Grab a brew & let's have a catch up!

 Hello!

Have you missed me? No Sunday post this week, because I'll be honest, I ended up having 10 hours of blissful sleep.. I will not confirm nor deny if it was down to a cheeky Sunday pint or not. I will let you, dear reader, make your own mind up about that... 

But I did spend Sunday afternoon watching / oggling Freddie Flintoff playing cricket. 

Vernon's T20 cricket match

So! We have a lot to catch up on.. Hold on tight...

Wednesday Lions run 🦁

I really am enjoying these Wednesday runs being part of my weekly routine now. It's the middle of the week, they take place in what I would call an area of natural beauty. We don't pound the pavements around housing estates, it is perfect escapism for what is a very busy hectic week. (always!) It really does give me time to just switch off and feel free. I'm really glad I'm working hard to keep this one up.

Anyway, this week I was finally able to tick something off my running bucket list that I've been wanting to do for ages.  Run down the canal!

At my doorstep is the beautiful Leeds, Liverpool canal, and I really do not head that way quite as often as I should. Probably because it's one of those things that because it is on your doorstep, you neglect it. Not this week! I was still recovering from the flu, and I very stupidly forgot to bring tissues with me, so all through this run I was battling with something else running... my nose. 
The weather was stunning, yellow T-shirts were out in their glory, Jess and I were able to have a mid week catch up, running at a nice sociable pace. It really was, bliss.

The view from the canal heading towards Blackburn.

One thing I did decide however, with this being my first experience of canal running. There is no way that I could do marathon training along there. As beautiful as it is, the monotonous of the scenery not changing often would lead to my mental health taking an absolute nosedive. Sorry canal, you are beautiful and peaceful, but it's a no from me. 

Parkrun.

Special Parkrun this week, and it was glaringly obvious. Preston Parkrun was 10! The start was heaving so I was excited to see how many in attendance there actually was. It turned out there were 508 of us! We were very quiet on the lion's side - and we were also hard to spot this week because we had been encouraged to wear our Parkrun milestone T-shirts this week. 

Gill & family (a fellow lion) at the front, 

Jeanette and I - behind.

The hilarious thing about this photo is that James also stood next to me, but the photo makes it look like he was not in attendance this week - so, I hope this little mention suffices James! 

Because of how busy the park was getting, we decided to head to the start line during the run briefing, because we knew how hectic it was going to be. And it was. But! In defence, it was so lovely just to have a constant stream of purple, red, black and green going through the park - and the sun was out, so this instantly lifted everyone's mood.

We had decided at the start of the run, that it was not a PB week, we were going out there to just enjoy the atmosphere and get another run under our belts (#46 for me!)

James shot off, Janette shot off and I just hoped that I was on the road to recovery from this flu. I still had a bit of an annoying cough but I tried my best. I've not come to the conclusion not to look at my watch and just go for it. But, this week, there was no one around me who is usually at my pace? Was I too fast? Or too slow? 

I was a bit rebellious this week, Parkrun state: "no high 5s" (even though covid no longer exists*) 

*we all know it does

But, when I had completed my first lap George was there cheering me on! So we were very naughty and shared a high 5. Terrible, terrible etiquette. But it felt so nice to have that recognition, and someone cheering from the start line as I headed for the 2nd attempt of *The Hill*   

(I need to work on a better name for the hill)

I hit the 3rd and final hill and checked behind me, as I always do, and spotted a familiar face. It was Mark, with the pram. That was odd? They've usually lapped me by now. So the plan in my head was, stick with Mark and I might get around 30 minutes. He overtook me on the hill (naturally), he was with his wife, Emily. My plan was to keep up with them. I managed to catch them up. I could hear Mark coaching Emily, so I decided to take note and listen. 
They caught up with me. Emily recently got a PB that I am still dreaming of, so I just offered a bit of encouragement "Come on Emily, you're faster than me." But, she admitted, she was struggling this week. We decided to run together. "Last 3/4 minutes of running, come on girls."  I didn't know how much I had left in the tank. I picked my pace up trying to sprint to the finish. I passed under the final bridge and then... "Go on Sammie!"  Eh? Where did that come from? Who on earth was shouting at me? I did some sort of ballerina spin, while trying to run. I was completely put off, but it was nice to get the final push. (Sophie and Ric & Bailey dog) were coming down onto the park and had spotted my bright white hair and purple running top. 
I lost Mark & Emily and pushed on. 

Pipped at the post

This lady pipped me right at the end, and straight away turned around and apologised. I laughed, because I have been there before. But at the end of the day, you've got to do what you've got to do. I was happy for her. 

My watch had been playing up this morning, so I had no idea what time I was on. It was a bit of an excruciating wait for the text. 31.16. 

But it wasn't a PB week.. That's another 11 seconds off. I'm so close to my 30 minutes. 

Sunday Long run

Now, I was a bit nervous about this because I had no idea how it was going to pan out. I'd been to the gym to do a cardio session Friday, Parkrun on Saturday, and now the long run on Sunday. I didn't want to burn out. From previous lessons learnt, I took my hydration pack and we set off. It was a good temperature on Sunday morning and I felt good. We did one of my favourite routes around Hoghton, and had lots of chats as we got around the route. I didn't have any negativity this time and at one point just said:

"Shelby, I was really negative last time we did this run. I'm going to finish it today."

And that's exactly what I did. There were points where I slowed down. But there is no way I am able to keep up my 5k pace on a long run. 15k covered. I was so proud of myself. My hips not so much, so it was a good job I booked on to the stretch class after. (it helped, as much as it hurt at the time!) 

Sunday Run crew 🦁 

inc. Stu (who is always playing photographer!)

We all managed to avoid the rain, and enjoyed the company that we were out with. I really do feel like I'm with my second family when I'm out on a Sunday morning. Running does something to you that I just cannot describe. It helps to put things into perspective. It helps you to plan. It helps you to admit things about yourself you never would admit in the midst of life. The connection you make with other runners is like no other. 
Maybe this is because I'm a little crazy and it's a bit of a therapy session to me. So I guess I need to end this blog with something that probably we all forget to do in the busy-ness we call life.

To anyone who I have ever run with, or will run with, or met through running. 

This week, this blog is for you.

Thank you. 

Just for being amazing little you, and sharing some amazing (& not so amazing) moments with me. I'm learning so much about myself, and I really have the running bug. For the past few months, I have not moaned about getting out of the house, I've not struggled to get out of the house. 

I've got out, I've done it and that's because of the network friends I have around me.

💚Thank you. 💚