Black and Tabby Runs

On success and embarrassment

How can one run contain two such differing emotions – success, and embarrassment? Surely one would preclude the other?

Well the success is easy. When you’re running and a man walking the other way tells you the path ahead is closed but you keep on going, it’s a success. When you reach this sign on the path :-

and you decide to carry on to see where the problem is, it’s a success. Despite this, it can still look like your run is going to be a failure when you reach the bridge that is being rebuilt and orange safety netting is completely closing the footpath. However if you then ask the man fixing the bridge how you can get around and he pulls the safety netting to one side and says you can come through as long as you’re careful, then that’s a success!

Now for the embarrassment. It was very foggy today, and most people seemed to have decided to stay indoors. Running along the canal that’s in the process of being renovated and which is normally busy with dog walkers, tourists and cyclists, I was surprised to find it was practically empty.

On my way back up to town as I came to the one bridge on thepath, I ran under the bridge and couldn’t resist making loud “woo woo” noises to hear the echos. They were great echos, but as I came out from the bridge I came face to face with a man and his two dogs. Any hopes that maybe he hadn’t heard me were shattered when he sniggered and said
“Bet you didn’t think there was anyone here!”

I will leave you to imagine how red my face was as I slunk off. At least I gave him something to smile about.

This is how I feel today

After feeling gloomy in my last post, I’m very happy to report that I’m feeling Good again! A brief flash of sunshine has helped, along with running again, eating better and getting slightly more sleep. The sleep thing is in the process of being sorted, as it’s currently being sabotaged by this fellow:-

Yes, he looks very cute when he’s asleep, but unfortunately he’s been waking up earlier and earlier and being a Mummy’s boy comes straight to tell me all about it. Loudly. Yesterday it was at 6.20 am when my alarm is actually set for 7.00am. If yowling loudly doesn’t get me up, he jumps up onto my bedside table and knocks the cat-drinking-prevention-device from the top of my water (I put a coaster on top of my glass to stop him drinking from it). If that doesn’t work, his latest trick is to carefully pat at each object on my bedside table until it falls onto the floor. Cue me grumpily and myopically searching around for my glasses yesterday morning and eventually finding them under the bed.

Anyway, despite this feline-induced sleep deprivation, I still feel good. I ran 3 times last week with a long run that was meant to be 8 miles but ending up being 9.5 miles. I got out on my bike at the weekend, with both children (this is a major achievement!) To top it all, I set out to run 4 miles yesterday, along an out-and-back route I run at least once a week, determined to push it just a little, to run “comfortably hard”. When I got back and uploaded my data onto Strava I was delighted to spot that I’d run it the segment heading back home in my 2nd fastest time ever. I was even more pleased to see that the only time I’d run it faster was in a race, last year.

Right – pass the race directory – I’m ready to enter some races!

Finally ready for 2014

I realised the other day, that since the New Year I’ve not been feeling myself.

“Who have you been feeling then, eh?” << Thought I’d get the gag in before anyone else did.

I’ve been feeling like an inferior, older, tireder and sadder version of myself. And that’s not been good. Was it the not running? I certainly felt like a different person when I wasn’t a ‘runner’ for four weeks. Maybe it was the lack of daylight and fresh air because I wasn’t running. With the atroctious weather we’ve had, some days I didn’t set foot outside the house. Maybe it was my recent birthday? I’ve never been too bothered about getting older, but this birthday did feel like standing on the platform at the top of a big playground slide, wobbling slightly before sliding down to the next ‘big birthday’. Maybe it was a hormonal thing. Perhaps it was the couple of weeks of bad sleep I seem to have had. Possibly it was because I have no new goals on the horizon, nothing big and scary to motivate me. By contrast, my husband has some big sporting challenges this year and is sickeningly enthused (and scared, truth be told). Actually I haven’t got a single race to prepare for as I have just been feeling too old and slow. Possibly, just maybe, it’s been a combination of all of these factors. Going down with a cold last weekend seemed like the final straw.

Last week, I was fed up of feeling fed up. I felt bored, boring, tired, unfit and ready to give myself a good talking to (and a kick up the backside). After running too much too quickly a few weeks ago (which didn’t improve my mood) I decided to be sensible this time. I set off and ran just 3 times in the week, with plenty of rest in between and all at a slow easy pace. I bought some long overdue new trainers (which are scarily white, shiny and pink, Ugh!) I tried to get to bed at a better time, and resolved to make sure I was eating better with less sugary rubbish.

New trainers - scarily clean and PINK! — New trainers – scarily clean and PINK!

This week, after shaking off the cold, I feel better. I’ve run on two cold but clear mornings. I’ve had some better sleep. I’ve eaten more fruit and veg, tried to cut out the chocolate, and thought about how much protein I need. I’ve even spent several hours digging on my neglected allotment. It feels like a weight is being lifted from me, and I’m liking it.

Allotment after several sessions of digging

Right then – where’s the race calendar? 2014, I’m finally ready for you!

On being too enthusiastic

Last week’s thought process any something like this:-
Hooray my niggle seems to have finally cleared up.
Fab I’m enjoying my running again.
Yay I’ve found a plan in a magazine to crack 2 hours in a half marathon.
Whoop I’ve run three times in three days.

Damn, my shin is sore.

On a lighter note, Tuesday’s run was in awful weather, incredibly windy with rain lashing down. A mile in, with hail battering my face I actually stopped in the middle of a field and considered turning around and going straight back home. It was only the thought that the second half would be more sheltered than the first that kept me going.

I was right -it was more sheltered, and as I stopped to grab my breath I took a quick selfie to see how wet I was. Not my most attractive photo ever, I think you’ll have to agree.

Update -I made it home safely and discovered the rain was so heavy it had even made it through my best ever running jacket. Boo!

What any Sane, Normal Person would do

As Thursday’s long run was the longest run I’d had for months, I resolved to take it slow and steady and allow myself tobe easily distracted. After spotting myself in a mirror designed to help someone trying to get out of their drive safely I pondered for some time about safety when running and the usefulness of hi-viz clothing.

Running on down a quieter lane, with wide grassy (muddy) verges I was surprised to spot a sword. A kid’s plastic sword, unbroken, abandoned and just lying flat on the grass.

I eyed it up for a few moments, just lying there, then did what any sane, normal person would do*.

I must go back that way and see if Arthur has reclaimed his sword.

* My daughter disagrees that this is the action of a sane person. But teenagers have to be contrary, it’s in their job description.

The Power of Hi-Viz

Much as I love my running gear, there’s one piece of kit that I always sneer at when I find it in my ‘lycra’ drawer whilst rummaging for something more exciting. My bright yellow safety gilet. I’ve never felt comfortable wearing it, as I dislike wearing such bright colours when running. When I run through fields, up footpaths and down bridleways I like to feel that I’m blending in, that I’m part of the environment, that I am able to get closer to wildlife than I would if I was in a car or even on a bike. Hard to do that when you look like a Health and Safety inspector. I also know (from discussions on the Run Mummy Run Facebook page) that I’m not the only runner to have discovered a huge drawback of wearing hi-viz if you’re ‘caught short’ in this season of bare branches and lack of foliage. Hem hem.

Despite all of these reasons to shun the 90’s rave style fluro, I reluctantly put on my yellow hi-viz gilet yesterday when I went running. I was all ready to set off on yet another dingy, dismal day, wearing black running tights and top. As I was planning on running on some roads (as opposed to my usual quiet lanes), I decided I’d better put on my hated hi-viz as well.

Running past one of those mirrors people put in hedges to help them pull out of their drives I was struck by how invisible I was, apart from my gilet.

Spot the Runner – that small flash in the middle

Can you see me? Or just my gilet? Seeing as this section of road is twisty and turny, has no pavements and has people driving along at high speed, perhaps I’ll wear it more often in future.

Janathon Day 31. Goodbye Janathon.

The last day of Janathon. Woo hoo! Should I end with a damp squib of a plank? Or do (yet) another session of my DVD (I swear Jillian Michael’s eyes follow me around the room from the DVD case). Maybe another bike ride (but cycle shorts are still damp on the radiator from yesterday, and I’m not hardcore enough to put them on on that state). I know – I’LL GO FOR A RUN!!!

In the interests of resting my niggle (yawn), I haven’t run since 3rd January! I have missed running, and I was anxious to see how four weeks of ‘just’ cross training would have affected it (and me).

So off I went this morning. I set off at full pelt for a quick blast around my 3 mile loop. It was cold, it was slippy, it was muddy under foot. It was glorious. I ran 3.11 miles in just under 30 minutes, which included re-tying a shoe lace TWICE and a little chat with a neighbour (the problem of running through the small village you live in).

So it’s goodbye Janathon, and welcome back running!

Janathon Day 30. The Day of the Hi-viz Michelin Man

Cycling capri length trousers. Old running tights that have gone baggy* over the top. A long sleeved running top. A merino wool thin jumper. A fleece jacket. A waterproof running jacket. A bright yellow hi-viz running gilet. Oldest running socks. Muddiest old trainers. Husband’s best cycling gloves.

This was me, dressed to go out on my bike today. Think ‘hi viz Michelin Man’ and that’s the look I was going for. Getting all those clothes on took so much effort it should count as a Janathon exercise in itself, however I didn’t think I’d manage to persuade the Janathon community of this so I waddled out to my built. I realised it was a while since I’d done any outdoor exercise when I picked up my Garmin and it looked like this:-

Setting off to B&Q without thinking, I automatically cycled the route I would normally drive, the fastest along the main road. This was somewhat hairy on a bike. At one roundabout where I had to get into the right hand lane whilst being overtaken by lorries I recorded a big heart rate spike, purely through adrenaline. Needless to say I chose a more cycle-friendly route home.

I think I definitely scored hardcore points today!

* Think 1980’s PE teacher’s tights

Janathon Day 29. Moving up to level 3

Coming towards the end of Janathon i decided I’d better do something special. Something a bit different. Something to really write home about. So after much debate* I dug out my 30 day Shred DVD … and moved up to level 3. It was hard. Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting. **

* well I discussed it with the cat

** no promises

Product Review – Panache Sports Bra

Living in a fairly rural part of the country as I do, I end up doing a fair bit of online shopping, and so the various courier drivers are getting to know me quite well. I was still surprised though, when I opened the door to collect a packet from UPS to see the driver giving me a very big smile and a wave as he left. “How very friendly!” I thought. Then I noticed the package was marked as ‘Lingerie’, and the sender was “Panache Lingerie”, which explained everything. If he’d been imagining delicate little lacey nothings, however, he’d have been disappointed when he saw the package’s contents.

When I learnt that Panache were looking for people to review their new sports bra I instantly applied, as I love getting new gear. I was also keen to try a sports bra that wasn’t of the compression ‘squash everything down’ type. Being a smaller chested lady my sports bras have always resembled a cut off vest as much as anything. The Panache Sports Bra is designed for ladies much more ‘ample’ than myself (it goes up to cup size H) and as such is a very different beast. I initially thought it wouldn’t fit me, but I was advised if I went down a band size I could go up a cup size, so this is what I did.

The first thing to say about this bra is how fantastically bright and colourful it is. The second is how beautifully padded it is. The straps especially are wide and soft and didn’t cut into my shoulders at all. The underband is also wide which means it doesn’t ride up or wrinkle. I had been worried about how the wires in an underwired sports bra would feel, but I am happy to report I couldn’t feel them at all. I fastened the bra on its loosest setting, and as advised it was a great fit. Come the summer when everything expands it might feel a bit tight, but in January it feels great.

I wore it whilst I did a workout DVD (hello Jillian Michaels and her 30 day shred!) which involves jumping jacks and other leaping up and down exercises, as well as bending up and down whilst lifting weights exercises. I am happy to report the bra felt great throughout, didn’t move or shift, held everything in place it was supposed to and sadly it didn’t manage to distract me from the workout (I could have done with some!)

Whilst the Panache Sports bra, and their entire range, seems to be aimed at the larger busted woman, I am very pleased to say it is still appropriate and downright comfortable for us women at the other end of the bra-size-spectrum. In fact I just have one problem with this bra. I looked at the washing instructions to see it said “wash similar colours together” and realised I don’t have anything in my wardrobe in similar colours to this bra!

Panache’s website, and this sports bra can be seen here.

This bra was sent to me by Panache for me to try, and to write an honest review of it. I received no payment for this review.