Running Milestone

I started running in my 20′s to help control my weight. I could never stick to a diet but I enjoyed running or should I say jogging.  I found that I could always eat more healthily when I was exercising so that is what I did, I exercised regularly and ate healthily (very little if any junk). If I am to be honest, I’ve never really been over-weight, certainly never to the point where a doctor would comment. But I have been heavier than I ought to be. I am short and have a small frame and tend to put weight on around my butt/hips/stomach and once a student did ask if I was pregnant when I wasn’t (I was wearing size 13 jeans at the time), my bmi at the time was at the high end of the healthy range.

So I’ve been a reasonably regular runner for about 15 years (where did all those years go?).  I wouldn’t know how many miles I have covered in that time, but when I bought an iPhone about 2 years ago I started using the Nike app. I am a real fan, it keeps a detailed log of every run you use it on. It records the distance using GPS which makes it very accurate and maps it too. It can therefore also give you your average speed for the whole run but also your speed at different points if you want to know. It keeps all this data on a website you can log on and view and there are virtual races and challenges. I have entered a few and won some too!  I am currently leading a challenge (D.C to NYC) that started in September last year and goes til September this year.

So Sunday (27th May) was a pretty special running day for two reasons. Firstly the Nike app rolled over into the 5000′s. Yeah, I have ran more than 5000km in the past 2 years!

The other reason Sunday was special was I ran with a running group. I’ve always been a solo runner but when I set my goal to run a marathon I knew I would need some company to get through the long training runs and I’ve found a wonderful bunch a people who I run with on Sundays. But the weekend just been I was in Auckland and was going to miss my pack-run so I got on the internet and found a running club in Auckland (YMCA Marathon Training Club). Fortunately they allow visitors, so I drove into Auckland city early Sunday morning and found a great bunch of people all raring to run 8am sharp. There were a lot of runners milling around and warming up – I was told they have more than 50 pack leaders alone, given that a lot of the club members had completed a marathon the weekend earlier and so were not there. I’d love to see how many people turn up on a regular/well-attended session – it must be 100′s.

So we started running, I found the pace good and I tried to keep alert to the streets we were running along but I don’t know Auckland well so I really had know idea where we were at times. For anyone that knows Auckland – this is a map of the run with 1km markers. We went into Ponsonby, Herne Bay, Pt Chevilar, Western Springs, Grey Lynn and back to the top of K Rd/Grey Street. All up we clocked 17.47 Km

I had such a fab time, chatting away with others in the group which took my mind off the time which is a real bonus when clocking up distance. Upon finishing I thanked the group and told them I’m really looking forward to catching up with them again mid-June when I will be back up there for the weekend again.

After the run, I went back and had a shower before we went out for brunch… well it was lunchtime. We went to Landreth & Co. where I had the scrumptious Buttermilk pancakes served with bacon, pear & anise compote and golden-syrup ice cream.

I did not interrogate the lovely girls at the counter as to what is in the pancakes – I suspect there is flour and there is definitely sugar in the ice-cream but the reality is I read a review for this cafe in December and it has taken 6 months to go and try this dish so it’s not like I eat this regularly. It was totally worth it too!

Today I clocked up a further 10km.

About these ads