We Did It!!!

Sitting here in work it is hard to believe that this time last week I was a nervous wreck, about to run my first marathon... and what is even harder to believe is that I did it. I ran the Dublin City Marathon 2006!

As most of you know from reading my blog it all started with a 2 mile run on the treadmill. A 2 mile run that took me half an hour. A 2 mile run that has changed my life.

From starting as non-runners, Phil & I put in a lot of hard work this summer. We spent countless evenings after work & countless weekends, in the Phoenix Park, running in rain, hale or shine, increasing our miles as the weeks wore on, and realising as these weeks passed, just how determined & motivated we had come to be. We went through highs & lows, feeling excited & proud following some runs, to feeling disappointed after others. There were times when I doubted myself. I doubted my fitness, my motivation & my belief in myself. I doubted if I could actually complete the goal that I had set for myself, but on this day last week, after 4 hours, 50 minutes & 43 seconds of running, all that doubt was washed away & all the hard work payed off when Phil & I, hand in hand, crossed the finish line.

Here is the full story.......

Monday, 30th October 2006. I awoke at 5.45am by the sound of the 3 alarms that I had set. With everyone in bed (my parents & my flat mates) I crept out of bed to change into the running clothes I had layed out ready the night before & headed to the kitchen for a breakfast of porridge & banana.
Many times on a long training run I have started my day with porridge & banana as I find it is the best fuel for me but for some reason I had decided to try a new porridge that I had never tasted up until that morning.
Big mistake! The porridge was foul.
I added my banana in some hope it would help but unfortunately the porridge could not be saved & after a few mouth fulls & a lot of retching, it had to be binned. Not to worry, Phil told me he had our usual porridge at his apartment so I headed over there for breakfast. To be honest though, I still found myself retching when trying to eat the good porridge. I was that nervous!

Back at my apartment Phil & I were kitted up & ready to go, so along with my parents, we headed to the starting line. Once there the nerves had gotten to our bladders, and to everyone else's so it seemed judging by the toilet queue in Burger King. Phil even had to go again down the lane by Lillies & by time we were lined up & waiting for the gun we both needed to go again!
I'm not surprised though, we were both about to face the moment of truth. After 4 months of consistent training the time had arrived to put our training to the test. As we waited for the gun to fire Phil told me to look ahead of us & behind us. As I am only small I had to jump to look but when I did I just saw masses & masses of runners in both directions. I just thought "this is huge & I am part of it!"

Eventually, after what seemed like hours rather than minutes, the starting pistol was fired & after 7 minutes of shuffling our way to the starting line, our feet crossed over the mats & our heads under the balloons. We were off.

Only a minute over the starting line we passed my Mum, Dad & best friend. They were the first of my friends & family that I seen & would see until mile 11. It was great to see them as all 3 of them seemed to be beaming with pride that I had the motivation to even start a marathon. I hoped I would see them 26 miles later with the same smiles.

For the first 3 miles we somehow managed to lose 4 minutes off our time. This was not from waiting to cross the line as we had started our watch when we crossed it. Instead we could only guess that we were being overly cautious not to get caught up with the faster runners & burn out too soon. For the next 7 miles or so we did try to make our time back up but after every mile we were still the same 4 minutes behind.

Up until mile 11, apart from the missing 4 minutes, our running was great. We felt good & we were still soaking up the atmosphere around us. We'd encountered people in fancy dress & even a woman who's T-shirt told us she was almost 71! We also passed by my friends that refueled us with energy drinks & mini Mars bars & one of them even ran along side us for a minute or 2.
But from then for the next 4 miles, things went horribly wrong for me.

After having a Mars bar stuffed into my mouth I began to feel sick. I had already taken 2 gels on board & since waking that morning I had drank approximately 4 energy drinks. My body did not seem to be processing the sugar too well. I felt like I was about to vomit. On top of this we were running up the Crumlin Road while the wind was running down it. I told Phil of how I felt & he spurned me on as much as he could but then I reached a point where I felt so sick & disappointed in myself that I began to doubt myself & whether I would or could continue on for another 13 plus miles.
Eventually, after having to stop to retie my shoe laces as my feet had swelled, Phil started to get frustrated with me & was running on ahead. I had been feeling this way for 2 miles & had made it known to Phil so much that I was probably just complaining. I told myself that if I did not either buck up or shut up, I would be running this marathon alone, if at all.

For the next 2 miles I kept my head down & my mouth shut until we reached a water station & mile marker 15. I hadn't looked at a mile marker since I started to feel sick, but the minute I looked up & saw "15" I knew I could & would make it. I even remember looking around at the runners along side me & thinking "some of you might never have even run this far before, but you're doing it & if you can do it, then so can I."
After that there was not a doubt in my mind that I would cross the finish line & even though my legs & feet were feeling the increasing miles behind me, I felt great & I was loving every minute of it.

By mile 18 we saw Phil's sister & her children which really gave Phil the boost he needed at that point as he had began to tire. We were soon to also reach our friend from work. We wanted to be in good form when we saw her, and as we were also at an incline, we decided to walk for a few minutes. This really helped us. My feet were feeling the effects from the constant pounding on the road. It was strange though as the rest of me felt great. I wasn't out of breath or feeling fatigued. I just had sore legs & feet. If I could have taken off my legs & changed them for a fresh pair I'd have finished a lot quicker than I did.

At mile 21 I looked at Phil & looked up at the mile marker. He had not seen this as I had & as we ran past it I was delighted to tell him that we had just run the furthest we had ever run. We had 5 miles to go. Nearly finished.

The highlight of the run for me came a few miles after that when we reached mile 24. My parents were waiting for us at the corner of Merrion Road & Shelbourne Road. Just before we approached them we decided to stretch a little as our legs were quite stiff & I wanted to appear in good form for them, even though I was absolutely shattered.
Coming up to the corner where I knew they would be my eyes were wide open ready to spot them. For the past few miles I had thought of nothing but seeing them & I had to fight the tears back. I saw my dad first & started to wave my arms erratically above my head. He caught sight of me & I saw the joy on his face. It was probably just as much from the heat of the sun as it was seeing his daughter at mile 24 of a marathon, but whatever the reason, his face shone. I saw my Mum a split second after I seen my Dad but by that point my eyes were clouded over with tears & I ran as fast as I could to hug them. You'd have thought I hadn't seen them in years, rather than hours. They both looked so proud & it made me feel very special.

After a quick hug & a few tears shed Phil & I said our goodbyes & made our way along the final 2 miles towards the finish line.

Shortly after seeing my parents we saw Phil's nephew just before mile 25. He started to run along with us for a few minutes & I could see the smile spreading on Phil's face by the second. I knew he would get emotional by the last mile but I didn't realise how much until we turned the corner just at mile 25, and he saw his entire family screaming & cheering him on. We passed them on Westland Row & by time we were at Pearse Street Phil had gotten so emotional that he was losing his breath. The tears in his eyes were contagious & I had to stop myself from crying too soon. "There's plenty of that for mile 26.2" I thought.

At mile 26 my friends seemed to appear from nowhere to cheer us on. They were clapping & shouting as we ran passed them.
We rounded the corner & then all of a sudden, there it was. The finish line.
I took Phil by the hand & running past a loud cheer from Phil's father we ran toward & across the finish line.
All of a sudden every emotion I had in my body for the past 26.2 miles, every tear, every smile, all just came flooding out of me. I cried so hard I could barely breathe & had to stop to catch my breath.
We had done it. Every early morning run, every cramp, my sore knees, my sore feet, my sore hips, it was all worth it for that single moment when we crossed the finish line. It was the best feeling I have honestly ever felt in my life. I was overwhelmed & mostly, I was proud of Phil & I was proud of myself.

The rest is how you know it from there. We collected our medals & had our photograph taken & went over to the pub for a well deserved pint!!

The 30th October 2006 was the best day of my life. I was astounded as to how I felt & I will not be giving that feeling up for a long time.
Phil & I are already planning our next marathon.
I guess you could say we have the bug now, but not just from running, but also from the rewards that running has brought us.

Listen to me, I'm sounding very cheesy now & I've gotten myself all emotional just recalling it all.
I will be going for now, but you will be hearing from me again.

4 days, 23 hours & counting......................

At this moment that I am looking at the countdown on the Dublin City Marathon website there are 4 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes & 30 seconds until crunch time. I am sh***ing myself (pardon my language).

This past week I've found myself going through a roller coaster of feelings........
Monday on a training run of just 3 miles I felt exhausted. Whats that about?! Is my mind playing tricks on me. Does it know that since I've been tapering I feel more like a couch potato than an wannabe athlete?!
Tuesday I was having an organizing day. I printed up the map to mark up where our friends will be & if they can get to the finish line in time & I got more sponsors yesterday too (which I've been very lazy with unfortunately). I was fairly relaxed about it all to be honest.
Today my emotions are rolling around, crashing into each other & creating a pile up..... I just do not know what to feel today?! One minute I stop & think "what the hell am I doing? Am i insane?!", the next I'm imaging how I will feel to cross the finish line, to feel how all the hard work has paid off & to see the smile on my proud parents faces. I feel like crying just thinking about it.
I actually think I am losing my marbles this week.

I do look forward to Monday. Whatever happens, good or bad, I'm positive it will prove to be a very eventful day & one in which I will never forget.

This may be my last Blog entry before the big day as my parents are over on Saturday & so I will be a very busy woman. Before I sign off I have to do an Oscar style speech to say a big thank you to Phil. He was the one that got me into this & has supported me all the way. During our long runs there were many times I wanted to stop & give it all up but he just would not let me & for that I am very grateful.
I look forward to running 26.2 miles with you Phil. Thank you for being my mentor, my training partner, my friend & over all, a brilliant boyfriend :o)

Good Luck for Monday everyone! 4 days, 23 hours, 42 minutes, 52 seconds & counting............

Tapering

Once again I'm a little slack with the updates unfortunately. I suppose I don't know quite what to say.
It's that time of year that alot of you would have gone through many times before.... taper time. For me though, running my first marathon, this is a strange time & I don't quite know what to make of it.
Take last Saturday for example. Phil & I did an 11 mile run as our long run. I feel almost ashamed to admit that after our 21, 18, 16 ect of previous weeks. We spent so long with a goal in mind every week & to complete that goal was always an amazing feeling. I would even tell friends & family (or anyone that would listen) what my target was for that weekend as it would be a way to prevent me from backing out or running less miles. I could only feel proud of myself if I could say with honesty after my run, that I had achieved my goal that week.
Now that it's time to taper, time to decrease all these miles, putting less & less in as the weeks go by instead of more & more, I don't feel so proud of myself anymore. I know I'm running by the book but I feel lazy. This I have discovered is a very confusing time. I do know that I am not alone though. I know there are many runners out there that feel the same, as does Phil, but I just can't seem to shake the feeling.
After the 21 miler I was was really excited about the big day. The feelings I had were indescribable & I could only imagine how magnified those feelings will be when I cross the finish line, but now my excitement has changed. Instead of wanting that feeling of accomplishment again, I just want to get back out on the road & run those miles again. I want to work hard & make myself feel proud & a lot less lazy.
Oh well, only 11 days to go until I can do that. Roll on the 30th!

Happy 21st!

No, unfortunately it is not my birthday & nor am I 21..... my Blog title is of course referring to my final long training run of 21 miles.......

The run happened yesterday, though as you know, Phil & I prefer to schedule our long training runs for Saturdays, for the obvious reason that we then get Sunday off. However, this did not go to plan as Phil got sick. I'll explain.......

Monday we were scheduled for a training run (we are still doing our midweek runs but I bore myself writing about them now as they do not really differ from each other too much) but Phil had gotten an abscess on one of his back teeth & was feeling very worse for wear, even more so the day later, so we chose the sensible option of rest.
Come Wednesday I was eager to get back out after a lazy 3 days (including our day off on Sunday), I missed running & felt like a couch potato. Phil was feeling much better as his anti- biotics had kicked in so we were back into training for the week, most of which was in the rain (a bit silly I know seeing as Phil wasn't well as it was).

Come Saturday we should have been well prepared for our big run but unfortunately & very unlike us, we were most certainly not. We had forgotten to buy gel packs, glucose sweets & still hadn't invested in a much needed gel belt. As well as that, Phil's good running shorts were still wet from running in the rain so he was left with heavy football shorts to wear.
We knew the night before how unprepared we were but decided to head out anyway. So Phil awoke at 5.30am Saturday morning to make breakfast for the both of us & then the plan was to sleep for a hour or so before getting up to start our run.
A good few hours later we woke up.

Having overslept we were quite disappointed with ourselves. Had we of gotten out on time we'd have nearly been finished rather than just starting. Such a daunting feeling to have before a 21 mile run so you can forgive us for only barely having the motivation to get out of bed & onto the road. Plus Phil was back to feeling unwell again so we really did have to push ourselves out of the door.
We reached the park (the start of the last 21 miles of the marathon course) & braving the wind & the chilly air, we started our run. About 2 miles into our run we knew we should have stayed in bed. Phil was sick, obviously still not recovered from his abscess & training runs in the rain, and I had a sore right foot that pained me to run on. We walked for a short while to see if we could compose ourselves but it was impossible. We quit right there & then & prayed that a day of rest would have us recovered enough to attempt our final long run the next day.

Good decision.

Come Sunday we decided on a sensible time to run to enable us to catch up on as much sleep as possible. We so desperately wanted to succeed, we wanted to complete the 21 miles we had planned to run & have our tapering to look forward to afterwards.
Thankfully we felt great & headed off to the park for the second time that weekend. We were better prepared with gel, sweets & a gel belt so we both felt good.

Starting off I was still feeling the pain in my right foot that I had done the previous day. I was a little worried about it as it was causing my foot to smack down onto the road. My leg felt like stone. Phil suggested I loosen my laces which I did & it actually did help a little but I was still in a fair bit of pain. Phil & I got talking which took my mind off it a little & after about 4 or 5 miles, it finally warmed up & the pain went. Thank God for that.

That was it from then on out. We felt great, Phil was no longer feeling sick & my foot was no longer sore & we were both out of the boring park & into some new territory.

Come 6 miles into our run I felt brilliant. We were running at our usual pace (10 minute mile) & it felt good running the course. I could imagine the streets lined with spectators, cheering us on & making us feel like proper athletes for that one day.
I pretty much felt this way up until mile 15 when I started to suffer from a slight error I made back on mile 13. We had stopped at the shop at mile 13 to refuel. We got drinks & a chocolate bar each for extra energy but I made the grave mistake of eating a Snickers bar, and scoffing it down at that. At mile 15 I felt sick! The nuts kept repeating on me & I couldn't even rehydrate at this point for fear that a drink would just make me throw up. We eventually stopped to walk for a couple of minutes as I had gotten a stitch on top of wanting to throw up.
This seemed to work & I no longer felt sick, but then I started to get a little panicked & I was worried I would have a panic attack, as they seem to have become a trend for me at some point between mile 13 - 16. "I am not letting a panic attack get the better of me today" I thought & I started to take deep breaths in through my nose & out through my mouth until it had passed. From there on out there was no stopping me. I knew how far we had come & I knew there was not long to go. I was going to complete 21 miles.

During the course I did wonder if Phil was playing tricks on me as he usually does & had lied about what mile we started at what mile were were on every time I had asked him, but not wanting to get my hopes up that our actual finishing line may be closer than he had told me, I put this thought out of my mind. Especially when he gave me an update at one stage telling me were 15 minutes behind target. I could well believe that & I did.
Nearing the end, coming up to mile 19 I knew there wasn't far to go, just 2 more miles, and so I pushed myself as hard as I could. The short gap there had been between Phil & I became non existent. I felt like I was carrying a fridge as I was running, but never the less, I felt surprisingly good.
Soon enough we reached Westland Row, there was only a mile left. Though seeing as this final mile was running through the crowds in town I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of running it but what has to be done has to be done. Then out of nowhere Phil stopped in his tracks & pulled my arm to stop me too. It didn't register what was happening until he put his arms around me to give me a great big hug & told me we had just ran 21 miles. He had tricked me after all. I was delighted & extremely proud of both myself & him. We had just run 21 miles!
What's more is at the time that I was running my strongest of the whole second half of the run, I was actually at the 20 mile mark! Not only had I managed to not hit the wall, but I had managed to run through it with strength leaving a big Sarah sized hole through the middle.
We had done it & only a little behind target at 3 hours 34 minutes (not 15 minutes behind target as Phil has fibbed to me about).

Now, with sore legs & heavy eyes, I still feel as proud as I did yesterday. My longest run to date was by far one of my favourite runs & to my surprise, much easier than last weeks 18 miler.
With only 5 miles to add I know without a doubt I will complete the marathon & I look forward to it. I look forward to feeling special when my family & friends are cheering me on, I look forward to crossing the finish line & feeling all my hard work has paid off, but for now, I will look forward to the taper.

Why am I doing this?..............

Phil & I got clocked up another 2 miles on Saturday making it an 18 mile run & wow was it hard!

Saturday morning we awoke at 8.30am for breakfast & then went back to sleep for a couple of hours while we let it digest a little. By time we awoke for the second time & made a move it was pouring outside & continued to do so until we reached the park. Now, I've said before, I do love to run in the rain, but not for 18 miles. I think that's just crazy. We had our rain coats with us anyway so we just hoped for the best & braved the day.

For our 18 miles we chose to do the Half Marathon course plus an extra 5 mile lap. We knew the course as we had done it last week, but I was worried about that extra lap. Would I be able to face those hills a third time round?!

We set off down Chesterfield Avenue and had soon made our way up onto the North Road. I was feeling good but I couldn't help feel like there was something different this week, something missing, and then it dawned on me, I was missing the crowds. Not just the crowds of spectators but crowds of runners. I enjoyed it so much the week before, the atmosphere, the feeling of running with 3399 fellow runners from my new secret world, that I was dreading running 18 miles, just Phil & myself (no offense to Phil, he did say he felt somewhat the same).
Though I pushed that thought as far back to my mind as I could. I could NOT start an 18 mile with negative thoughts!

For the first 12 miles or so we were on target for our 10 minute mile pace & then I don't know what happened but my body started to give up, or maybe it was mind that was giving up. Phil kept his pace, where as I lost mine & soon ended up further & further behind. I hated it. I couldn't believe we had another lap to go & I would have to go it alone, behind Phil. I just wanted to cry. What the hell was wrong with me?!

By mile 13.5 I eventually reached the car for the third & final time. Phil was already there stretching & re hydrating. I was in a mood with him for running off, though mostly in a mood with myself. I also re hydrated & stretched & we set off again for our final lap.

Phil kept with me for a while & then again I lost my pace & he ended up ahead of me. I couldn't do it alone anymore & shouted for him to wait. He did & we continued on together. He did run ahead of me again for a very short time but by about mile 15 he was feeling as knackered as me so we kept to the same pace for the rest of the run.

Our finish line was the Ordnance Survey Road, the same finish line as the week before, and the moment it was in sight I was delighted. I musted up what energy I had left to power my legs forward to the end. We did it. We reached 18 miles.

We had run our 18 miler in 3 hours & 10 minutes, which although is 10 minutes over target, & was just delighted that I had actually finished it. It was by far the hardest run I've ever ran & during it I did question myself a lot.... Why am I doing this? Why would anyone want to run 18 miles with no reward? Is all the hard work, the sore feet & the swollen knee's really worth it? But now that I'm feeling much more refreshed than I was feeling while contemplating these thoughts, I realise that of course it's worth it. I want to feel what I feel after every long run, proud of myself for what I have just accomplished.

I do think this is the hardest goal I have ever set out to achieve in my life, but I am hoping that the second I cross that finish line later this month, it will be the most rewarding goal.

My First Race

Its a long time since I updated. You might have thought id given up writing my blog entries or even given up running... not a chance, Ive not had time to blog but I have had time to run.

My sister & brother in law have just gone home after a week long visit to see me with their 3 children & as everyone with children will know, it's hard to find time to do much except entertain the little darlings. I loved every minute of it though & although it was a hectic week it was sad to see them all leave. That's the price I have to pay though for living away i guess.
Meg is 6, Lewis is 2 & Aimèe is 1 so they all have their little personalities. Meg is as bright as a button & very caring toward her younger siblings. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's only 6 as she is so mature & helps her Mum with the little ones. Lewis is a typical 2 years old boy but only in the sense that he is always on the go & getting into mischief, as strangely enough he also has a girly side to him in that he likes to dress up in his big sisters clothes & play with Barbie dolls. I even bought him one on his visit as that was his chosen toy. Aimèe is only 1 so is not walking or talking yet but she too has her own character. She is very calm & laid back & to be honest, you forget she's there sometimes.
It was a great week, filled with trips to the zoo, bowling & kids play area's, my sister & her husband also got to have a couple of nights out on the town while I was more than willing to babysit.
Regardless of a busy week Phil & I still managed to get out for our runs, weekly & long, although the weekly runs felt like I hadn't even done them as where they would usuallyhighlight my day, they were overshadowed by my fun with the children. Our long run however, was the hightlight of my Saturday. We ran the Dublin Half Marathon

Now I won't bore you/ myself with all the details as I have already written a full blog entry about it & somehow managed to lose it! (i was actually going to quit my blog altogether after that but Phil persuaded me otherwise)

The day of the race Phil & I were up before anyone in the apartment (even before Aimèe)having a good breakfast of porridge & banana, a breakfast I would usually finish with pleasure but this time nerves had gotten the better of me & I had to force it down. I didn't ponder on that thought too long however as we were running late to register so off we set to Castleknock College.

We didn't actually know were the college was so we just followed the crowds of athletic looking people out of the park & hoped we would end up in the right place. We did. We got there with enough time to register, walk with the crowds into the park & soak up the atmosphere before it was time to head for the starting line.

At the starting line there was quite a few people, 3398 others, and I was starting to get nervous again, though my nerves were mixed with excitement this time.
10am came & I was feeling anxious to start. There was about 5 minutes before the starting pistol was fired, but it felt like much longer. Eventually the crowd started to move forward. The race had begun.

For the first mile of the race I was too busy in awe of my surroundings to think about running or distance. I was amazed at how many runners there actually is in Dublin compared to how many I see while training. I wondered if there are more fit & determined people in Dublin than I thought or was this just the reality of the secret world I am now living in.
All around me where runners of all different ages, shapes & sizes, and even one runner I saw was running with his child in a pram!
Eventually my amazement turned into concentration as I began to memorise runners that were along side myself & Phil. I wanted to remember them in hope that I would see them again in a few miles to come.
There was one woman runner that stayed in my mind as she was with us pretty much most of the way, occasionally losing her behind or ahead & then seeing her again. She wore a brown top.

For the first mile Phil & I missed the "mile 1" marker, probably through lack of concentration on distance & more on looking at fellow runners, but we found "mile 2" & Phil was happy to tell me that we had completed the first 2 miles in exactly 20 minutes... perfect for our 10 minute mile pace. We kept this pace all round the course, give or take a few seconds, and it was a comfortable pace which I was more than happy about.

Come about mile 6/7 when we were on our first lap of the course the leaders caught up with us on their second lap. Sandis Bralitis who won the race was the first to pass us & for a while the only leader to pass us. He was clearly ahead of anyone else at mile 11. Though by mile 13.1 the runner in 2nd place was hot on his tale, only a minute behind.
I was amazed watching the leaders pass us. They made it look like a walk in the park.

At the end of the first lap we spotted a work friend in the crowd so she cheered us on which was a great help as we had no one else there to support us.

Most of the course was run smoothly & I enjoyed running very much, but by mile 12 my mind was taking over & telling my body it was tired, even though my body knew full well that wasn't the case, and so my pace slowed a little leaving me lagging behind Phil. I started to feel a little defeated by this point but then suddenly out of nowhere I spotted the woman in the brown top & the closer we got to mile 13 the more i thought "come on Sarah, you can beat her". No offense to this lady, I wasn't trying to out run her to show off, but rather to spur me on. She still had a bit of life left in her & I thought if I can get past her I can get to the finish line sooner.
At mile 13 just as this thought was in my head, the girl from work started to cheer my name. This gave me the boost I needed, my legs took on a life of their own & I powered forward with Phil toward & across the finish line. I felt great! and what's more, once over the line I felt like I could run further.

Phil & I spent a few minutes wandering round after we crossed the finish line, we re hydrated & went to look for our work friend to say thank you. We did not find her but have since thanked her for her much needed support.
I just hope that I have plently of support for the full marathon as it does make a lot of difference. My parents are coming over to watch us so I know that will be the biggest help & best form of support. I hope to make them proud.

So that was my first race & in a little over 4 weeks I will be competing in my second. I am really looking forward to feeling that same thrill & excitment again, though I am sure it will be magnified in comparison.

Wish us luck!

Easy Peasy

Monday. Back to work & back to running after a Sunday off.

Work wise I started a new job today. Still in the same company but a different department.
I was on the phones before as a Customer Service Representative which i had been doing for the past 15 months. It was all very well but when upset callers are calling in fast & furious, it's time to get out. Besides, I was ready for a change to see how the other half live within the company.
So off I set up 2 flights of stairs to be an Administrator. No phone calls, just me, my PC & a pile of work. It is bliss!
Only problem is, without a stressful day, will I still need to go out running to unwind?! Of course I will. Running is a passion of mine now & I hope that passion stays with me for as long as my little legs can run.

Now, back to running as this is a running Blog after all.
Tonight was an easy run, though never the less, I was still being lazy about getting out. Why is it such hard work on Monday to just kit up and set off?! Still, Phil & I got off our lazy backsides & headed for the park for a run of just a little over 3 miles.
We ran the first 3 and a bit miles of the Half Marathon course but did it backwards today for some variety. I wasn't sure about this at first as we have ran it forwards so many times now that it did feel a little bizarre to run it backwards. Though once we were half way round it felt good knowing we only had the start to finish with. (Does that make any sense to you?!)
We finished our run in 27 minutes which is a little quicker than our usual pace. It felt really easy too & for a moment I assumed we had further left to run. The time flew by!
I wish our 16 miler flew by like that. Ha ha

Anyway, back to running again tomorrow. I'm not going to tell you how far or for how long as if I get lazy & don't do it I'll only be left to explain myself.

Happy running to all you fellow runners/bloggers :o)