January Review

January has come and gone and by now lots of people have given up on their New Year Resolutions and have fallen by the wayside.  

I'm very pleased to say that so far I'm sticking with mine!

You might remember that I decided to join a running club so that my idle arse felt compelled to get out there and run even when I'd rather be tucked up in my nice warm living room in front of the tv eating a box of chocolates and drinking copious amounts of red wine!

When the time comes to go out running I do still feel very reluctant but even though we had some dreadful weather during January I stuck with it and turned up for the club runs. It would have been very easy to stay home when there was ice and snow on the roads (and would probably have been the more sensible option!) but that would have set me on the slippery slope to ruin!

Running in the ice and snow was an interesting experience to say the least.  I have been taking Adcal for about a year now as my bone density is rather low due to premature menopause. I have something called osteopenia which is one step away from osteoperosis so I really do need to be sensible and not get myself into a situation where I might break a bone!  On the flip side, running is good for bone density, and I really don't like to be put off doing something once I make up my mind to do it.

There are two things I particularly like about club running.

• I have to be in a certain place at a certain time and can't put off the evil moment!   
• I get to follow somebody else and I have no clue how far we're going or when the torture will end!  

As a result of following the pack I've clocked up runs of over 4 miles on a few occasions without really realizing how far I'm going.   During the icy runs I was far too busy concentrating on staying upright and we ran really slowly - although it was during these runs that I encountered my first inclines - not hills, just inclines - but yea gads did my little old heart and lungs have to work hard to get me up them. 

I had planned to run with a lady of similar ability on our last mid week run of the month but she was suffering a strain and was too slow for even me to run with. I hope it hasn't knocked her confidence too much so she doesn't turn up again as, when she's on form she is of a similar ability to me. (we run together on the Sunday runs and I think we struggle in the same ways!)

I spent a good portion of my last  run with the club going it alone, watching the heels of the pack in the distance.  Pete (who runs the club) pulled back and ran with me a little while and before we knew it I was up with the main pack and stayed with them.  This was a great confidence booster even though I didn't feel able to go more than 4.5 miles (they do a loop and drop off the less able runners before continuing on for more miles) and had to head for the sanctuary of the cafe!

So, what have I learned recently?

Well, I think I'm bloody awesome!

OK so I can't cover quite as many miles as the more experienced runners but  I can run for over 4 miles without stopping!

I'm guilty of looking at what everyone else can do and I just don't match up - however, I should be thinking about what I can do compared to the average 50 something year old.  And compared to most people I know who are my age (and lots who are younger) I'm doing a blimming awesome job!  

I would like to run further but if I find that I'm only able to run 4 miles a couple of times a week then hey - that's amazing!

Go Me!

Lets hope I'm still so full of beans when I do the February Review!

Cheers for reading.   Till next time

Netty