love with running? Nope

It’s basically because I have been super duper busy and my fitness focus has changed a little.

Since becoming a single parent I have found running in the evenings, near on impossible. I could arrange childcare in the evenings, but it doesn’t feel fair for my daughter who has been an nursery all day to be disrupted just so I can pop out for a 40 minutes run. I miss it though, I miss my running club the East London Runners…who must be thinking I have been abducted by aliens.

Weekends are a little easier as she goes to her Dads every other weekend. But its still a struggle to prioritise running when I could be doing so many other fun things. I have been back at parkrun on a Saturday morning again a few times recently, and I realised how much I missed it…but social occasions often make this difficult to do consistently each fortnight.

So that leaves running during school hours…and that requires a whole heap of discipline, when I am so busy with work.

15032114_10154692774850477_4126324833843905401_nOh and then of course there is the small matter that I am a CrossFit participant now too. You can read about this is a post I wrote called What is CrossFit and is it Fat Friendly

I am going to my local box CrossFit1971 2-3 times a week, normally the 10-11am sessions, and I am loving it and hating it in equal measure. It hurts so much…I did a timed 1 mile run at the end of a session on Monday and managed to slip in just under 10 minutes…I never run a 10 minute mile, unless I am running downhill.

So I am absolutely getting stronger, but often I am so sore as a result….the thought of running as well doesn’t fill me with much joy….just concerns about my already sore muscles.

But it’s not like I am not running at all, I am just doing the bare minimum to keep me ticking over at the moment.

scream2I am currently taking part in my own improve your speed pilot (I know right?) which requires 3 runs a week, however I am replacing two of the runs with CrossFit and I have still managed to go from 43.27 for a 5K at the end of August, to 36.27 last weekend at parkrun…thats like 8 minutes off (Impressive right??)

And lots of other women are knocking similar times of their 5ks…without the need for Crossfit sessions ha ha, they are simply following the 7 simple techniques outlined in my online programme.

We will be running Scream if You want to go Faster again in January, you can book here

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Today I went for a short run with Cass the lady who hosts the Too Fat to Run retreat in Rhodes with me, she’s here in London for the World Travel Market Show, and we took a leisurely run through the Olympic Park in the drizzle…we covered just short of 3 miles in 36.21…and that was with lots of chatting.

It was lovely to have someone else to run with, it motivated me to run a little faster and not to walk up the hills.

My point is, sometimes I run lots, sometimes I don’t…but I am still very much a runner.

I never judge people for how much they are running, or even if they are having a break all together. I believe running is a state of mind, and once you are a runner…you are always a runner….simple!!

And ladies its OK to be a fair weather runner…trust me come the spring I will be using every excuse in the world to leave my desk and go for a run…I have an ultra marathon to train for for a start.

But don’t do nothing, stay active…if for no other reason than to keep warm, and to keep mobile for spring.

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