Tag: running

Lunch running

~ e.v. ~ 4 Comments

So the running went pretty well! I ran down the canal and ended up near my old workplace. I had chosen that route because the distance was about right and I knew the area where I’d have to turn around and head back. Next time I’ll go in the other direction and explore some more, but I’ll be in totally unfamiliar territory after about five minutes.

I hadn’t told anyone I was going. I’d got changed in the loos downstairs and left my clothes in a bag by the front door, with the coat stand. So I’d kind of hoped to end up back at my desk with nobody the wiser.

But.

When I got back in, the HR lady was sat on the sofa in the entrance talking to the MD. She gave me a look. I gave her a look. “Have you been for a run?!?!”. She was surprised. Guilty! She looked at me, in my shorts, and then enquired “But don’t your little legs get cold?”. This is extra funny because that’s the exact phrasing my mum uses. I didn’t tell her that.

Later on, the MD wandered into the room and casually announced to my manager that he’d had to go to the bank on the other side of town and it was “brass monkeys” out there. Then continued… “You’d have to be mad to go running out there today. It must be a blonde thing”. Then walked off.

The hygiene thing seems to have worked out OK. I went faster than I intended, my heart rate was very elevated (Zone 4. I was intending to keep it more like Z2, but that wasn’t happening) and I was definitely sweating. Even so, I made my sister smell me this evening (lol) and she insisted I did not smell.

So this is definitely a success. I’m not sure when I’ll do it again because the weather forecast looks like it may be very wet for the next few days, but hopefully I’ll get a chance soon.

The other thing is that I definitely found I was focusing a bit better this afternoon. I even felt calm when my train was late! Having said that, my watch says I’m anything but calm. But it’s said that for the last few days. Maybe I’m fighting an infection or something.

Now I’m lying in bed with my laptop and bluetooth headphones listening to Rush.

Running!

~ e.v. ~ 6 Comments

Parkrun number 50 today! It went ok. I was slow, but it’s the first fast run I’ve done for a while so that’s ok. My abs felt fine, though this evening they feel a bit tender. That’s an improvement anyway.

So I am all set for starting to run at lunch time next week. My new shoes are here and will be transported to their new home under my desk on Monday, my new bag is here and is big enough to fit my running clothes and a towel.

I’ve been kind of paranoid about the hygiene (smell) issue, but I think it should be fine. I ended up being quite sweaty getting into the office on Friday because of spending 20 minutes crammed in on a late and very overcrowded train

(The conductor apologised. In the most monotone voice you can imagine, he announced “I would like to apologise for the severe overcrowding this morning. This is due to a short train formation. I can offer no explanation as to why this is.”)

and then having to rush to get to work on time in the suddenly tropical December weather while wearing a big coat. I sat down at my desk with sweat dripping off my temples. That was a perfect test though. I was slightly upset at a vague hint of an unpleasant smell on the train home, but that went away when the greasy looking 20 year old boy sitting next to me got off.

When I got home I smelled the armpits of my clothes (as normal people do) and despite the fact they were definitely moist (pleasant!), the only scent I got was deodorant.

Running today was another test. Parkrun was max effort and I did another 5k to get home at moderate effort. I got home feeling pretty fresh, actually. The only giveaway that I’d been exerting myself was the fact my hair was damp. I can work with that.

So I think the plan will be to run such that I’ll have a ten minute walk back to the office so I’ll have stopped sweating by the time I get back, and untie my hair so it can dry off a bit. Then I can use wipes and towel myself off at work, reapply deodorant and hopefully that’ll be fine? I think I’m worrying about nothing. Someone at my previous job used to run to work (no shower) and I never gave him a second thought. Until now!

Work and stuff

~ e.v. ~ 6 Comments

So! Work is going pretty OK. I am actually quite surprised that it’s been OK. I had this nagging doubt that maybe I was just incapable of handling stress and starting a new job would be too much. Nope – it’s been fine, turns out a new environment was exactly what I needed.

I’ve been getting into everything. I feel like I’m starting to make some progress on the work I’ve been given, and I’m very pleased about how much I’ve taken in over the past week. I feel engaged, and it’s been a long time since I felt engaged at work. I am remembering why I used to enjoy programming!

I still see my old workplace every day from the train. Last week when I came out of the station there was an ex-colleague on the other side of the road walking to work. I didn’t speak to him, but presumably one day the timing will be different and I will. I know that one day I’ll see Becky from the train – I wonder how that will feel. Weird, probably. I still feel irritated by my old employer, but it seems much more distant now.

I previously voiced disapproval about the fact I am working until 5:30. I expected it to grate a little, but, actually, that’s been fine too. I stopped running after work because I just intended to get settled in before figuring how to get running back into my routine, and I haven’t started again this week… partially because my ab or whatever is still quite sore. It’s improving, but it’s not 100% yet. I think actually it would benefit from a bit more (gentle) running.

Since I have an hour for lunch now, which I spend wandering around new areas of town, which seem heavily populated by lunch time runners… I’m thinking about running at lunch time. I need to test a routine for this with respect to smellability and invest in some wipes and a bigger bag for a towel and shoes and whatnot (personally: I doubt that it will make me smell bad as long as I stick to easy runs, which is fine. Sweat takes time to smell). It’s just a question of whether my colleagues are ready to see me in my running tights.

One week

~ e.v. ~ Leave a comment

One week today I’ll be lying in bed feeling terrified by the prospect of starting my new job, but for the moment, life is pretty calm!

The weekend was nice. I did parkrun yesterday at probably 80% effort and my abs experienced no worse than a vague ache. I then did 12k this morning with a slightly more noticeable vague ache, but overall it’s definitely moving in the right direction. I think actually the slow runs have helped it. Total rest can be unhelpful for soft tissue injuries, I have noticed.

Yesterday was my sister’s 30th birthday. I bought her a bulbasaur. She wasn’t expecting him and she seemed happy (I also bought her something she actually wanted). I hope she looks after bulbasaur. I’m not sure what they eat.

Life goes on…

~ e.v. ~ 2 Comments

It’s taken me longer than I expected to start feeling relaxed about leaving my old job. I suppose that’s OK. I was there for seven years and I was definitely upset on Friday about leaving without people seeming to be aware. My last memory of quite a big chapter of my life is one of disappointment. That’s sad, and it makes sense it hurts a bit and it makes sense I’m a bit angry. But that will pass.

It’s made me think more about my life though. I think in the medium-long term, I should be aiming to be self employed. There’s no reason I couldn’t do software consultancy (and do a better job than my ex-boss). Well apart from the crippling anxiety of course. But maybe I’d have less of that if I felt more in charge of my own destiny.

Other stuff: I’m not running as much because I am still having trouble with my hip/ab. I managed a very slow run today without any real discomfort though, so that’s progress. I think I just need to stick to slow runs for a few weeks and keep doing some light core work every day. It feels like an ab muscle strain but it seems linked to my hips in that if I stretch my hip adductor I can feel it pulling in my abs. It’s definitely improved though. I just need to not push it too hard, like I did before.

So I’m spending a lot of time wandering around and drinking tea (not at the same time), which are probably my two other favourite things apart from running.

I’m putting on weight again. This is good, because I am underweight. In fact, one of the things that finally convinced me to start on anti-depressants was the fact my weight was steadily declining. So I’m pleased to see it going back up again. But I have mixed feelings. If it keeps going up, then, one day, I’m going to get on the scales and think “hmm, maybe I am eating too many croissants…”. This is a day I do not look forward to. I really have to get my hip better so I can keep the calories burning and maximise my croissant intake.

Lazy

~ e.v. ~ 4 Comments

Today was a working from home day and I have ‘only’ covered 5km on foot (walking to and from the orthodontist). As bizarre as it sounds, I feel like I’ve been very inactive today. Last week, I covered an average of 20km a day on foot; 5km feels like nothing.

Today is the first day in about two weeks that I haven’t been running. Unfortunately I have been having some slight discomfort in my hip flexor or lower abs – not really sure which. It was getting better last week after some stretching, but then pushing it too much for Parkrun on Saturday seemed to upset my progress and even a slow run on Sunday was uncomfortable. So I decided to take a rest day today. I also won’t be running tomorrow as it’s a counsellor visit after work so I don’t really have time.

It’s surprising how different it feels to have just one easy day. I feel: a lot less tired and a lot less hungry. According to my watch I’m usually burning 3000-3500 calories a day, and it’s quite unusual tonight that it’s 9:40 and I’m not asleep yet!

I started doing so much exercise as a means to manage my mental health, and the distances just kept increasing as I got fitter. I wonder if I’m doing a bit too much though.

Life and tablets

~ e.v. ~ 4 Comments

I had my doctor’s appointment today for my next citalopram prescription. She gave me another 8 weeks worth of tablets. She mentioned putting it on repeat next time; it’s a bit surprising they are so reluctant to do so especially since I’m not supposed to come off it without supervision, but OK. There’s not much else to report on that front. Except that I still get nervous sat in doctors’ waiting rooms. Apparently not even citalopram can stop that. It was the simplest appointment ever – I go in, I say “hello, I’ve been on citalopram for a few months and I’d like some more please”, she says “OK, here’s your prescription” and I leave. There wasn’t any uncertainty – it’s not like the doctor was going to say “nope, sorry”. But still I felt anxious about it? I was sat in the waiting room trying to breathe nice and slowly to turn off the physical anxiety response, and it kind of worked, but it’s sad that I still need to try so hard with this.

Today was a nice day though. I’ve come to quite enjoy the doctor appointment days I’ve had over the past few months. I always book the appointments mid day to use them as a work from home excuse, and then have a detour back with a long walk through the park. I’ve been lucky with the weather. I was still mostly productive with work today, so nobody can complain. Then as soon as I finished, I went for a long run just as it was getting dark.

Over the last few days I’ve been watching Fleabag, which I finished this evening (only 12 episodes). I binge watched the whole of series 2 this evening, and I never binge watch TV. It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. I feel like I’ve been on a journey. A journey involving priests, guinea pigs and vibrators, but a journey nonetheless.

ANXIOUS

~ e.v. ~ Leave a comment

I’m trying to be relaxed at the moment but it’s not really working.

Stuff I need to do:
1. Reply to the job offer letter and properly accept it
2. Reply to HR from a different company and tell them I won’t be proceeding any further
3. Draft and send a resignation email to my boss, which I think is just going to be a short “I’m giving my one month notice, I’ll leave on [date]” with no further explanation. We’ll go through that verbally anyway.

Other stuff I’m nervous about:

1. There is a fair chance that my boss will make a counter-offer. So, although I’m expecting to leave, there is a lot of uncertainty.

2. I’m running a half marathon tomorrow. I want to do it in 1 hour 35 minutes. I did it 1:48 last year, but I’m in much better shape this year. 1:35 seemed so realistic in training. That’s 4:30 per km. I do 5ks at slightly over 4:00/km, 10ks at about 4:10/km, so 4:30/km for a half is very achievable… isn’t it?

Now it’s the night before and I’m seriously wishing I’d done more long runs. Well, not more long runs, but longer long runs. I’ve been doing 15-18k runs at least twice a week for months and my training volume has been pretty heavy at about 70km/week. But… 18k… is that enough? That’s three kilometres I haven’t touched! So I’m expecting to get to about 19-20k and then fall apart. But… that’s not really how distance running works. I haven’t gone past 18k because I didn’t think I needed to with the otherwise heavy volume, and I felt that the risk of injury outweighed any potential benefit. I stuck to my plan. I’ll be OK. I just need to sit here and eat my delicious brioche (55% carbs) and then go to bed.

Mid week relief

~ e.v. ~ Leave a comment

I have two job applications on my to do list, which I’m aiming to do tomorrow as I have a day off am working from home. I’m also aiming to get in a long run. As you can tell, I am very enthused about my job and work very hard. It will be the last long run before my half marathon next weekend, in fact, so I think tomorrow is my last chance.

The reason for the working from home is that I have a GP appointment to discuss my anti-depressants, but I am thinking of just starting to work from home regularly one day a week as a matter of course. I’ve been doing it probably every other week for a while now due to a seemingly never-ending series of medical appointments, and it’s definitely good for my mental health. Or, maybe what I really mean is: unlike being in the office, it’s not actively damaging to my mental health.

Weekend

~ e.v. ~ Leave a comment

This weekend has been a bit different to normal.

Saturday AM: Parkrun (Okayish time, wasn’t pushing it, but got overtaken on my sprint finish by somebody doing a more impressive sprint finish, which I was a bit miffed about).

Saturday PM: Went to see Downton Abbey. It was my mum’s birthday on Friday so that was part of her birthday celebration. I love Downton Abbey and I enjoyed the film. My one criticism is that I’m pretty sure that Maggie Smith wasn’t just a walking punchline in the series (though she did get a serious scene towards the end). I liked that despite being a film, it was still Downton as usual. It continued naturally from TV, and it also wrapped itself up in as much as a series about a family’s progression through life can ever be wrapped up. They could easily follow it up with more films (and I hope they do!), but they didn’t set it up for a sequel.

Saturday evening: Then we went to a restaurant for dinner afterwards. I had a burger because I’m doing a survey on burgers (actually because when you run as much as I do, burgers being full of protein, iron and calories make a lot of sense, but as this means I virtually always choose burgers when I eat out, it feels like I’m doing a burger survey). It was by far the worst burger I’ve had when eating out. It was small and burnt on the bottom; I was underwhelmed and had it not been for a mix up with the chips giving us a double helping, I’d have been left hungry. I did not leave full of iron and protein, I left full of chips. But I do like chips, so…

Mum had salmon though, and she was quite happy.

(note: the best burger I’ve had is in a fairly expensive restaurant near Torquay, but in second place, and not requiring me to travel 200 miles, is The Boss Burger from Boston Tea Party)

Sunday: 10k race – the reason I wasn’t pushing it at Parkies yesterday. It was a tiny local race that I only found out about a couple of weeks ago because I saw a sign on a lamppost. The course was two laps around a few little country roads and then around some housing estates – not the most interesting course, but not the least interesting 10k course I’ve run recently (cough Birmingham). Not flat but not hilly either. The weather was promising rain and threatening thunderstorms, but we’d had a lot of rain ahead of schedule overnight and at the start time it was just cloudy and muggy. Not exactly warm, but the sweat just sits on your skin so it’s not ideal running weather.

There was a water station half way around and I elected to pour the cup over my head, slightly underestimating just how wet I would get and feeling faintly ridiculous for the next few minutes as all the spectators presumably thought I’d fallen into a river along the way. By the end of the second lap, however, everyone else looked the same because it started raining very heavily. I was ahead of the curve. Someone tried to overtake me on my sprint finish but I was having none of that today, thankyouverymuch. Overall I smashed my previous 10k personal best (from May) by a minute and a half, taking it down to 41 and a bit minutes.

I’ve done a few 10k tempo runs lately which have all seemed like harder work than they should have been for the paces I’ve been hitting, so this was a nice confidence boost for the half marathon in three weeks today.