I’m on My Way/Don’t Stop Me Now

The Eccleshill girls like to end their runs with a hoe-down

A double-A side today.  Also a chapter out of order, as I have enough to write about this weekend to fill two separate episodes.

My brush with Paralympians was inspiring, humbling and thought-provoking.  So thought-provoking in fact, that it needs a chapter to itself, and I still need to do a bit more mental processing.  Watch this space…

Trimpell 20, however, needs no thought at all.  Glorious sunshine, a lovely course (flat, flattity-flat), and a huge boost to my confidence.  After last week’s horrors, I needed it, and if ever I moved from misery to happiness, I did it today.

Partly, it was about the soundtrack.  I’ve pretty much stopped running with music, as I’ve been trying to think more about my style, and develop some positive mental attitude.  Today though, I was back on the iPod Shuffle, and it really did help.

I am a complete technoprat, and so I am unable to make up my own playlist.  I’ve therefore copied from Chris’s iPod all the songs I sort of like, and it makes for interesting listening.  His chosen version of Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane” for instance, is the one with the huge self-indulgent instrumental bit in the middle, whilst I go for the altogether better (shorter and quieter) version.  I start off liking his choice, but halfway through I just get cross and move on.

The problem with the Shuffle of course, is that you get the songs in the order the machine wishes.  This is tricky, as I have to finish to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” at full blast.  By sheer coincidence, this was playing when I finished my first-ever half-marathon in Sheffield, and it gave me such a fillip that whenever I do run to music, I have to cross the line with this.  This means that I have to be on random until about half an hour out, when I have to leap onto any artist anywhere near “Q”, flick to alphabetical and then go back or forward to find the divine Mr M.  Sometimes I find myself panicking that I’ll never get there, whilst other times I get ahead of myself and end up listening to it about four times.

Whatever, Craig and Charlie (P) gave way to Freddie (Q) at 2 miles out, and set me up for a blistering (for me) finish with a 9ish minute final mile.  Given my 11.11 average over the 20, I was dead chuffed with this, and smirked all the way home.

Also, when I checked the old Polar, my total calorie consumption was less than for last week’s 18 miler.  Whilst I don’t believe the absolute calorie figure, I do accept the relative values.  I’m therefore taking this as proof that I got through today with less effort than last week, and am seeing this as progress.

Looks like I took a right turn.