Tuesday 1 February 2011

And on the 32nd day she...

...RAN!

No, really! I know... "Loon!" I hear you cry! And I might just have to concede this time that I actually am.  However, this looney behaviour, lead to a new discovery:

PRB:  Level 2!

And this is how it happened...

Having arranged a very complicated non-specific, yet definitely running at some point meeting with Paula, I arrived home feeling distinctly dispirited; I did not want to go out running. After all, why did I have to? I'd run every day in January, that's 31 days, 151.6 miles, more than I'd ever run (all in one go) before, surely I deserved a rest? Surely? Well, no because it may be the end of Janathon, but it's only the beginning of my Magathon Marathon training and although my training plan very kindly allows me a rest day today, I know I'm going to crave it tommorrow, with a late finish from work and a long drive home. So, I texted Paula, apologising that if I waited to run with her, I'd never leave the house and promptly forced myself to lace up my trainers, don my cap and fire up the Garmin.

This is the beginning of Level 2 - in order to achieve this superior level of PRB, you have to begin with a mental mountain; it begins with the hard climb to the top. Oh, and it was a hard climb! Everything hurt: my legs, feet, hips, bum, arms, neck, shoulders, little finger (though more to do with an earlier paper cut than running!), everything! I slogged on, willing wobbly jelly legs to at least support my knackered frame, let alone push me along! At mile 2 I was still struggling and I nearly turned for home but I employed PRB: "You can do this, you are strong, you are fit, you are a runner" I told myself, and so I kept going.

At mile 3 I turned into the park, and this is where I reached the top of my mental mountain. It wasn't that my body stopped aching, or that I necessarily felt any better, but I felt different somehow... I had started to believe. As if by magic, my Ipod started to encourage me and as the Libertines told me not to look back into [Janathon] I picked up my pace with the beat of the music. By the time the Ceasars were advising me: "you can't stop now / it's already begun / you feel it  / running through your bones", I really was feeling it. My runner's high was getting greater and greater so that as I hit a steep downhill section in the park, steeped in the semi-darkness of the increasing twilight, I was well and truly throwing myself down my mental mountain. In literal terms it looked something like this:

PRB: Level 2
The uplifting sounds of 'Hey Soul Sister' by Train blasting through my earphones;
Me: "I can be myself now finally, in fact there's nothing I can't be"... aloud... pelting down the hill...
"Hey soul sister, ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair, you know!"...
Arms stretched horizontal to my body like a small child running free... louder... faster... smiling... loving it!

When a dog walker emerged from the bushes!

He looked at me. I looked at him. The expression on his face read: 'What a complete Loon!'. And he was right; but I am a PRB Level 2 Loon... so there!

Distance: 5 miles
Weather: warmer as it had been raining earlier.
Feeling: Great because I ran!
See my run here

MagathonTraining Mileage: 164.46

13 comments:

  1. Great run Maggie please enjoy your rest tomorrow!

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  2. I ran toooo :D

    Definitely having a rest day tomorrow though!

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  3. Great run Maggie and your addiction to running definitely beats mine!when I'd done my challenge I stopped and didn't run for a week and not doing much now!I admire your grit and determination!well done in the janathon and I hope you enjoy your training for your magathon,dont put too much pressure on yourself and enjoy!!xx will have to meet up at some point and I'll do a training run with you,xx

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  4. I ran too on day 32! Glad the positive thinking is working for you, the mind has to be as strong as the body is fit it seems. Wanted to leave comment yesterday to say WELL DONE but computer said NO, apologies for the late congratulations

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  5. Rest days all round tomorrow Sheri! I promise Pete I will!

    Di... I can't seem to stop running! Although in fairness, you ran further than me in your challenge, so I'm not surprised you put a bit of distance between you and running for a while! :-) Definitely yes to meeting up and doing a run together... we'll have to match our diaries up xx

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  6. Thanks Shaz... congrats to you as well... If nothing else this Janathon, that's exactly what I've learnt in fact, most of the time, it's more in the mind than in the body... before Janathon, I'd never have tried running with my achey body today, as it is I ache less now as a result! :-)

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  7. You are truly hardcore. The nearest I got to a run today was a walk to the station!

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  8. Face it ... you are an addict Maggiee!! Says she ... looking away sheepishly (or is that squirrelly?!?) or is that innocently ... who knows 'nothing' about exercise addiction!! And, who went out today for another easy 30 minute run!

    Just be careful with your marathon training and stick to what the training programme says. More is definitely NOT better, and rest definitely is a necessary part of your training, if you want to get to that start line!!

    I look forward to keeping up with your training and your blogging and your stories. And, any words of encouragement or advice will warmly be offered!

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  9. Jogalog... I prefer hardcore to loon! I'm going with that! And I think you had the right idea! A well earned rest!! :-)

    Thank you so much Midgie... It's definitely an addiction! My OH has been telling me I'm obsessed for a year or so now, I think I've just proved him right! Good job on your easy 30 minute, I have to say I think I might just embrace my rest day tomorrow! :-)

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  10. Yay!
    Continue the madness ;) I was worried if I stopped I might never start again.
    Enjoy your rest day :)

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  11. Maggiee! I've been using PRB level one for the last week, well since you wrote about it, and have found it enormously useful. But I had no idea there was a level 2. Sounds even better.

    I ran on the 1 Feb as well. It was running club night and I was tired and sore and so incredibly hot here - about 36C and 75% humidity. So it was a hard run and I nearly gave up, but then half way through I remembered PRB and thought, don't be silly, you can do this, you're fine, you're strong and you can have a big glass of water at the end. And I finished the run.

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  12. Great running effort today! Enjoy your well deserved rest tomorrow. :-)

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  13. Yay fab run love that you were singing out loud haha!!!

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Thanks for reading... feel free to leave me a message. Maggiee x