A bit of background. Knitting/crochet and I have been rubbing along nicely together for the
last decade. At the beginning it was all so fresh and new,
and, I might add, a little exciting as well. I couldn’t get enough. Yarn, needles, hooks, more yarn, new skills,
Ravelry, more yarn, hours reading about it on the internet, more yarn… well,
you get the picture. But like most
things in life, gradually the thrill died down until it was barely a flicker. It had become a comfy, non-thinking trundle.
I gave up smoking 3 years ago and my sedentary lifestyle and
middle age combined to develop the dreaded spare tyre. Oh yes middle age spread
and maybe a mid-life crisis as well. Who
knows… What I do know, is that I was invited to my local surgery for a health
check-up (as I am now officially middle-aged)
where all my vitals were checked.
All was good. Blood pressure
fine, cholesterol low, blood sugar normal, even had bone density checked and
that was good too. I was feeling rather
pleased with myself until the doctor weighed me and the “O” word was
uttered. You know the one, the one that
grabs all the headlines, the one that is an impending health disaster for the
western world. Yep, she told me that I
was OBESE!
I was horrified. Something needed to be done. I
moaned and groaned and whined about it. I got upset and I got a little bit
downhearted about it. Then my
plain-talking, no-nonsense husband got fed-up with my constant harping and
suggested that I put on my big-girl pants and do something about it. So I had a bit of a think and the 100 mile
challenge began. January 2013 – walk 100
miles in a month. I walked a little bit
most days and threw in a few longer walks when I could.120 miles in the bag! I was so pleased with
myself and as an added bonus my spare tyre was beginning to shrink. My waistbands were slightly looser. I was feeling better.
Walking is quite time consuming and so himself suggested
running as an alternative. Running! Me? Seriously? It wasn’t something I’d ever
really considered. I was full of
excuses. My knees are bad, my boobs are
too big, I’ll look silly, I am too old…etc. It was a lot like the excuses you come up with when you are thinking
about giving up smoking ( I LIKE/ENJOY smoking, it calms me down, I am bad-tempered
if I can’t smoke, I won’t be told what to do….etc). Hmmm… if I can overcome
those feeble excuses then surely I could overcome my running excuses. So I did some research and discovered C25k.
C25k or, couch to 5 kilometres, is an introductory running
program. It takes around 8 weeks to complete.
You begin with a mix of walking and running and progress until you can
run for half an hour by the end of the program. Feb 2013 and I began the
program. It’s a nice easy start. I think most folk could do it. I stuck with it for the full program. 3 times a week following the plan – I
repeated some weeks if I needed to - and
then before I knew it I could actually run for half an hour. Without stopping. Blimey…. I was an actual,
bona fide runner. Me! Yes, me! Oh and by this time I was over a stone lighter
as well.
I was growing rather fond of this running malarkey. It was
beginning to fill my mind with possibilities and I found myself looking forward
to our sessions. I was beginning to spend internet time pouring over running
gear, blogs and maps instead of Ravelry and Knitty. It made me feel a bit guilty… forlorn half
knitted socks made me feel ashamed of myself. Even dark nights/mornings and
rain didn’t deter me….it was another excuse to indulge my running habit by
researching and buying a headtorch and waterproofs. It was all lumens and battery life and
hydrostatic heads and taped seams…. What happened to merino and sock yarn and
Kitchener stitch! Argghhhh
And now, it’s getting a little out of hand. Races. But not just any races, oh no! Parkruns and 10ks just weren’t enough for
me…. I have my eyes on ultra distances.
A 50 miler is coming up in the summer and I have entered. I will be taking part in the UTLD The
Lakeland 50. A 50 mile race through the
Lake District. I am ridiculously excited by this and looking forward to it
immensely. Training is underway and I
will be doing a half marathon race in Grizedale Forest at the end of the
month. Got a full trail marathon planned
for May and will try and fit in a few runs around the Yorkshire 3 Peaks as well
before the big day in July.
 |
| Grinning like a madwoman even after 21 miles! |
So there you find me…I am still knitting/crocheting but at a
much lesser rate. Something I fit in when I’m not out running.
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