Wanted to post a quick summary of my final week of Advent Running while it's still fairly fresh in my mind.
Really, it was quite uneventful - a couple of early morning treadmills and a couple of lunch time runs took me up until the 23rd and before I knew it I was finishing work and packing to head home. Just because it was uneventful doesn't mean it was easy though, I don't think I stood up all week without moaning about being stiff, my legs had officially turned to led. It was weird really, because towards the end I could really tell that my fitness had improved but many legs just couldn't keep up with what my head and everything else wanted to do. But whether a plod or racer pace, I managed to bash out some good 5km runs throughout the week.
Christmas eve came round and with it what I was classing as my last "proper" run of Advent Running, knowing full-well that Christmas day would have to be a little hangover pootle to visit my grandparents. I'd been looking forward to this run for a while, I'd decided I was going to just about round off Advent Running with a local Park Run.
One of my key aims of Advent Running was to chase the sub 30 5k which I've not managed since my half marathon training in the summer, so Parkrun seemed like the perfect setting to really go for it. I always love the friendly Parkrun atmosphere and find I normally perform a bit better than my average solo run pace so was really motivated and ready for it.
Unfortunately it didn't quite happen, I came in about 30 seconds over the mark... but never mind! I had a great run, and after not running that route for a while I'd forgot just how bloody hard the hills are! So, unusually for me I didn't beat myself up for not getting to where I had wanted to be. I'm confident I'll crack it in a week or two when my legs are fresh again.
Really, I can't finish up without a brief mention of my Christmas day run! In the familiar Christmas morning hangover haze I really contemplated just not bothering - I was already proud of what I'd achieved already and I was pretty sure I'd end up seeing some of the previous night's alcohol on the way round. But I talked myself round, got out my Advent Running t-shirts and my trainers, made sure I had plenty water and off I went. 2.5km done and dusted... and with it the entire challenge done!
So, what has Advent Running taught me?
- Running at lunch time is brilliant and great for clearing the head after a rubbish day
- First-thing gymming isn't quite as enjoyable, but not as bad as I expected
- Similarly, hang-over running isn't great, but isn't too awful
- Planning and organising laundry takes a huge amount of effort when you run every day
- You get bloody sick to death of washing and drying your hair
- Despite fitness increasing quite a bit, led-legs make some of the last runs bloody difficult
All in all, I think I can quite safely say I've enjoyed it. Although some of the days I really dragged my heels and didn't want to go, I never came back from a run wishing I hadn't. So I suppose that counts as a success!
Final stats
Out door distance covered: 73.61km
Treadmill distance covered: 40.55km
Total distance covered: 114.16km / 70.93 miles
Time spent: 12:40:52
Now to start looking for the next challenge!
I did a lot of thinking today, as I ran for the 17th consecutive day. The last week has been full of ups and downs with the old Advent Running. Some days it's been easy, others it's been a huge struggle. It's been a busy week and some days it would have been so easy to give up, not least at 5am yesterday when my alarm chimed to send me off on my first ever pre-work gym session (early morning sessions are weird and I'll definitely do a blog featuring them in detail at some point!)
So naturally, I've done a fair bit of moaning this week. I do love a good moan and running has given me plenty to moan about over the last 7 days... "it's cold" "I'm too busy" "I'm too tired"... the list goes on!
Today while I was running, I started to think about how really, I shouldn't moan at all (or at least not as much). This train of thought began when I was thinking about my route. I'd already ran through the crowds who were starting to gather for football, soaking in an atmosphere that I've only ever experienced during the pre-match buzz. Then I started to head out of the city on a long, tree-lined stretch of road.
I wanted to bank an extra mile or so today, in anticipation of tomorrow's inevitable hangover so I added in a bit of a loop around the park. It was gorgeous, quiet and peaceful and that's what made me start to think about how lucky I am. I can go from being in an urban centre which I love, being surrounded by people to being by a tranquil lake with only a few ducks for company, which I also love.
Then I started thinking about all the other reasons I'm a lucky runner.
I'm lucky that I can run pretty much whenever I want. I'm lucky that even at night, I can run by myself in the dark knowing I'm pretty much as safe as anyone can be. I'm lucky that I can run on roads, by rivers, over bridges and through the city. I'm lucky that I can afford to go to a fancy gym when I don't feel like running outside, or if I fancy a swim instead.
I'm lucky because of the people who support my running - I've got a fantastic family who have made sure I've never crossed a finish line without familiar faces clapping and cheering. I'm lucky to be part of a brilliant running club which means I'd never have to run alone if I didn't want to. I'm lucky to be a member in several online running groups, thousands of people at my fingertips to give advice, encouragement and inspiration. I'm even lucky for the fantastic friends I've got who listen to my regular conversations about running.
And, I suppose when it all comes down to it, I'm lucky that I can run at all.
A couple of weeks ago, as mentioned in my previous blog, I had the bright idea of taking part in some thing I'd briefly seen called Advent Running.
Really, I'm not sure why I decided to do this. I'm not exactly someone who has bags of time on their hands, but phrases like "it's only half an hour" and "making time for yourself every day" had me convinced it was a good idea.
So on 1st December, with fresh legs and still on the post-race high of EMA 10k, I excitedly packed my PE kit to take to work as the only time I'd fit a run in that day would be at lunchtime... 'runch' was a concept I'd heard lots of runners talk about but never something I'd tried. I must admit, I really enjoyed it! Getting a bit of fresh air and time away from the office was great! And it's for the best really, as next week I'll be doing it for 4 out of 5 days.. but that will be a story to tell next week.
Day 2 was good as well. I've hugely wasted my gym membership for a good few weeks so it was nice to get my stuff together and head down for an early gym session on the first day of a week's annual leave. A gentle 30 min interval treadmill session went by fairly quickly and pain-free. I was loving this advent running thing I'd started so much that I even decided to order an official t-shirt to sport during my festive frolics.
Day three was another story, and the first of many times (so far) that I've said Advent Running is a stupid decision. I headed out in the semi-darkness and still with mild hangover symptoms, full of self loathing for not taking on an easier going advent hobby. But I got it done, even though I could easily have thrown the towel in.
The next few days were quite uneventful, some outdoor and some treadmill running, mainly smiley and grateful in the panic stricken days that come before an exam (again.. another story) that I'd set aside time to run and clear my head each day.
Then another couple of tricky days followed.. third treadmill session in a row followed by trying to fit a run in on a stupidly busy and again slightly hungover day triggered lots more thoughts of "This is stupid, why am I doing it?"
Today was good again though.. after my first day back in a stuffy office on a rubbish tip I was dying for some fresh air when work was over and really enjoyed my warm winter evening 5k.
So I figure that's how it's going to be, some days I'll love it and some I'll hate it. But either way, every day I'll be doing it.. purely to piss of those who think I'll give up if anything! I'm over a third of the way though so I'm definitely not packing in now!
Stats so far:
Runs......................9
Distance................42km/26.25miles
Time......................5 hours
Major stops...........3
Minor strops..........about 20
Small accidents.... 1
