more running

today's run did not start out well. it took me about an hour to get changed and put on my shoes and i dithered and sulked for most of that. i surfed the net and generally pissed about until even n was getting annoyed. are you running or not? he asked pointedly.

the wind was cold. there were a lot of cars on the first stretch. i passed a thuggish looking young man and thought to myself hmph. tracksuit bottoms. how classy. (keep in mind at this point i  am wearing what could only be considered an unflattering sausage casing of purple lycra).

i rounded the bend. there was a small village church, flowers blooming, sun shining against the stone. behind it a rapeseed field in full bright yellow bloom. i rounded the next bend heading up water lane hill and all of the hedgerows were green and alive with birds and rabbits. the branches of the trees met over the road and it was so beautiful it almost made me cry. oh how awful your life is, i thought to myself, that you are forced - FORCED to go out and be a part of such an incredible landscape. that you can move and run and breath and experience all of this beauty just outside your door.

that is why i run. i will try to remember that from the beginning next time.

clearly mad

i ran my 2nd ever 10k race this morning - the whitstable 10k. it seemed like a good idea a few months ago when it was all far flung and esoteric. it's amazing how proximity changes your view on things.

however, run i did - and i shaved 4 minutes off of my last 10k which is none-too-shabby-if-i-do-say-myself.

then all the runners from faversham running club headed to the pub to celebrate, and celebrate the first year of the clubs' existence. "just one," i thought.

4 pints of oyster stout later.

it's true. we really are a drinking club with a running problem. it's nice to find your people.

pre-stout