No Pain - No Gain
7:30am on Saturday is getting a bit easier. It does help that the weather has been great and there’s nothing like sun to get you out of bed. I’m still nervous before these big runs. Today’s run was 8km (or 50 mins) with an emphasis was on time, not distance.
After a quick warm-up, it was across the Sydney Harbour Bridge again. I almost made it across without stopping, so that showed that there was some improvement already! My head was in a mess with all the negative talk - I was convincing myself that stops were ok, in fact beneficial. Dave helped by picking out goals along the bridge, the next pylon or speed camera...
My 50 minutes got me through 7.5km, in pain. The worst pain was still in my neck and shoulders. My whole upper body seemed like a dead weight and I was struggling to carry it! My feet were beginning to ache too. Our coach came bouncing alongside at once stage and I gave him a full blown report of my ailments. Seems posture might have had a lot to do with it. I was crouched over... He also listened to how heavy my feet were (which reminded me of how my mam likens me to an elephant when I’m going upstairs in her house). We compared my elephant stomps to his fairy-like steps and I knew I was working way harder than I had to. This guy is 160kgs of muscle, a Boot Camp personal trainer for the army, and I was thundering like the clappers beside him. It was way too hard to change my posture at this stage of the run, but a mental note was made for the next time!
Not long after that realisation Dave sprung up beside me. I wasn’t really in the mood for a chat by this stage. Nor was I in the mood to be wound up - which is one of Dave’s favourite past-times. After the third tease, I lost my temper and my concentration. There’s obviously no room for mind games when a beginner is trying to run home! I ended up stopping because I lost all my energy in that 20 seconds, and then I was even angrier that it had happened in the first place. I tried running again and after 10 steps I stopped. I felt like crying. I think my last words on the approach to the Harbour Bridge were “I thought I told you to get lost?”!! The coach breezed alongside again a few seconds later with a cheerful “how are we going T?”. I”M ANGRY! So he and Dave picked up their speed and left me for dust - in fear probably :-)
That was the single most rotten experience on the Harbour Bridge. I was close to tears the whole way back and hated every minute of it. This running malarky was way too hard.
After a quick warm-up, it was across the Sydney Harbour Bridge again. I almost made it across without stopping, so that showed that there was some improvement already! My head was in a mess with all the negative talk - I was convincing myself that stops were ok, in fact beneficial. Dave helped by picking out goals along the bridge, the next pylon or speed camera...
My 50 minutes got me through 7.5km, in pain. The worst pain was still in my neck and shoulders. My whole upper body seemed like a dead weight and I was struggling to carry it! My feet were beginning to ache too. Our coach came bouncing alongside at once stage and I gave him a full blown report of my ailments. Seems posture might have had a lot to do with it. I was crouched over... He also listened to how heavy my feet were (which reminded me of how my mam likens me to an elephant when I’m going upstairs in her house). We compared my elephant stomps to his fairy-like steps and I knew I was working way harder than I had to. This guy is 160kgs of muscle, a Boot Camp personal trainer for the army, and I was thundering like the clappers beside him. It was way too hard to change my posture at this stage of the run, but a mental note was made for the next time!
Not long after that realisation Dave sprung up beside me. I wasn’t really in the mood for a chat by this stage. Nor was I in the mood to be wound up - which is one of Dave’s favourite past-times. After the third tease, I lost my temper and my concentration. There’s obviously no room for mind games when a beginner is trying to run home! I ended up stopping because I lost all my energy in that 20 seconds, and then I was even angrier that it had happened in the first place. I tried running again and after 10 steps I stopped. I felt like crying. I think my last words on the approach to the Harbour Bridge were “I thought I told you to get lost?”!! The coach breezed alongside again a few seconds later with a cheerful “how are we going T?”. I”M ANGRY! So he and Dave picked up their speed and left me for dust - in fear probably :-)
That was the single most rotten experience on the Harbour Bridge. I was close to tears the whole way back and hated every minute of it. This running malarky was way too hard.
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| Not in any mood to smile for the camera! Coach Mike giving advice on new shoes |
“When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.”
Mark Twain
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