First event of 2015

So today was my first event of 2015.  Having that New Year feeling where you are all positive and geared up for exercise and weight loss I signed up for a 10k run at the Olympic park in Stratford.  I woke up this morning and it is peeing down outside and quite frankly I would much rather enjoy a big fat bacon sandwich and getting back in bed rather than leaving the house, let alone running and a 10k at that! But I did it anyway.

I have said before I am a grumpy runner and I am.  I am not a grumpy person at all but when it comes to exercise being a true gemini I transform into my alter ego which is a whiny little bitch.  Everything about it seems to irritate me. When people cheer it bugs me rather than inspire me as I think yeah great you cheer whilst you stand there and I will carry on running.  I don’t smile. I generally feel like I will probably die at any minute and check my Garmin watch quite regularly which kills a little piece of my soul every time as I will it to magically say 1k left and it generally does the opposite and shows I have only actually run 1k – this happened today but at about 3k.  It was cold and wet and windy and not nice but me being me went bright red pretty quickly and still managed to sweat though I could have just pretended it was rain.

So the 10k run consisted of 3 laps – I hate laps it just makes me think after 1 oh no 2 more of those and then after 2 I think there is no way I can do another – exactly this happened today.

At about 2k in the majority of the pack had gone off ahead of me and there were some behind me, but not that many.  I spent most of this run looking behind me thinking I just need to finish and please god not let me be last. There were 8 other people I knew doing this race all super fit and all quicker than me, including my husband.  At about 2k I felt a pat on my bum and realised it was my husband and dread filled me thinking seriously I know I run like a disabled tortoise but he’s lapped me already?! I found out at the end he hadn’t and instead he had decided that he would run this with me so had waited. I honestly don’t think I would have finished without him running with me today I wanted to walk several times but he was very patient and encouraging, as always, and kept telling me I could do it. Sometimes I think he is a liar ;-p

I finished and on the final straight the marshall with the megaphone said ‘cor look at that pink face’ yeah thanks mate! Then a friend tried to cheer me on saying come on give me a smile – he got a stern no. Then another friend started running next to me cheering me on and I told her to f*ck off!  I did warn you I was a grumpy runner. I have since apologised of course.

So I have my medal and found everyone else who of course finished before me. Had a little cry in the car on the way home as I was embarrassed – I am not good at running but I do give it a go.

Anyway it’s done now and although I am now home I am still cold and need a hot bath to warm up.

That’s my exercise done for the day and I have just got out some beef for a stir fry – I will of course be pretending with every mouthful that it is a big fat Krispy Kreme donut instead (a girl can dream right)!