Monday
7th May
Distance: 2.40 mile
Time: 30:33 min
Avg Speed: 4:71 mph
Avg Pace: 12:43min/mile
Calories Burned: 325
Bank Holidays don’t ya just love them? An extra day to do what you will with. Having had a lovely weekend I’d done my run on Saturday (see Nature versus Nurture Blog) then had visited my niece to drop off the 40th birthday present for her hubby. My gorgeous great nephew (and Godson elect) entertained us with his new piano and my Raison D’etre found himself the centre of attention with the family dog who in the absence of her normal male hero adopted my beloved as a lap to rest on, that was until the birthday boy returned and her affections reverted to her normal love.
Family visit done we then travelled on to Skipton where, unbeknown to us before we got there, it was the waterways festival so the place was busy but at least the famous pork pie shop still had enough pies left to satisfy our needs. I know I know I hear you shout ‘PORK PIES! You are in training woman’ but if you have never had one of the, hot from the oven, delicious creations that can be had from Stanforth butchers in Skipton (www.stanforthbutchers.co.uk) then I am afraid you have not had a pork pie. We had a lovely afternoon pottering around Skipton then headed home. Now comes another food confession, we had a yen for fish and chips so we indulged ourselves a little more in the diet (not!) stakes. It was a lovely day though.
Sunday naturally followed as it has a habit of doing and this passed in its normal way with us attending church in the morning then heading off to rehearsals, for a show I am producing, in the afternoon.
Then comes Monday and
a Bank Holiday to boot. So up I got and went for a quick sojourn around the
locality. It being a non-Saturday day I went up the street and turned right,
then headed down to Hyde Park having thought for a long time about jogging around
Woodhouse Moor I decided that today was the day I would have a go at the
circuit round the Moor. So around the Moor I went, it measured out at just
about 1 mile around. I had walked it many times when collecting my son and heir
from school, I had cycled over it as a child, it was one of my playgrounds. So
today it was different - I ran it. I love the Moor it is one of those gifts of
an open space from the Victorians that serves the city well, the Victorians
knew how to be philanthropists. Queen Victoria sits in splendour at the
Clarendon Road end surrounded by neat borders tended by the gardeners, looking
out from the park towards the pizza take away shop that once housed my great
grandparents shop. So historically and emotionally I am attached to this area.
I enjoyed my run today it was quick and effective I will probably do it again
soon. Watch this space! 
So here I end with my usual link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.
Thank
you for your support.
Here is my second late post for you..... sorry will try to be more organised!!
Saturday
12th May
Distance: 9.49 mile
Time: 2:09:38 min
Avg Speed: 4:39 mph
Avg Pace: 13:39min/mile
Calories Burned: 1313
My longest run yet 9.49 miles I ran all the way to Bramhope and back I felt inspired to push myself today for no other reason than my bloody mindedness or as I call it Yorkshire grit! The underlying cause for my ‘inspiration’ is down to the fact that my son and heir along with long suffering girlfriend are home for the weekend and when last night I asked if he wanted to come out for a run with me his response was provocative to say the least. ‘Mother, you run too slow to run with me I can’t go as slow as you.” That was like a red rag to a bull. Today, out I went at 6.30am I was tempted to wake my little one as he slept on but early morning runs are my thing he prefers the evening ones, mind you after his scathing comments about my speed I was tempted to knock on his door just out of spite but that would also disturb his long suffering girlfriend and she’s just lovely, so I could not do it.
I ran well today. I tried to up my speed but the best I could manage was a 10.07 min mile I am getting closer though to breaking the 10minute mile. Not so long ago I was happy to get below 12 minutes. I must be getting better. What I didn’t realise was that I was actually pushing myself harder and my muscles would let me know later in the day just how unhappy they were with me.
It was a lovely morning the sun was shining I had remembered my sun glasses and my face cream but like a fool I forgot my water bottle. By the time I remembered I did not want to turn back but I knew I would need it. So as I passed the newsagents I popped in and got a bottle of water ‘on tick.’ It is good to have local shops and shopkeepers who know their regulars. This notion of regulars got me thinking about the regulars I see on my runs. There are a few runners that I see most weeks. There is little guy who always look so angry and hot in his sweat pants and top. There is the Chinese man who I often see on my way home, the friendly guy who always nods. I find that male joggers tend to be friendlier than women. Female joggers rarely look up or smile, (and how come they can be bothered to put makeup and perfume on?) whereas the men will nod a good morning and acknowledge your existence. I find that early morning cyclists will also wave as they peddle by. There is solidarity in the shared insanity of getting up at 6.30am to push your body to extremes so we nod, wave or grunt and go on our way.
As I said earlier my muscles let me know later in the day that I had pushed them although I don’t think that the 4inch heels of my new shoes that needed breaking in, helped. We went out for a meal on Saturday night and heels were essential. The Bird at Clarence Dock is a fabulous restaurant where we had a lovely night out I can thoroughly recommend it. The reason for my Son and heir and long suffering girlfriend to be home was that they are God Parents to my great nephew who is being baptised on Sunday with his sister; it is also my Raison D’etre’s birthday this week. I treasure every day I have with him and his birthday gets bigger every year the ‘day’ became a birthday week the week became a birthday month and the month is in danger of becoming a bi-month. He enjoys his birthday and celebrates to the full, playing the birthday boy role to the full. I enjoy making his birthday month special. This year he is still upright and walking, with a stick, but upright and walking and that is a birthday worth celebrating. Muscular Dystrophy will never take away my fight for him.
So happy birthday my angel you know I love you but here I declare it for the whole blogsphere to read. You are my reason for living, my reason for being, my reason for all that I do. I will keep running for you and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.
Thank
you for your support.
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