I woke up to a very grotty morning – it was raining and I couldn’t see Mt Kaukau from my window, which is a marker to me of what the weather is like out there. Not being able to see it was not a good portent for the 18 km run I was down for.
My questioner tendency was operating at a high level as I tried to work out the best option. All things being equal I was intending to head out the door at 9.30, but at 9 a.m things were not looking good. It was miserable outside, and I knew because we are in lockdown I had nowhere to be at any particular time today so I knew I didn’t have to go then. The weather forecast showed that it might be better at around 10 a.m. and then clear by afternoon but conversely the wind was getting up.
I then overlaid this thinking that the plan to run 18 km was based on the fact that I’m aiming to run a half marathon on 11 September. My thinking is that its very unlikely that we will be at Alert Level 1 by then, and that’s where the country will need to be if the event is to go ahead. So I asked myself whether there was any point in running 18 km in the pouring rain if this was the case? While I don’t actually mind running in the rain, I do like to have a warm up period without it. This then got me thinking about the route I should take – and I thought maybe I could run as far as Lambton Quay using the shop awnings for shelter.
I managed to reframe my thinking and to think about how I would feel when I got back, and I knew that I would feel good. I needed this thinking to counter the feeling that I didn’t need to go at all and to just give myself a chill day of Netflix and reading.
So what did I end up doing?
I headed out the door just before 10 (giving myself permission to only run 10kms if it was really bad) when it looked like there was a break in the weather. It was raining but it was more like a soft mist than a torrential downpour. And, when I got back I felt a real sense of achievement that has stayed with me all day. This is the longest distance I have run since running the Auckland marathon last year, and my tendonopathy injury seems to have coped with it, so things are looking up. If the race goes ahead I’m on track, and if it doesn’t I’ll just have to re-evaluate and find another one at a later date, knowing I’ll be ready for it.
LIVING LIFE ON MY OWN TERMS 