Anew running group and a new enthusiasm!

You may know that I play football on Sundays.Well, the girls I play with have started going running on Tuesdays.They asked me to go along too, so for the past 2 weeks on a Tuesday night I have been running with them.The first week we were out for an hour and a half ( aaaaah!!) and last night we were out for about an hour.

Its quite a change for me to be running with other people and I have to say that it is a pleasant change!I have always ( well, 99% of the time) pounded the streets by myself. This has mostly been because its easier to just go out spontaneously by myself and also because I am sooooo slow that I feel uncomfortable going out with people who constantly have to wait for me.

There are 7 of us in our little group and our run has the advantage that we can go through the woods, across the golf course - places that I would not dream of going by myself.Also we are of differing ability levels.There are 4 who are faster, 2 in the middle and my friend J and myself bringing up the rear. The whole thing is about fun, having a chat and a stretch and then keeping running.Yesterday we all turned up even though it was peeing down with rain.

This week was easier than last week and I am hoping that I can shorten the gap between we back 2 and the others. I did suggest that I was too slow to run with the front 4 and that maybe I would stop. Their reaction was, kindly, to tell me not to be so silly and that they loved running with me.If I didn't come they would be on the phone to ask where I was!

So - I have a new running group and a new enthusiasm. All good!

Run number 4 in the rain.

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on my window pane.For some bizarre reason I felt the urge to run, so I put on my kit, ate a banana, drank some orange squash and headed out.I ran a different route to normal which was just under 3 miles.I really enjoyed myself and was pleased to have done it in just under 35 minutes.I just love running in the rain - the smell of fresh leaves and grass and the satisfaction of a hot shower afterwards.I am very happy with my running and this run makes 4 this week - a total of just over 8and a half miles. Smashing!

Running again - beginning from scratch.

It is an awfully long time since I wrote anything on here... and the reason for that is mainly because the old running palaver went down the tubes due to various problems like achilles tendon nonsense.Achilles soreness takes a long long time to heal.

Luckily... and I mean luckily, I am back and running!! Since Christmas I have lost quite a bit of weight - about 12 pounds and I am trying to lose more. That has made a big difference to my ability to run. Also my achilles are much better.

So, now I am running 3 times a week -  a distance each time of 1.85 miles. Each time I go out I try to run a little bit further on my route. To start with I was stopping to walk for a minute about 7 or 8 times a session then continuing running. The last time I went out I ran with only 3 stops to walk. My time has gone down from 25 minutes to 21 minutes 35 seconds!

For the first time in a couple of years I am really enjoying my running and am happy as I run. I aim to be able to run my whole circuit and then I will start to make it longer.I am going to sign up for a 5k race in June and a 10k race in September.I have been running for a month now and am back into a routine. If I miss a run I am unhappy!

If I can maintain this I will be so chuffed!!

Match of the Day...

oh, I wish my tackling looked like this!!!!


I realised just now that I haven't written about my big football match...the one where I was upset cos I was on the bench... Well, it happened on Saturday last and it was absolutely brilliant!!!


Yes, I was on the bench for the first 10 minutes or so, but then we had rolling subs so I took my turn and we all played an equal amount. I played as right back and Good Grief did I love it!!! I would never have guessed that I would enjoy getting stuck in so much. We were playing against the men ( husbands and boyfriends ) and I knew no fear!!!


Even if I do say so myself, I played well and made some good tackles as well as harrying the guys as they tried to get to goal. In the end we girls won 4-2. Such good fun and I felt a real camaraderie with the other girls. If you have a chance of joining a team I cannot recommend it enough!!

Run number 2 this week... brilliant!

Wow! This is great! I am just back from another run - just under a mile this time as I'm trying to play it safe. Yesterday I played football with the boys and my husband for an hour and my ankles did feel a little stiff this morning, but the sun was shining and I just fancied a run... so I did.


That's the good thing about the holidays - I can simply do what I want when I want. What a luxury!! I wish I had taken my camera as the countryside was lovely today. I shall remember from now on.... its probably not great for my running, but I do love posting the photos on here of where I run.


I shall try to dig out an old one of where I went today.