So, two months have passed and it’s April already. In fact it’s Easter and the weather outside is glorious! As I sat in the teahouse this morning with my quadspresso, a crazy thought kept returning to my mind… maybe I should check whether I’m ready to run with Daren… by going for a short run?
I had a few problems finding shorts & t-shirt in my kit-drawer, as they were hidden below all the cold-weather gear, but I eventually managed to get out the door wearing something appropriate for the day.
It was only a short run out to Ditchling Common & back but it was lovely to be out… it really was gorgeous out there!
Sadly, where once half of this journey would have been in open countryside, now there are rabbit-hutch houses almost right up to the common. Architectural merit = nil. Solar panels = nil. The number of deep dykes with emergency flotation devices suggest that this land is not ideal for building, whilst the houses themselves are jammed in with only one clear aim… maximise profit for the housebuilder.
These thoughts were a useful distraction from the other things going on in my head, such as: OMG why is this such hard work! It’s not that I have done no exercise in the intervening two months, but I have certainly not run anywhere. Exercise has consisted of gardening (much more focus on upper-body strength) and a series of short HIT exercises… 16 in total spread across the time.
The HIT exercises had given me the impression that my cardio fitness was improving… they were at least slowly becoming easier to do and to recover from. However, it is clear that to be able to run, I actually need to run.
So, I ended up dispatching a massively ambitious 2.4 miles in 23 minutes… average 6.25 mph… which is not so bad for a first gentle run. Now all I need to do is to get back out there a few more times before we next run the hilly loop. Watch this space… maybe on Faster Monday 🙂
