A Grand Soft Day

As you might expect, here in Ireland we have many ways to describe the rain, My favourite is ‘Tis a grand soft day’, which means that kind of warm drizzly rain that doesn’t really fall so much as just sit in the air until everything is damp (sometimes it is also used ironically to describe really awful weather).

Today was just such as day and I really enjoyed it. I had given my last, awful, run some thought and came up with a plan. I wanted to run again as soon as I could to avoid getting The Fear and convincing myself I would never run again. My plan was simply to be gentle on myself and not worry about speed, pace or anything else except enjoying my run. I thought back to the run I remembered enjoying the most and realised it had been a time I had used Jeff Galloway’s walk/run method http://www.jeffgalloway.com/ as my first run back after a stomach bug.

Before I even got that far I decided to double the length of my warm up. I have a great place to warm up that takes me down to the edge of the lake and it is beautiful so Max and I had a nice walk and jog for 7-8 minutes. Then my run was 1 minute running and 1 minute of walking for my first 2.5k and then 2 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking interval for last 2.5k. I raised my pace for the runs and tried to keep it the same for all the intervals.

I loved every minute of it! I was able to be very mindful with my run (http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15332/how-to-turn-your-run-into-a-mindful-meditation.html). I took notice of the amazing different trees around me, listened to the sounds of the birds, watched Max exploring and sniffing and observed the differences in surface beneath my feet. As I switched to the 2 minute running intervals, I paid close attention to my form. Where my arms were, how my feet were falling, how high was I lifting my knees and feet and how much my glutes and hamstrings were contracting. Lastly, I enjoyed the feeling of the fresh soft rain on my face.

For my last 2 minutes I picked up the pace and sprinted, feeling the air on my face, the speed in my legs and oxygen in my lungs.

I achieved a new pb too! Not for my fastest 5k or reaching a new speed, but for having my most enjoyable run ever. This girl’s running mojo is back! 🙂

   

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