Yes, it's been far too long since the last post. I'm not going to do a huge recap on everything that has happened but here is a brief summary:
Between the last post and August 2023 not an awful lot, mostly very tired.
August 2023 I ran a marafun on a loopy loop timed event. I'd spent the first part of the summer break utterly wiped out- getting out of bed was a struggle, doing anything much left me so tired I'd have to lie down and rest- but I'd set myself the goal of going to this looped event just to see how I'd manage. I took things really easy and actually once I'd got a couple of loops done my body remembered about running and it felt good.
That same day I had a phone call saying the housing association paperwork had all gone through and as of that moment we were tenants of a house in a nearby village.
So we packed up and moved house!
The house is great and the garden is enormous. It needs an equally enormous amount of work, but that is going to be a project of many years
September was particularly dreadful for all sorts of reasons, and I realised that I needed to make some significant changes in my life. Those decisions have not been easy, not all the repercussions have been comfortable to live with, but for the first time in many years I feel as though a weight has been lifted, there is no longer the Sunday evening dread, and I'm free to choose not to work if I'm feeling exhausted.
In October I ran a little ultra- a 50km loop not too far from where I live. It was just lovely! I felt good most of the way round, met a couple of runners who kept me to an honest pace as I was tiring. At the finish I was given a little certificate- first in my age group!
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| Running in the autumn sunshine in the Chiltern Hills |
Over the winter various plans for a change of workplace/career didn't come to fruition for all sorts of reasons.
January 2024 saw some big changes. I have several jobs that more or less seem to fit together, all still in education but no longer as a TA stuck in a school. It's tough at times, there are days when the pay really doesn't reflect just how hard I've had to work. My brain is being used again, I'm learning so much, and I'm meeting some really amazing people. I hadn't realised just how bad boredom and stagnation was for me- although I'm now very busy I don't feel drained, wrung out and a shell of myself.
I did another loopy loop event and came 2nd in the marafun distance. I'd wanted to do another loop but the mud was so awful I could barely stay upright and it wasn't worth risking a fall and potential injury.
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| Medal and T-shirt from the Running Tribe event |
February the lovely DWP are trying to throw a spanner in the works telling me I'm not working enough- but I'd say 4-6 days a week is a decent amount of work. We'll have to see how that all turns out...
Knitting
I completed a temperature blanket last year. It turned out a bit untidy but it was fun to make and I'm making another this year but for for a friend. Lessons from last year's attempt have been learned and taken into consideration this time round, and I think will result in a fabulous finished article.
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| The finished temperature blanket with Salvatore the Octopus and Hug Me the Dinosaur |
Running
It's been tough getting back to regular running. Both the races last year were off the back of very little mileage. It seemed to work well enough but longer-term I'm worried whether I'll be able to keep running ultras off 20-30 miles a week. This year I signed up to the Centurion Running virtual slam again, aiming to complete the 500 mile distance. It's just not going to happen. Things started off fine as it was the Christmas break and there was much less going on, but I just can't keep up with the mileage. Not just because of having less time but because trying to hit 50 miles every week on top of work is making me so tired.
Post-menopause I am definitely noticing that I can't do the volume of training that I did even 2 years ago. I am getting more tired and recovery takes longer. So I've found myself a coach as, since what used to work for me doesn't any more, I need to train smarter. but I can't figure out what to do by myself. My coach is not a runner but that's great because he's not going to try and make me do running stuff that doesn't work for me. We're doing lots of hard but (mostly) fun stuff to prepare my body for a challenge that will probably leave me broken. I'm not thinking too much about the challenge- I want to enjoy the journey of being ready to stand on the start line.
So it's a year of new beginnings in so many ways. I don't anticipate it being a smooth ride, but let's just see what this year has in store...
