The Week of Christmas Craziness

Christmas craziness has hit me this week - its been very busy and full of lots of different elements; one of which still remains running of course! Work has dominated proceedings and I have worked a lot of long days, late evenings and had something work related on all seven days of the week. It is easy to see how you could let running slip from your agenda during times/weeks like this - but for me its the one constant that keeps me sane. 

MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: I am not really sure why, but Monday night's weights class really hit my body hard this week, and I woke with bad DOMs. An easy 5 miles was therefore in order trying to shake out my legs a little.

WEDNESDAY: after a late night working Tuesday and another long day ahead taking some young people bowling in the evening as part of their Christmas social, it was tough to get out of bed this morning. I wanted to push myself a little more on my run but knew I needed to find the challenge from somewhere other than my own motivation. On occasions when I feel like this, I like to take to the hills; you cannot hide from the challenge on the inclines! I logged 4 miles with 5 hills tests. 

THURSDAY: tonight's 6 miles were split into two runs; 3 by myself with some steady loops incorporating a couple of hills again, followed by three more sociable miles with my Run Club, taking part in a Christmas photo challenge (see image) ending in chocolate orange and drinks at the pub. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day - although working from 7:30am-9:30pm did not feel like much of a break, and after an already busy week, by the time I got home I was knackered. I had also felt a bit ill during the day, which is unlike me, but I certainly felt like I was struggling a little. 

SATURDAY: for the first time in what feels like forever, when my alarm went off this morning I did not instantly want to go to parkrun. The tiredness remained and the thought of just rolling over into bed and hiding in the covers felt very appealing. Of course, I still found myself stood in the chilly wind whipping across Boultham Park, and what motivated me to be there was getting my weekly hit of chatter and friends, not really the running! As I walked over to the start area with the other hundreds of runners I suddenly remembered I had set myself a goal for this week's run. Last week I had been chatting to a fellow runner I am often running near to at parkrun and had mentioned how I wanted to try and get back under 21 minutes before the end of 2019. My fellow parkrunner had told me to stick with him next week and he would try pace me under the time. I had forgotten his kind offer until he smiled at me from the starting line up this morning. 'Ready?' he asked. Well I wasn't. but I nodded anyway!

I stuck with my running friend on all three loops of the course, focused on nothing more than following his footsteps and trusting his pacing. My mind was tunnelled almost, nothing registered about how tired I was or how my legs felt, I was just running. Stopping my watch in the finish funnel my pacer turned and gave me a high 5 before I even had chance to look at the screen; I knew I had done it. 20:56 is not a PB, but I was really happy to meet my target, and very thankful of my pacer too, as I truly would not have done that this week without him.

​SUNDAY: today was another double run day, with a festive 3 mile spin around the Lincoln Santa Run in the morning, and a steady 5 miles later in the day. I took on the Santa Run last year with work colleagues, as the charity I work for is one of the causes people can chose to fundraise towards as part of the event. This year again the run had a slight work tinge to it, as I arrived early with 'Poacher' our mascot to entertain the crowds. It is lovely seeing all the families and friends join together in a sea of red and I hope our presence added a bit extra to the event. I ran fast around the 3 mile course, chasing after some speedy young lads (and trying just to warm up!) and placed first female for the second year running - its not a race really though! I think what shocked people more was to see me running in trousers rather than shorts..! After packing away all work related items I will admit I crashed a little in the afternoon, I think the whole week hit me a bit, but a few mind clearing miles were needed and I was pleased I did lace my trainers up again. 

Next week is a bit quieter - thankfully!