Solo Run. Closer to God?

This is my first year running right through the summer. I have been running for about ten years, but it always played second fiddle to my cycling. The usual plan was to run during the months of September to December or January, and stop completely to concentrate on my biking. This year, 2014, I decided to keep both going side by side.

My recent runs have given me strength and perseverance. I have kept them interesting. I have mixed the easy and the challenging, the long and the short, the racing and the training, the solo and the group.

I want to write a little about one facet of running, namely the solo run. I love solo running. Most of my training is solo running, and I have discovered that there is something really really good about this type of run. I came across a link outlining the advantages of solo running, and I understand now how beneficial it is for me to head out for a run on my own. To summarise, the article mentions five benefits:

1. You’ll listen to your body. When you only have yourself to listen to, you’ll hear what your body has to say.
2. You can disconnect. Take a deep breath, take in the natural world, or just take an hour off from thinking about anything at all.
3. Your run is your own. Going solo means you can run where you want and when you want.
4. You won’t compete. When you run by yourself nobody is bored by your snail’s pace or judging you for having to walk up that steep hill. Your only critic is yourself, and you can be proud you got out to run that day.
5. You’ll become more resilient. Running solo is more difficult mentally, but you can learn how to cope with a challenge, get better at testing your limits, and ultimately become a stronger, prouder runner.

I think one of the biggest factors for me is number one above. Since early spring I’ve had some slight niggly pains, particularly outside my left knee. On several occasions on my solo run, I’ve noticed the pain earlier and I’ve been able to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. More importantly, however, I’ve been able to decide to stop running without feeling guilty. In fact, I compliment myself on making a sensible decision at a timely point, rather than waiting until it’s too late. Sometimes, the walk home is even better! Sometimes, the little ache or pain is my body telling me to take it easy.

Conversely, even when I get an ache or a little dart of pain, it’s not always my automatic reaction to stop running. I have become smarter at knowing when to stop, or slow down, or indeed push through; and if I decide to push through to see how it goes, I am pleasantly surprised to find that I am able to do a good workout despite the little warning signals. When this happens, I am even more convinced of the value of proper warmup routines, and plenty cooldown time with stretching after my run.

I do not run with music. I have tried it a few times. It’s not for me. Instead, I can easily enter into a dream-like state quickly. I know that I  sometimes run with eyes facing the ground ahead rather than directly ahead, so whenever I am road-running, I have to be very aware of traffic ahead and behind. Anytime that I an off-road, however, I am happy to tune out, and just day-dream my way along.

Solo running is good for me. That’s not to say that I do not need or enjoy company along the way! Far from it. I like the chat with similar-paced racers, as we pull one another along the tough patches, compliment one another on our “great run” last week or last month even, and generally support one another in whatever way we can. Of course, I’ve seen it happen also that good company on a race is fickle, because quite often the runner disappears into the distance leaving me to plod along behind, unable to up my pace. Equally, I’ve done the same on good days!

“When you can see the beauty of a tree, then you will know what love is.” ― Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You

I went a-googling to find some tree-quotes, and while the caption for the picture above might be a bit ott, I decided also to use this one from the Bible: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” I admit I am not a biblical person, but the idea has just struck me that running alone is a form of closeness with God. Perhaps you may think that’s ott! However, not me.

 

Have you particular thoughts about running on your own, or about running in general? I’d like to hear what you’ve got to say…

 

Portlaw, Pieta, Clonea & Giro d’Italia

In the space of just over twelve hours, I’ve completed a trio of important firsts, and I feel that this deserves a blog post! Firstly, at 7.30pm yesterday (Friday 9th) I ran the Portlaw 5, went to the Dungarvan Darkness into Light walk at 4am, and finished it all off with an invigorating swim in Clonea to baptise my new wetsuit. In between, I grabbed a few hours shut-eye, and several hours good sound sleep after midday!

The Portlaw 5 mile event was very well organised. Very thoughtfully, the organisers Carrick AC had us running downhill for the first mile, and this contributed in no small way to my PB time 43:55, beating my previous best by nearly two minutes. However, I am going to give myself some credit for this, as I gave it socks all the way round, finishing well satisfied with my efforts.Then, onwards home in very heavy rain after delicious food & coffee provided by the organisers. My goal now is to lose about ten pounds in an all-out assault on a possible season best in July or August. I’m taking bets on 42:00, to complete my first full season running.

I arrived home to further heavy rain and got a few hours sleep (interrupted by a mini-dream of running 41:00 later in the summer). On then to event two: my family & friends descended on St. Augustine’s College for the 2014 Darkness into Light walk at 3:30am, and to listen to Conor Cusack speak about the importance of seeking help when one’s mental and emotional state requires it. Help is out there, quite often from a close friend or family member; but it is important to take the brave step of unmasking and being somewhat vulnerable. Furthermore, Conor  spoke of the duty we have to be aware of the small signs that a friend or acquaintance is trying to reach out for help, and perhaps just on the verge of being unable to so so. And then we walked the 5k route back to Abbeyside, returning along the beautiful Deise Greenway to Barnawee and a cup of hot coffee at Duckspool. The dawn had come, and ready we were to face a new day! I felt the great solidarity that comes with being part of something so important, something bigger than myself, a symbolic gesture of commitment to the aims of Pieta House and those persons who my need to avail of the help they provide. I am conscious that I am not immune from such a situation, as should we all. For tonight, I was grateful to be able to lend my moral support to this wonderful cause, so much so that when I arrived home just after 6am I resolved to write about it and share my thoughts. It is this sharing of thoughts and words that is helping to lessen considerably the stigma once associated with suicide and mental illness here in Ireland. In this respect many thousands of people and several good organisations are to the forefront in encouraging a cultural sea-change. I’m thinking specifically of the Cycle Against Suicide group who are nearing the end of the massive 14-day, 1400km circuit of Ireland, speaking to teenagers at every stop along the way. Shoulder to Shoulder…

Two down, one to go. So, after a further few short hours of sleep, I embarked upon my first sea-swim with Tried & Tested Triathlon Club at Clonea. Blustery conditions awaited us for our dip at 10:30am, but in no way lessened our enjoyment of the time in the waves. There was very little swimming, because of the rough conditions, but I succeeded in baptising my new wet-suit, and had lots of fun in the process.

Home. Food. Sleep. Feet up. Tomorrow the Giro d’Italia arrives in Dublin and I have every intention of being there with my pink wig!

Footnote: Yes, the pink wig got another outing as the Giro d’Italia came to Dublin.

Feet stuck to the road

Picture copyright @FriaryCollege