I collect quotes. Almost every day, something, somewhere gives me an aha moment and I keep them for days when I may need them. Sometimes these quotes are inspirational, humorous, or they just let you know that you are not the only human feeling the way you do. It’s just a human condition. You are not alone in this, whatever it is.
So today, I wanted to share some of my favourites in the hope that some of them will strike a note with you too.
So here goes:—-
On the subject of life:-
On the subject of running or just taking action, these ones I love. I came across a gentleman called Alistair Jones on Twitter who writes poetry. His poems are witty, encouraging, fun and always a delight. He has kindly allowed me to include a couple here.
And then just for fun, these one always made me smile:-
Have a great week everyone. Hope it’s a good one for you and yours.
When you start something new, there is always an expectation, a planned route, or at least an understanding of the whys and wherefores and what you expect to gain or experience out of this new thing. Learning to run has been nothing like I thought it would be.
It is actually difficult to go back and work out exactly what I was thinking, except that the dream of running a long distance such as a marathon had appeal, and I was seriously looking for something to challenge me. Something new that I had never done before.
I knew on a logistics level, this would involve running, however had zero knowledge on that subject. Except that every human on this planet thinks they know about running. We all do it from time to time, catch a bus, run a little at school, do some at the gym. It’s that thing we do when we need to go a bit faster than a walking pace. We all know how that is. Except we don’t or at least I didn’t.
There is this foggy, smoky, misty period you go through when you take up running as a sport. You start and the first “in your face thing” that hits you is how hard it is. Your breathing becomes ragged really quickly (even though you are moving at a pace that wouldn’t challenge a tortoise), your body starts flopping all over the place, and there are suddenly lots of voices in your head at various levels of shrillness yelling at you to stop.
You start to really notice other runners for the very first time. You look at them in a whole new way wondering how on earth they seem to do it so easily. Then even more remarkable are those running along chatting whilst they are running. Flying to Jupiter having designed one’s own space ship, seems to be more probable that running along chatting to someone.
I don’t know what keeps you going at this point. Maybe it’s that big dream you had and you’re at the start of something and you want to give it a go. Maybe it’s optimism that it will get better and easier. Maybe it’s just foolishness and stubbornness, but whatever it is, you need a bit of it, because it takes time and progress appears slow.
As I mentioned in previous blogs, apart from family and friends, there are two big influencers who have helped me more than they will ever know. The first are the wonderful people I have met on twitter. I thought I would start to tweet, and look for other runners and gain some knowledge and inspiration. What I found was this very supportive and inclusive community, full of advice, goodwill, humour and a celebration of everyone’s success no matter how slow or tiny the distance. They inspire me every day. I love how they encourage, laugh and delight in each others endeavours.
The second has been ‘Intraining’, my running Club which I joined with some trepidation and embarrassment due to my lack of expertise. The coaches have been super supportive and encouraging, and my fellow runners are a great bunch of people, who it has been a joy to meet up with twice weekly for training, and am now running with at various parkruns where the support and comradeship continues.
I had absolutely no understanding that this new endeavour would lead me here. I can share that my hazy period is clearing on occasions, and there are moments I get a feel for what I think I am heading towards. I simply love it and am so excited for what the future holds.
Have a great week everyone. If you have some time, go for a run. 🙂
Hello all,
Its been a while since I posted. I do have another post half written, but wanted to get this one out before too much time passed.
One of the girls in my running group very casually suggested I might like to do a 10km run just for fun. I found myself signing up for the Bridge to Brisbane 10 km run. I was pretty cool with it until the day or so before and certainly the morning of. Suddenly I had all these doubts, what if I couldn’t run that distance, what if I failed, what was I thinking, a struggling 5km runner why did I think I could run 10km, and so on it went.
Thankfully at Intraining (Club running) the week before we had done a slow and steady run. I had managed to run and talk and feel somewhat comfortable, which in turn gave me some courage. If I could find that pace and that rhythm, perhaps I could run 10km.
The atmosphere was fantastic. I was number 19904 which meant there were a lot of runners on the course. They started us in waves which you nominated for when you signed up. There were the super fast elites, the fast runners, the fast kids, Corporate runners, joggers and walkers. I popped myself into the jogger group which is where I firmly belonged.
Off we went and in the beginning there were a ton of people trying to jockey for position and sort themselves out. Some people sprinted out, others walked out, and some like me shuffled out which I had been advised to do.
After about 1km we all seemed to have our space and everyone was doing their thing. I found myself starting to enjoy the experience. The city was beautiful and we were running through it, over bridges, across the river, down the side of the river, back across the river, and all on roads which you would normally drive on which was super cool.
There were buskers placed strategically along the road at intervals, all of whom were trying their hardest at keeping everyone going and happy and providing a bit of a beat. They were wonderful. At one stage we ran though a small tunnel, and inside the tunnel was a grand piano and 3 Opera Singers whose sound filled the tunnel. I will never forget it. It was super wonderful and I loved it. The crowd was cheering whilst running.
And so with lots of runners to look at, music changing, great scenery, time seemed to be passing along well. At one of the drink stations I finally took a drink of water, which ended badly. I suddenly needed a toilet right there and then and felt quite panicked. My stomach was in knots and I was wondering how long I could go on for, when miraculously around the corner appeared a row of port-a-loos placed exactly where I needed them. 2 minutes later emerged a whole new person.
The last bridge was a challenge. It has a very long and steep rise up to the crest and I talked myself into it by saying that after this rise, I would be going down hill or flat, so just suck it up, its your last effort. I did it, went down the hill, round the corner and saw another hill I had completely forgotten about. It almost did me in. I started to walk, about 30 strides, then talked myself into going again as I was fairly close to the end. Made it up the hill, around the corner, and there was the finish line with my husband cheering madly.
And so I ran across the finish line. Initially I felt absolutely nothing. Needed water most of all. But then emotion came flooding in. I truly felt euphoric. Loved the world and everyone in it, and was just so incredibly happy. I would highly recommend taking up running just for that feeling. It was very, very good.
My official time was 1:20:34 less the toilet stop was around the 1:18 mark. I had no real expectations on time. Just wanted to finish it.
Back to reality, I did Park run this morning, filled with confidence and bravado. This 5km was going to be a walk in the park, after all I could now run 10km. How wrong can one be. I went too hard, couldn’t sustain it, needed to walk some of it, and finished around the same time as 2 weeks ago – 36:34.
We live and learn.
Have an awesome week. Hope you’re all doing well and having fun out there.
I didn’t post last week. There were so many new things happening, just needed to get my head around what it was all about.
The last time I posted I was about to join a running Club which I have now done. I joined Intraining Running Club. I thought I was joining a beginners Class. It turns out that it is a class which takes beginners, not just for beginners. What a fabulous opportunity for newbies like me. There are all kinds of runners there with varying experiences and skills. Some have been running for a very long time and have run numerous marathons, some are building up to a marathon, some training for their first 10km to newbies like me, or even newer runners. A lady joined this week who was running 1 minute and then walking for a couple.
There are two sessions per week. Monday nights’ session is a run, just slow and steady and I ran for 44 minutes. First time I had ever done that. I was struggling a bit and one of the trainers came breezing up to me and asked how I was going. I told him I didn’t think I could do it, and felt I would need to stop soon. His response was well, you are breathing well, you’re talking – always a good sign, your rhythm is good, your pace is consistent, I reckon you have this in the bag. I immediately perked up and thought ok, maybe I can do this, and so I did. Its all about the head space isn’t it. The body is willing and able.
The Wednesday night session is about interval training which is also a massive learning curve. We were running 1km bursts with 4 minute rests in between. We were meant to run at a certain pace based on what we are capable of, just didn’t quite know how to figure out what pace I was running. I think I need a new running watch which will tell me all that sort of information 🙂 Christmas is coming.
I ended up running some slow ones and some quick ones. Still it’s all building experience and time out there actually running.
The people at the Club, trainers and fellow runners have been truly welcoming and supportive. I have said it before, but what a great community the running community is. I didn’t know they were out there, would never have found that unless I started running, and am so very glad I did.
I am starting to really enjoy running. Not all the time, not every run, but some of the time. Progress is being made.
As you would know, I started this whole running experience to set myself a new challenge, something I felt I needed. I also love new events i.e. new routes when walking, new places to visit, learning new things, particularly those that are a bit hard, but have a logical outcome. For example learning Russian is not currently on my bucket list, only because I don’t know anyone who speaks Russian, I’m not planning on moving there, so it seems a bit pointless.
Learning running has a completely different planned outcome. There is the getting fit, feeling healthy aspect, weight control, and the whole idea of new physical challenges does appeal. I keep dreaming of finishing a big event and how fantastic that would feel.
I wasn’t prepared or expecting all the little wins along the way.
For a start, this whole running community (I have mentioned this before) are truly an awesome group of people. They have so far been incredibly supportive, completely embracing, and seem to celebrate everyone’s success whether you are a 100km trail runner across the French Alps or a struggling 5km runner like me. I didn’t even know they were out there until I started running, and they have been an unexpected win.
I have started to tweet and in the process have found a huge group of runners from around the world who support each other, laugh together, write poems for each other about the hardships and joys of running mostly. They are kind, generous of spirit and joyful. They have been full of advice and encouragement. Once again, such a win, and certainly wasn’t planning on finding them.
I signed up to InTraining Running Club this week which I am also excited about. I am better at a group thing, being part of a team, and sharing the struggle. I have signed up for their beginner classes and am really looking forward to the new challenges that is going to bring. I start next week so will let you know how that goes.
Most of all, for a girl who found it hard to run 40 seconds non stop a few months ago, to now running a slow 5km, the win is that it has given me lots of happy endorphins and making me high on life.
