Just Be Happy You Finished

Yeah, I didn’t run this morning. It mostly wasn’t my fault to be honest. I didn’t get to sleep until 10.30PM because I got stuck in my book and then Meghan was awake at midnight and 1.30AM with a cough that just wouldn’t go away. It was past 2AM before I got to sleep and there was no way I was getting up at 6AM after a night like that. I woke up around 8AM and decided to keep Meghan off pre-school so she could get a decent sleep but she woke up at 8.45AM so we got ready and I took her in around 9.40AM.

I could have ran. I did have the time but I’d already showered, I had a huge pile of dishes waiting for me and I needed to walk to dog because it was the only time I had during the whole day to do it. My original plan was to run early morning so I could walk the dog and do the housework while Meghan was at pre-school and the dog and housework had to come first.

I had a very busy day though and I was really tired when it got to 4PM so I definitely would have been a lot worse had I actually got up to run. I have no excuses tomorrow. I’m running. And I’m looking forward to it. And, I WILL RUN TOMORROW!

Anyway, the reason for me being here is I wanted to blog about an article I saw in the local Metro newspaper yesterday. It was about the London Marathon which was on Sunday and about the celebrities than ran the race. They commented how one of them was the fastest celebrity coming in at 3 hours 15 minutes. They said he was an experienced runner, which he’s have to be to finish in that time! They commented on how another celebrity finished at a “pedestrian” 5 hours 41 minutes and how another “plodded home” in 6 hours 13 minutes.

I’m sorry but these people just ran 26 MILES! Does it actually matter how long it took them? I’m not a fast runner. I run 11 mile miles. Yes, I’m that slow. And even though I would really love to be running 9 minute miles, I’m just happy to be still running. If I really, really pushed myself I could run for a full 40 minutes without walking. If I have to run slow to do that then so be it. When I was younger, I couldn’t run at all. With me being overweight and unfit, I gave up so quickly and hated PE lessons with a passion. It was the only lesson where I would actually argue with the teacher and not care about the consequences. For me, being able to run at all is fantastic and I’ll get to those 9 minute miles when I do, if I ever do.

I guess what I’m saying is that you should be proud of yourself no matter how long it takes you. Running is very focused on finishing in a good time. I ran my first 5K race in just over 31 minutes but the last finisher was closer to 40 minutes. To me, as long as you run the whole way then you’re doing it right. I have this thing about it not being a proper run if I take a walking break but if you need one then take it! There’s no good killing yourself. You know your own limits so don’t bypass them just because you feel you won’t be a real runner if you don’t do it “right”.