I ran at school. Badly, and under pressure. I did it when absolutely required, but reluctantly, painfully and like I imagine a camel does*. I vowed I would never do it as an adult (except for the last bus; unrequited lover leaving for foreign shores, and; last orders).
However, on 30 December I woke up and went for a run. I'm still not quite sure why. I lay in bed thinking about it for a minute or two, and then did it. I should say that almost all of the best decisions in my life have been based on 2 minutes or less thinking, so there was a lot of precedent behind this, despite 34 years of observed vow.
Luckily, I had all the kit: a tshirt, a (cycling) fleece, (cycling) gloves, (cycling) tights and (cycling) socks. And some nondescript trainers.
And it was great. It was PAINFUL, slow, graceless, but it was exhilarating. And it was easy. I didn't have to check the tyre pressure or worry about lights. I didn't have to think when I'd last oiled the chain or whether I had a pump, tube, repair kit.
Let me be clear: I fell back in love with cycling 23 years ago and it was forever. I am not leaving my bikes/cycling. But I am suddenly realising that there might be another exercise. I'm not very good at it, but I have managed to get quite a bit better at it in just a few days. And it has been lovely. At running (well, slow jogging) pace I get to see a lot more than I do on a bike.
I also think that the things I hated about running might have been those things I had no control over. I was no good at running against my peers (asthma). And running was used as a punishment (Forgot your kit? Run around the pitch. Slow getting changed? Run around the pitch. Breached some hitherto unknown rugby rule? You've guessed it...).
Running at my own pace, without any pressure, on a crystal clear morning is something entirely different. I ran to the park and back on Tuesday. I did a circuit of it on Thursday. I did two circuits yesterday and again this morning. I'm slow and I have to stop frequently, but that only seems to add to the enjoyment**.
My goal is to run to work. It's something like 4 miles. I can ride it in 15 mins so I should be able to walk it in 60. If so, I don't see why I can't run it in, say 40 mins (even if I have to walk intermittently). Added to this is the fact that it is on a bus route so if it comes to the worst, I can get on a bus.
Does anyone have any tips? I never leave the house without water/a drink. My trainers are not great, but I'm looking into something more suitable. Is it just a question of going for it?
*In my head camels run inefficiently, limbs flailing - like Phoebe. I suppose it's probably the correct way to run where camels are from, but it always looks like bad design to me.
**This might be less enjoyable in the rain/wind/other rubbish weather