It’s better going that way

Bloggage from 24/02/14

That statement just about sums up yesterday’s run. It was so very windy, it made running a little difficult. In fact, the wind was so gale force out there, it made walking difficult along some stretches of the sea front. It was especially tricky going out, so when I was on the return leg, the wind was mainly behind me then, but another runner was running in the opposite direction, and he was indeed correct – much harder! However, looking at it positively, I had to work much harder and therefore, I got more out of the run. I wasn’t simply running up hills, I was running against the wind and a bit of resistance training is very useful.

So last week, I ran 49.58 miles. I wanted to run at least 40 miles, although I was aiming for 50 miles in order to meet my target of 160 for the month. In actuality, I did just over 50 miles, since I got to restart my Garmin at some points.

Monday 17^th Feb: A wet and rainy run along the sea front. It really got torrential out there, but it also felt very refreshing. Overall, I ran 6 miles

Tuesday 18^th Feb: I went running a little later than normal and it started to get pretty dark whilst I was out. I ran 6.11 miles

Wednesday 19^th Feb: I ran 6.18 miles and I went a little further along the coast. Sometimes, I run up and down and repeat sections of the seafront to make up the mileage, but I didn’t need to on this run.

Thursday 20^th Feb: I ran shorter than 6 miles and ended up doing 5.18 miles. Again, it was getting dark. However, I made sure I put a lot of effort into my runs up the hills.

Friday 21^st Feb: I felt a little chilly and pretty tired on this run. However, I did manage to do the 6 miles that I was aiming for and ended up on 6.04 miles.

Saturday 22^nd Feb: I decided to explore further along the coast than I had previously. I went down the big steps to Goodrington. There were lots of steps and lots of hills to be had on this run, but the weather was glorious. I was warm from running and the sun was shining, I wish I’d taken money for an ice cream. Overall, I ran 10.07 miles

Sunday 23^rd Feb: I was determined to continue my little running streak and get in more than 6 miles, in order to reach my target for the month. My calfs and quads were now beginning to ache after the repeated hill running and climbing of steps. Yesterday was also extremely windy, so there were many points where I nearly gave up on running longer than 6 miles. Yet, I prevailed and I carried on – I was determined that the wind was not going to beat me! I had to run up and down a bit, to make up the mileage and I even ran around the block at the end, but eventually it was worth it and I clocked up 10 miles.

First run in Paignton

Yesterday, I arrived in Paignton after a 6 ½ hour journey aboard a National Express coach, from London. I wasn’t taking any chances with the trains and didn’t relish the prospect of unloading all my luggage and stuff off of one train and on to another or a bus. So, I chose the most straightforward approach, and the longest. It really was an extremely long coach journey and we stopped at Heathrow for around 25 mins loading up dozens of people onto the coach until it was completely full.

When I finally arrived, I was met at the bus stop and shown around the school. I will be here for two weeks teaching EFL students and helping out at the school. Paignton really is a beautiful place and now the storms have gone, you can really appreciate the seafront and the stunning coast line. So, I went for a little walk yesterday, just to explore my surroundings and figure out where would be best to run.

Today, I ran along the seafront. Weather-wise, it really was a beautiful day, so I can’t really blame people for wanting to get out there and make the most of it. However, I was constantly dodging people, kids, kids on scooters (dangerous...), yappy dogs, running dogs, all sorts and sizes of dog and people and kids on bikes. I know, I know, it sounds a bit miserable of me.

However, the weather was so bright and sunny that in my perfect imagining of my run, I would just have been running along serenely and peacefully. Instead, I kept thinking I was going to trip over a puppy or that some mad child on a scooter was going to crash into me. On that note, whenever I have children, I am never ever buying them a scooter... So, the run had its good points and its bad points.

I couldn’t fault the scenery on this run or the weather. It was chilly, but incredibly sunny, which equals perfect running conditions. And did I mention the scenery was beautiful! However, on a ‘to be expected’ note, I had no clue in the world where I was going. I would run and then sort of stop and glance around me to figure out my next move. I was also slow. I could have carried on down the coast, but I reached the top of a very big hill and was facing some very steep steps and I couldn’t decide. A future note to myself is: If you can’t decide, do it anyway.