Some days I just need to run....some days I don't

Today I needed to run, so I ran, and felt better for it.

Sunday however was not a day to run. I woke up in the morning and decided that I needed to be a runner today, I needed to get my gear on and get out the door for a 5k. This was much easier in my mind than the physical activity of running.

I struggled from the start, my right Achilles was hurting for the first k or so, then about 1.6k in the dog needed to wee, I stopped for a drink around 2.5k and decided this was not going to be a high performance run, it was going to be a run because I wanted to be a runner that day, and I had managed to push back all the excuses not to run, and I took the first steps so it was important to take the last steps.

The result of that run was not good compared to the time of last Fridays run but I did feel better for getting our there. 

Seeing the positive impact that me going for a run has on my kids is always a plus and they both want to go for a run with me when I get back and cool down a little. On Sunday this turned into a scooter/bike ride and playing at the park, but it was fun and good for them all the same.

Todays run was a stark contrast to Sunday. I was feeling a little tight in my right hammy all morning but decided that I would get out there anyway and see how it felt. From the get go I felt good. not just the satisfaction of being out and doing something about my issues, but rather the fact that not once did a reason not to run today surface. It was always going to be today, I had my gear, I put it on, and I got out the door.

I ran 5k non stop and did it under 29 mins, my best performance yet, there were a few times I wanted to stop and walk, catch my breath or stretch but it was such a cop out, that I just pushed on.

My time investment in running is paying off I am starting to feel holistically better for it, I want to be running and the excuses are not surfacing at the moment,

Just gotta keep riding the motivation train.

A long time coming

Well....where to start. its been since last august since I have blogged about running, the last 2 years feel like I have wasted them loathing in my self pity and NO MORE.

It is time to attack my issues head on, to get back out there, put on foot in front of the other and sort my shit out.

The timing of my new found enthusiasm for running has happened to coincide with the start of the year, which is unfortunate as I keep getting asked if I am enacting a new years resolution. For the record I think that new years resolutions are a cop out, and if you want to fix something that is broken then do it when you are ready, not when its time for a new calendar. 

Its been over 4 years since I started running now, and I feel like I am finding my mojo again. The past 2 years have presented a lot of unexpected challenges and instead of turning to running to bolster my persona to deal with them, I instead used them as an excuse not to run.  That has to change, It is well past time to get shit sorted, become the man I want to be, and equip myself with the mental tools to deal with anything.

But...before I find that state of wellness I need to get back to the basics of running, and rediscover what was so attractive about the activity that got me through the last 4 years.

Its easy right now to want to be running the excuses for not running have been dismissed, the weather is good (not to hot, windy, rainy etc), I have time at work to take a lunch break. So its easy to run, its nice to run, and I feel like I can focus on running. However this is not necessarily the most sustainable situation, before long the days will heat up, work will get back into full swing once people come back from leave.

So the challenge is not to keep running, but then again I don't think that ever been the challenge. Not its how to dissolve the excuses, and get out there and JFDI. 

Long time no blog...long time no run...

Its been a while.....a long while.

I have to say that my running this year has been fucked up. A combination of sickness, back injury, neck injury and another rolled ankle and my life turning into a temporary emotional train wreck has really made this one of my worst years for running so far (I've only been running for 3 years) I have entered 6 events this year, and out of the 5 that have happened I have attended 0. there is one left, the Melbourne 1/2 marathon in October which I am in no way prepared to run but I am going to give it my best shot.

But I can change that, I have one thing back that has been also lost, my motivation to run. I feel like I need it now more than ever, after gaining so much from running and losing it again, I know how much better a person I can be once I get back running. 

I have seen the light at the end of that tunnel though, my ankle has been cleared for some mild runs (strapped up to prevent rolling it again in its state of weakness) the weather is starting to get better, which always makes it easier to get out there and run.

Its a nice familiar feeling to want to be running, there is nothing worse than having an injury and seeing people out for a run, on a nice cool sunny day, it just emphasizes what you have lost due to injury.

I think part of my problem is a lack of discipline in my life. It takes discipline to get out there and run, to not eat crap, and to maintain motivation for change. Its easy to slip into a mode where exceptions are made from what you should be doing. You start to do the wrong thing occasionally and then it becomes regularly, and then its acceptable to do it all the time.

This lack of discipline and self control is one of the strengths I had, which I desperately need to get back....but that is achievable. I have broken the viscous cycle before and I will do it again.

Bouncing Back!!

Sickness is a bitch. the worst part about it is not being able to run, not having that outlet for stress and pressure.

A combination of training, annual leave and rather nasty throat, chest and ear infection had me off my feet for a few days, but unable to run for 3 weeks.

It feels like I have never run, like I have reverted back to the slack ass non runner that I was before. I missed out on running for the kids (although I don't mind that my entry fee became a donation to a great cause) which really sucks because running through the domain tunnel, and over the bolte bridge makes it one of my favorite runs....sigh.

The other thing that I have lost is the preparation that I have been building for the puffing billy run, the hill runs, and the speed that I had is gone.

2 runs back into it, and the remnants of the chest and ear infections, raise their ugly heads when I run, tight chest and ear ache. I am feeling the runs in my legs a lot more than I used to as well...

Because I need to focus on the upside, I have a goal, get speed back, run hills and beat that second train at puffing billy. And the best bit about the whole ordeal, is that I have dropped 3kg and managed to keep it off :)

This whole issue has also made me realised that I have not blogged anywhere near enough this year. Easy to remedy.

I will run, I will push it, and I will blog more often ;)

Daniel

Running 2011......and 2012

Its been an odd year for my running. This year running has become part of my life. Its routine, at work I get random people who have seen me get my running gear on and head out the door say "hows your running" etc not people I have spoken to, or know well, running is a good way to make friends.

There have been some other transformations in my running this year, for example my lunchtime runs have become a social event. I also seem to be holding up the motivation for our little running troop, yesterday when I bailed on a 5k no one went, which is kind of annoying. I don't want that much influence over peoples motivation.

I have had some injury and sickness issues, with hurt Glutes, and a bad back making running hard at times, and necessary in my back treatment.

But that was all last year.

This year has started well, a good 10k with the boys back at work, a 5k with my sister in law who is visiting, and a 2k run in my vibram five fingers.

I plan to do more in my five fingers this year, and would like to get to the point where I am running the majority of my runs in them, I really like the way that I felt connected with the ground without the cushioning of my kayanos. It was a strange sensation running in them, at first it was like I had forgotten to put my shoes on, then I noticed that I was kind of leaning forward more than I normally do, and then it just felt natural, and that is what its all about.

For anyone wondering why I would do this, here is the dot points on barefoot (minimalist in my case) running:

- The human body was designed to run without shoes.

- cushioning in shoes was developed by marketing experts who were trying to solve an issue that didnt exist

- by running barefoot you use your legs, butt and back in the way that nature (or you chosen deity) meant for them to be used.

- the impact on your feet is less than with cushioned shoes due to your brain registering something hard under your feet and stopping you pushing down harder.

So I have joined the group of strange people who own/wear vibram five fingers. For anyone who doesn't know what these are, they are a rubber sole with a lycra top and some bits of Velcro to hold it all together. see the below picture.