Running Diary {Medals & Plans}

I turned over a new leaf of the calendar today and smiled to myself as a new month lay ahead. A fresh page on the calendar already filled in. Filled in mostly with my running plans - including a run on Christmas Day. Christmas Day!! What has happened to me? Never in a month of Sundays would I have once thought I would be running on Christmas Day. Or even running every week. Or running three times a week. Or have a half marathon lined up - well, actually two. But it appears I am a changed woman. My washing airer is constantly full with running tights, skins, sports bras and vests. My shoe cupboard now has running shoes galore - I even sacrificed a new pair of DMs this Winter for a pair of new Nikes! Any spare pennies I find go quickly as I sign up for Virtual Runs to keep me ticking over. My Christmas present this year has been used up about ten times over signing up for a 10k, two half marathons and buying a back up pair of new Nikes - I still would like a Buff if you're reading this lovely husband!

So, back to the half marathon. I have signed up to take part in the Bath Half on March 13th 2016. I am running it for my own personal challenge having been stuck at the 10k mark since the Race for Life back in July. I am running it to prove I can get my niggly knee up to a longer distance - stubborn I know. I am running it to raise money for the new Bath RUH Cancer Centre - a hospital that has provided support and care to someone very special in our family. I am running it because This Girl Can - hopefully!

I returned, emotional, from a 10k (6.2 mile) run this morning and turned to social media and posted the following...

When you head out for a 5 miler and realise at 4 miles in that it's December and you may as well push on for the 10k Virtual Race. Then at 5 miles your knee niggles just a little but you think it's fine. Then at 5.6 it's screaming at you and you think just half a mile to go. Then at 6.1 it clicks that 10k is actually 6.2miles so you swear yourself round the last tenth of a mile. Then your neighbour walks past and says "You look knackered how far have you run?" "Just the six miles" I reply through clenched teeth. "Blinking hell! " Then you walk past his mum who comments "I didn't recognise you, you look so slim!" Then you realise your knee isn't screaming anymore and you seem to have recovered. Then you look at your watch and realised you've smashed your PB so you grin like a loon back home to unpack your medal. That!

Let's talk about the medals for a moment.

Back in May, following my return to giving running another go after bailing on it last year due to my niggly knee, I challenged myself with a 5k goal. But I needed a reward, a dangling carrot if you like, so I signed up to my first virtual run with Virtual Runner UK and Run Mummy Run. I wrote about it here if you want to learn more but basically the dangling, shiny bling is all I need! Once I had completed a couple of 5ks I was hooked and challenged myself to get to the 10k and took part in Race for Life and another virtual run in August - for which I got some rather lovely medals for...

Then my knee niggles kicked in again so I had to cut back on the mileage and incorporate a plethora of stretching routines into my daily life. But I needed another goal and getting back up to 10k was what I needed to do by December in order for my half marathon plans to keep ticking over nicely. And today was the day - completely unplanned, completely emotional, but I got there.

And this running malarkey is so emotional! It's hard to explain but I have literally shed blood, sweat and tears on some runs - not necessarily due to pain but sheer emotions.

Running is my escape, my free therapy, my me time, my challenge.

x x x