One of the things I love about this journey I am on with the Team Bangs On the Run project is the personal challenge every time I have a run in my training schedule to get out there, to do it.
Take today, for example.
Gorgeous, sunny day, first one we have had in a while, hanging with family, BBQ in the evening that kind of thing. Every cell was screaming to have a cold beer or rum and coke and chill with a book when the kids went to bed, but I knew I had 6.4k to crack out this evening. Sure, I could have given in and had a cheeky one and gone tomorrow, but what is endo kicks off tomorrow? Then I will have missed a training run and will have let myself down.
Whenever I start a run I tend to hate the first few kilometres. My brain natters away on and on about my body being tired, does my tum hurt, I feel a bit sick, my legs ache, blah blah blah. I have to distract myself, a little like when the kids reach meltdown point when they are tired and we are out - "look! How many cars can you see? Hey! Lets go and see hte ducks/trees/keys/cat/sky/any damn thing - distraction is key.
I currently run with my Hospital Records playlist; I love a bit of Drum and Bass to get my legs moving, and if I hear the brain start to get negative I concentrate on the beat. Thanks Nu:tone, you keep me going. When I get past the halfway point of the distance I am running for the day it definitely gets easier, almost as if my body knows we are on the home straight.
I recently had a week away with family in Cornwall. I re-discovered that I am terrible at not over-eating and indulging if I am in a house with lovely food in front of me all the time and as much booze as Uncle John can pour for me. Of course, there is a lot to be said for letting go and enjoying a convivial meal etc, but after a week of overating which had been preceded by a raw stint I could definitely feel the difference in my body. My endo was worse every day, I was tired, lethargic. Running was hard. So, I am back and eating cleanly alongside my training.
Although I dip in and out of high raw/total raw patterns of eating, in general I eat 50-70% raw food in my diet, and I am wheat and dairy free. I realised I was struggling to ensure I either ate enough for my training, or didn't over eat. Thanks to the lovely Scribbles I am trialling the Nutracheck online food diary. The simple concept, as we all know, is to eat less and move more to lose weight. So, by simply entering my calories and exercise on a daily basis I can track my intake and keep an eye on where the extra calories are going. I find it really useful to be honest with myself. I can EASILY imagine that "I havent eaten much today so i can happily gorge on xyz..." and that's where the weight creeps in, folks.
What I also love about running is that for every run I do it counteracts the bad days when I am on the sofa. On a day when I run I feel superhuman, energetic, alive. When I feel like this I forget how awful it feels to be in pain. Just when I am in the throes of endo I forget how much I do actually achieve, how my body feels when it moves, and ho those dear endorphins pulsea around.
Running gives me the flipside. It gives me the white to the black, the vibrancy to the flatline. The synchronicity to the chronic.
So, I am out there, people. I am following the Nike Coach training programme for the Run to the Beat half marathon and love how I can track my runs, calories and records online and on my iPhone. A 6k run tonight means that cake I had with my Grandad for his 90th today has just been burnt off. This is a fabulous thing for many reasons, not least that another event I have in September is to be bridesmaid to Lauren and Jamie, my partners brother and sis in law to be - I want to feel proud of my body and the way I feel as I follow them down the aisle, so I have got some work to do, people :)
This week I have a 9.5k to run on Tuesday and 6.5k on Friday, when I will be running with fellow Team Bangs lady Sarah Scribbles in my old stomping ground of Vicky Park.
Stay with me on the journey to September - can the bridesmaid run to the beat?
You betcha.
DD
x
Image: © Copyright tristan forward
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