I promised in my first post that I would round up each month's progress towards my 500 miles target on the final day of each month. To be clear, I will not be counting up the miles I walk as part of my daily step count. The 500 miles I complete this year are in addition to that. They might be walked, jogged, hiked or run, but they will be an accumulation of activities I undertake on my Garmin and measure using its GPS function. Averaged out, a little over 40 miles per month will keep me on track, and some months will be busier and more active than others. I don't think I've ever been a particularly keen winter runner, though my trail running weekend might suggest differently and, a couple of years ago, I took part in a properly wintry London Winter Run (a virtual event that year due to Covid). I felt a little unhinged running on my neighbourhood's flat but exposed heath, warm inside due to running but feeling the sting of the buffeting snow and hail. I noticed how different parts of my face became targeted by the elements as I turned first one corner, then another, almost able to visualise the Ready Brek style glow that encased me.
Back to this year's exertions, and I am duty bound to report that I have only a measly 17.5 miles to contribute to my Blue Peter-style totalizer this month. I had planned on one more run last weekend to at least get over the 20 mile mark, but my body has had other ideas: a heavy period, a touch of the sickness bug one of my sons had, then a slight sprain to my ankle on Sunday night putting the bins out of all things. All in all, a bit of a slump in mood has also ensued but I'm working on it and writing these blog posts has been a big part of that positivity. Gratitude for all the times I feel well, energetic and injury-free is the only way to bounce back out of a slump as far as I'm concerned. That, and a natural impatience to feel like myself again.
I'll write again tomorrow with my plans and goals for next month. I have had this year's Winter Run planned for this Sunday for a while now, and I still hope to give this a go, but I will see how I feel in a couple of days. Not the start I'd hoped for but, as I mentioned above, I'd rather dwell on my gratitude for the good health I usually enjoy, and on my exciting plans for the rest of the year. Best of all, these wobbles can be good for our discipline and drive. We can never afford to take good health for granted and my physical strength and conditioning have to be worked for. While thoroughly adoring putting my feet up in front of episode after episode of the extraordinary 'Happy Valley' over this past week (we've binged on all three series in one go), I've also noted my restlessness to get up on my feet again and experience that endorphin rush.
Perhaps, while lying low, I've discovered a little more motivation and momentum as far as my goals - and the grandeur of my goals - are concerned. Happen I have. Forgive me, but this southerner is Yorkshire-born and proud, so in the privacy of my own home this week I must confess that I have found myself speaking in Catherine Cawood-isms from time to time, and drinking more cups of tea than is customary. One of my favourite words since I started working on my physical fitness and mental resilience is 'mighty' and I can't wait to feel mighty again.
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