Jog is their word, not mine.
I usually get annoyed when people use the word jog instead of run, however in this instance I think it’s actually a pretty accurate description. The 6 lap course, where not everyone was given chip timing, is not the easiest to properly run all the way, and definitely not one for a fast time.
Lissy gave me her bib for this free race after suffering from injury, and it was a pretty last minute decision by me to run. I’d had a pretty stressful day, and the thought of travelling across London to Canary Wharf didn’t fill me with joy. However, the fact that these ladies, including Birthday Girl Harriet, were all going to be there too made it seem a lot more appealing.
I was in such a grump and Steph did her best to cheer me up (thank you!), saying that running would make me feel better. And it did. It took us a little while to cross the official start, and even longer to actually start running, but once we did I started smiling. The course was crowded, but the friendly marshals, including the one that was shouting ‘NO WALKING, ONLY RUNNING’ were brilliant. The race is run looping between the high rise buildings and offices of the banking district, with a lot of suit-clad workers enjoying a post-work beer while watching us run.
Charlie Brown is the Queen of running selfies- I just tried to photobomb her a few times.
A few of the girls had been thinking of cutting out at the halfway point to go to Harriet’s birthday dinner, and once they started talking about bailing, I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. So when Tom rang me (during the run!) and told me he’d had a horrid day, I immediately knew I would stop at 5K to go home to see him. It was all the excuse that I needed. Mentally I just wasn’t in it.
I said goodbye to the girls I’d been running with, managed to spot Laureen and Leah (who looked really concerned and thought I was hurt) before catching the tube back to Chiswick. I’m not sure Tom was all that impressed that I didn’t get changed before we went out for dinner though- bright purple shorts and a sweaty race t-shirt is fine at Pizza Express, isn’t it?
Sometimes running is great, and can make you feel 100% better about what ever else is going on in your life. Whether it’s work stress, sadness, disappointment, anger, loneliness, the act of running, thinking about your breathing and achieving a few miles helps. On Wednesday whilst the 5K with friends definitely got me out of my funk, it was more important for me to go and have an impromptu date night over pizza and dough balls with Tom than to slog it out for another 5K.
Does running help you mentally as well as physically? Have you ever cut out of a race early or DNF’d?
We were worried indeed and I am glad that it was nothing too serious. You came back and smashed it on sunday!