Do you remember the first time?

....and yep I do remember the worst time. It was Abingdon 04 limping the last 6 miles with a crocked knee. The next time I ran would be the following January. Yeah I was well happy.

But do you?? do you remember that feeling when you finished your first race......for me it was absolute elation and somewhere at home I have photos of me red faced and beaming holding up my medal for the very first Nike 10k in Kew Gardens. I didn't know if I could run 10k when I started it but the realisation that I could and in just under an hour made me very happy.

When do you think it is that you lose that? That feeling that you have acheived something, rather than the feeling that you could have, should have done better......I dont know. It is probably the reason that myself and lots of people I know enter ever more 'tough' events.

Heh, we would all probably be drug addicts without the exercise. Just start with a little puff (10k) 'go on you'll enjoy it, it wont kill you' before long it aint enough is it, so you graduate to a bit of C (marathon) 'everybodys doing it, do you want to be left out?' before you know it you're addicted to H (signed up for a 100 miler) because nothing else takes the edge off :-) and you never know, it might kill you, enough people have given me the benefit of their very UNexpert opinion to tell me how bad running is for you.

Anyway I went a bit off course there, I was thinking about a 5k I did at the weekend. Basically I ran 24.40. My PB is 22.48. I was sorely dissapointed in myself because I expected to be able to run close to my PB after multiple long distance events and no speed work.

Of course I'm a muppett, I know I am but I reckon there will be a lot of people (HA!) reading this who will know exactly what I mean, but I felt it was important to get this down so that the next time I am being an arse about my performance I can read it and remember that. Better people than me have already told me I'm an idiot for feeling like that........

So.....this weekend, an Olympic distance tri in Birmingham. Fits seamlessly into training for ultramarathons, ie it will be a bit of fun that may hurt a bit, but gives me a chance to walk my bike around holding the saddle so i look like a proper triathlete who knows what she is doing :D (I bloody love all the kit and stuff in tri it's the only reason I do it). You never know I might expand my shoe collection too.

Below is a picture which pretty much sums up what I saw at the PULP gig I went to last night (ie bugger all) added a bit of other stuff to keep my audience happy. I am nice like that.