They saw me coming

Highlights of the week's training

Well Monday's tempo run was a killer.  I was going OK until mile 3 and then lost my breath. I blame the fact that I had my 'small' running tights on that have always been a bit tight.  And when your ribcage is being crushed by the elastic waistband, it does make it harder to get that oxygen into the old lungs. But, that's just an excuse.  I'd gone right out of my comfort zone and my body wasn't going to let me ignore it.  Solution was to slow down, which I did and get the control back.  And I did.  Was pleased overall how it went.

Saturday saw me run 13.96 miles, which I've never done before.  Huge milestone and I know that from now on, they're going to keep on coming.  It was a really cold start but we had the wind behind us so it was OK.  Last week we saw lovely little Shetland ponies; this week we saw fluffy cows.  I know.  Sad.  But they were adorable and I don't warm to cows that much. It's their tongues - yuk! Anyway, moving on.  I'd made my drink with hot water but even half way round it was stone cold.  At the end, it was as if it'd been in a freezer!  The last mile was into a strong -5 degree head wind and was tough going.  I was really pleased I'd worn my thermal tights underneath, but even with them, my thighs were starting to freeze up.

The good news is Spring is knocking at the door.  We saw flowering snowdrops for the first time.  That always makes me smile.  That and the hot bubblebath that I jumped into when I got home.  Ahhhhhh ...... 

They saw me coming: Marathon muttering - or rant

Well, I hope they did.  One of the big dangers of running in the winter is the dark. And I make sure I’m as luminous as possible.  I wear a luminous top, hat and gloves with a reflector band around each leg and arm. If they did luminous running tights, I’d have a pair, but I make do with luminous legwarmers instead. Like the Great Wall of China, I can probably be seen from space!  I know I look ridiculous, but I want to keep running and you can’t do that in a wheelchair.

My running partner Sandra on the left with me on the right

  

So it always amazes me to see runners out there dressed head to toe in black. Unless they’re the Cadbury’s Milk Tray man and don’t want to be seen, they’re dicing with death.  A bit dramatic?  I don’t think so because I can see it from both the runner’s angle and the driver’s.

As a runner, I know that far too many cars/lorries/bikes squeeze past you even in daylight. I’ve had a friction burn or two in my time! I know that drivers back their cars out of driveways pretty quickly because they think there’s no-one about at night.  And I’ve even nearly run into people on the path because they’ve got black/dark coats on. I’m guilty of that too as sometimes I walk home from work with a black coat on, but I’ve got a white rucksack on my back.

As a driver, I know how hard it is to see the road ahead when someone’s headlights are shining straight at you. It’s even harder when it’s raining and you can hardly see the road in front of you. I’ve had to hit the brakes a number of times when the shape of a person looms out of nowhere because of their dark clothing.  It’s scary and makes my hair stand on end.

So if you’re a runner please forget what you look like and rig yourself out in luminous green or orange.  For runners, it’s always fashionable to be green and be seen!

And if you’re a driver, honk your horn at blacked out runners.  If they get enough honks, the penny may drop that they can’t be seen and they may go luminous.  Let’s hope so.