Enough was enough. I hadn’t run for almost a week. I couldn’t blame the weather – it had been perfect! Hot and still and beautiful. A combination of my car breaking down, lack of childcare for my daughrer and lots of work had combined to make it difficult to go out for a run. But the main reason I hadn’t was simple. Pure laziness.
I’m
normally highly motivated. I look forward to my runs and enjoy them, but even
if I’m not looking forward to the running itself, I look forward to being able
to go outside and snatch an hour of peace for myself. I love my family and
enjoy my work – most of the time – and I’m really lucky to have a relatively
simple life but it’s still so nice to just leave it all behind for an hour or
so a day and just be me. Listen to an audiobook or some music while I run or
just enjoy the quiet and the pat-pat-pat of my feet on the trail.
But I had
no excuses for not running. It was laziness pure and simple. Two weeks of a
very lazy holiday – I ran only 5 times! – with too much food and lazing around
by the pool and then coming back to warm sunshine meant I had trotted out all
the excuses I could find so I wouldn’t have to run.
Enough! I
was uncomfortable and felt bloated and miserable. I was irritable and grumpy. A
run! I changed into my running clothes but it STILL took me another hour to
move from the sofa. Do I want to turn into a fat, grumpy cowbag who lies around
on the sofa in sportswear? Nope! Out the door!
It was a
warm evening but I’d decided on my route. 9 miles around the perimeter of the
town. Hilly, but with the benefit of the last 3 miles being almost all
downhill. Best of all because I’d chosen a long route I could slow it all down.
No time pressure, no trying-to-beat-my-PB and not struggling against the warmth
of the evening.
By the time
I got out of the door it was 9.30pm so the sky was light – just – and the air
was still. Passing houses with all of the windows thrown open and the lights on
as it was too hot for curtains to be drawn. The grass was yellow on the lawns
and the pavements were dry and solid under my trainers.
I didn’t
see any other runners and not even a cat crossed in front of me. Everything was
still and the people and animals were stretched out indoors trying to escape
the heat. The sky was dark but the warmth still radiated from the houses and
pavements.
Every time
I felt the heat I slowed down further. Tonight’s run was just about getting out
there and I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it. I had a good audiobook on and as
I listened, I felt happy being outdoors and running. It’s amazing how running
lifts my mood.
I finished
the run in just over an hour and 20 mins and made a decision that I’d had
enough sofa time this month to last me a year. No more lazing around, no more
sitting on the sofa and no more being a cowbag.
