The Frustration of A Winter Cold

November was a frustrating month for training.  December has started just the same.  I can’t seem to shake a cold that’s lingered for weeks and just last week visited the doctor’s for a suspected case of sinusitis.  I didn’t manage to actually see a doctor but that’s a story for another time.

At some point in the last snot-filled, slightly hoarse and otherwise unpleasant month I finally entered my second half marathon.  There’s something slightly crazy about wanting to put yourself through hundreds of miles of training to run 13.1 miles for the sheer hell of it.  However, I’m determined that next autumn’s Rochdale Half Marathon won’t be a one-off.  I am already eyeing up another half marathon for the spring.

My Second Half Marathon: An Odd Kind of Motivation

I made the decision to enter a half marathon, not knowing exactly which, when I went out for a coffee with a friend I met at Sweatshop Running Club four years ago.  The idea of entering a half marathon had been floating around my head for a few months. I committed after speaking to a long-term running buddy.  ‘You don’t have to do it, but I know you could’ was the crux of what she had to say that morning over a coffee.  It is true.  I’m a stubborn-as-a-mule character when I have my mind set on something and I ought to put that to good use.

The monotony of the long run is strangely enjoyable.  Letting go of everyday stresses can only happen when you are totally immersed in what you are doing.  Running long distances provides that environment.

I chose to enter the Rochdale Half Marathon as the route rekindles a number of childhood memories.  Runners complete one lap around the idyllic Hollingworth Lake, where I visited numerous times growing up.  The start and finish lines, near Rochdale Town Hall also bring back fond memories.

My Short Term Goal

In the short term I am aiming to be fit for Christmas Day.  I love nothing more than heading out of the door after the hubbub of Christmas morning.  Running before Christmas is the perfect justification for an extra slice of cranberry sauce laden turkey.  With just eight days to go and a lingering cold that just won’t shift I’m becoming nervous that I will make my Christmas run.  But I am determined that I will.  It will be the start of a long period of training because next year is a busy one.  I am aiming to better my current personal best over 10k in the annual Bury 10k.  However, the real challenge will come in the spring and autumn months as I prepare for not one, but two half marathons.