Sometimes you just do things (Scott Jurek, Eat and Run)

I find writing assignments interesting at times, when you are right in the heart of an essay it can be fun to find out new things.  When all you can see out of your window is blazing sunshine and an inviting warm breeze flows through the window, it’s extremely boring.  I headed out of the door for a run.  It had to be long.  Not quite sure how long but long enough to test my stamina, it had been a long time since I had done a run pushing double figures in the mileage column and it seemed like the perfect time to change that.

I bought some desperately needed anti-histamines on Tuesday morning.  The downside of the sunny weather is that I suffer with severe hayfever, with hayfever comes sneezing and sneezing isn’t conducive to running.  The anti-histamines sorted the problem of sneezing out, but the boredom and restlessness in the lovely weather remained.

I headed out of the door looking to get away from my assignment and for a bit of thinking time mid-afternoon.  Some say that it’s the worst time to head out for a run, especially when it’s hot but it seems like the perfect time to me, it’s a challenge.  Although I wouldn’t call myself a trail runner, I don’t particularly like running through a concrete jungle either.

Finding my way to the canal footpath was a welcome change to my normal running routes and it was a lot more scenic too.  Running beside a canal has its benefits, it’s generally quiet save for walkers, dogs and ducks who seem to take more than a slight interest in you until you scare them off by hissing at them!  There’s no traffic and it’s very flat.  Outbound, I found the locks and bridges to be great distance markers too, they’re far enough apart to keep you interested.

As I neared the turning point for my run after 5 miles, I passed a couple who were out walking.  I’d just passed a lock and didn’t run too far further before turning and heading back with renewed vigour that I had half a job done.  I passed the couple again only for them to stop me and ask why I’d only ran 100 yards or so further.  Surely passing through the lock, and down a narrow path was more hassle than it was worth to run only 100 yards further.  But that’s the beauty of the long run.  I knew that if I ran for 5 miles on my outbound journey, I could extend my route back home to round my run up to 11 miles, a perfect long run distance.  It was nice change to be stopped by someone who was genuinely interested in why I was running too!

I headed home with a sense of achievement, there’s something satisfying about a double-digit mile run which you don’t get with runs of a shorter distance.  It’s much easier to run when the wind is at your back and you fall into the perfect rhythm and that’s just what happened.  I returned home with a clear head + more determination to finish my assignment.

Heading towards the summer, the end of university and (hopefully) better weather, there should be more opportunities to get out there and log some serious miles.

That’s the plan.