Tuesday 26th October – the day I last went for a run. That’s before today, that is. My running hiatus is over and I am back on the road.
I never intended to take such an extended break away from running. In truth, the Yorkshire marathon broke me. I wasn’t fit enough and hadn’t done enough training due to a foot injury. But, my instance on being on that start line overruled my common sense.
Completing the marathon on 4 hours and 1 second was by no means a shabby effort. On the one hand, it impressed me that I had the base fitness to achieve such a feat of endurance off the back of inadequate preparations. On the other hand I could feel just how hard a toll it had taken on my body.
Six runs post-marathon I decided to take a week off. While my persistent foot injury had not returned, quite amazingly, I did have various niggles elsewhere. Time of the heal was my logic.
One week became two and two became three. I truth, I wasn’t missing running. In itself that was a worry. How could I not miss something I love so much?
In November I suffered a painful flare of my rheumatoid arthritis. I was in agony for two weeks before I finally got a steroid injection from my GP. Within 24 hours I was feeling fine once again. But I still didn’t fancy running.
Then the back-to-back storms of Arwen and Barra were a fine excuse not to head out for a run.
I wasn’t a slouch during this hiatus though. I was regularly walking the dogs and staying active. I just wasn’t raising my heart rate at all.
So, why today? Why Friday 17th December 2021 to make a return.
Well, why not today?
Actually, it was a tweet that got me going again.
We are seemingly back at the ‘runners as pariahs’ stage of the pandemic 🙄 Thank god for @RunComPod!
— Emma Walker (@EmmaW82) December 17, 2021
The thought of being able to annoy the idiots who scoff at running who are out doing something positively healthy doesn’t half wind me up. So thanks to Emma (and the glorious blue sky, sunny and crisp winter Yorkshire day) I went out on my lunch break.
So what if it was only 2.8 miles and took over half an hour. I was out and I stopped for a chat with an old work colleague. The point is for me that I put my trainers on (and legging, and 2-in-1 short, and thermal base-layer, and long-sleeve top, and runner sweater, and buff, and woolly hat, and gloves) and ran.
I think I’ll take tomorrow off…
