Sunday 3 August 2014

Runstreak Day #245 - head space, head case

Soooo... what should have been a nice run turned out to be a bit of a nervous run.  My head is obviously in a weird place at the moment!

All the right ingredients for a good run were there.  My family were coming along on their bikes - so I had company.  It was a sunny evening.  A light breeze to cool everything down and take the edge off the warmth.  The light was lovely.  The River Trent was sparkly.

But as I started running, I was aware that I was running faster than I wanted to (am still ridiculously nervous about my knee getting bad again) in an attempt to keep up with my family on their bikes.  Daft really.  By about a couple of miles in, I knew that I wasn't happy running at that pace so I got them to just ride on and not worry about waiting for me.  That old dragging feeling of being the one who couldn't keep up was resurfacing too and I needed to run on my own rather than feel any kind of pressure.

It's funny really.  When you start running it's all about the physical side of it.  Just being able to run at all is hard work.  Yes, there's a psychological element, I guess... but it's mainly physical.  You can't breathe.  Your legs won't do what they need to do.  Your muscles protest.  Loudly.  Later on it becomes a mental tussle.  Psyching yourself up for things, trying not to psyche yourself out of them.  And having just started to feel physically comfortable with running again, it's my head that's making it much harder work than it should be.  D'oh!

Ah well... another run tomorrow and fingers crossed it'll feel a whole lot better!

PS  Have definitely decided to sign up for a marathon next year.  In your face stupid 'scared of running' head!  :o)

Geeky stats stuff

Distance:3.43 mi
Time:28:03
Avg Pace:8:11 min/mi
Elevation Gain:38 ft

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