I did the Korokoro 10km yesterday and a woman I used to run with was doing the half in the event (which I did last year so I know just how awful/awesome it is) - she did it in just over two hours and this is another in event that she's caned and just keeps getting faster and stronger in. So I start to think, hey, maybe if I tried a programme with her trainer then I could get faster too! Then I remember that I'm built for comfort not speed and that I'd have to shift the balance of my training from its spread amongst at least 3 different types of physical activities in favour of running and I'm not prepared to do that. Still, being faster and fitter would be soooo nice...

btw did you catch Lisa T with the Pretties? She's made of awesome and I'm not just saying that 'cos she's one of the teachers at my dancing studio:)

Having ambition is one thing. Constantly wanting the world to be different, especially, most especially those things you can't change will have you ending up permanently angry or deeply depressed. You need to cultivate a more Zen sense of accepting what is and dealing with it.

This morning as I rose early in the dark of a near solstice Scottish winter I was all prepared for a very wet 14 miler. As it turned out the rain had not eventuated, I was able to wear my glasses and it was even approaching mild with a zephyr of a southerly breeze (south is warm in the northern hemisphere). The first half with its two giant steep hills went very well, it was good to be alive and good to be running. Then about 4miles from home my lower legs began to stiffen and then a mile or so from home my groin began to play up if I tried to push it. Did I rant? did I rave? did I curse the gods of running? No, I throttled back and thought about another day.

One of the joys of exercising outside if pitching yourself against the elements as well as the terrain. The last time I did that run, two weeks ago there was a howling wind (30mph) and it was tipping it down. At the bottom of the first steep hill it was blowing me up the hill. By half way up it was blowing straight in face with walls of water. Running up a steep hill into a mini gale (after having to take a detour in town due to a locked gate). To me the elements were testing me by making the hill steeper while providing some needed coolant. I had somewhere to stash my glasses and I am not soluble. Coming back along the ridge after the second hill, high above the city the clouds passed and a bright, clear blue, washed clean morning dawned from the west on the tails of the wind.

Two runs of two halves. i take them as they come. My fastest recorded time for my 6.6 mile run included running for 2 miles along the waterfront into the teeth of a howling Easterly (straight from Siberia) that was throwing freezing rain, hail and sleet in my face. it was a relief to turn and run up the hill. But what a sense of achievement when I got home!

Nothing makes you feel more alive than exercising in energetic weather. It is sent to remind you that you are alive, welcome what it sends you and learn not to let it defeat you.

I would like to be able to swim. Not fast just at a reasonable pace like 20 mins for a kilometre. It is a bit of a downer being last out of the water most of the time and despite the fact that I pass a few people on the bike and run it still bugs me a bit. Perhaps as you say, Ann, its better to stick to long distance events where the most important ability is stickability.

All I want is a knee that is not bung :-(

Whenever I have similar feelings I try to remember this -

It's better to want what you've got, than to get what you want.

I wish there was some sort of exercise I actually enjoyed and wanted to do. Presently I do nothing because I can't think of anything fun to do. I am jealous of all you motivated people.

I want more time. Time to actually get some exercise done, time to read this blog more often!

@ xLeahx

Hon, having the desire to have that kind of motivation is such a big step in the right direction. I had that desire for so long and just couldn't find something I would stick to. But then I made a few decisions that have put me on a great path (except for the bung knee....).

The first thing I did was think about what I liked and what I didn't like - I knew I didn't like going to the gym so that couldn't be all it was about. But I also knew that it needed to be part of it. I also enlisted some help - I got a personal trainer that I would see once every month and he helped me keep on track and work with what I liked and change things I didn't. He put programs together for me that included all my running, swimming, etc - not just going to the gym.

The end result of all of this is a passion for running that is complemented by a whole lot of other things - pilates, gym work, swimming, cycling, rock climbing. And it's now a fundamental part of who I am.

I was in that Tri yesterday, and I WASN"T one of those fast guys, not even close, my swim is ok and I'm a reasonable runner but I am so slow on the bike and I get really dis-heartend and angry on the bike leg because all the people I beat out of the water just blow past me on the bike, (not many yesterday though as I had a bad swim). My mate who started Triathlon the time as me was feeling sick and under the weather, but he still finished inside the top 10! B******D. Anyway, I can understand your reasoning for not doing these shorter events, however what made me cheer up a little about yesterdays performance was the fact that at the end of the day, I had done a PB in both the swim (didn't feel like it though) and run, so even on a bad day there was improvement, what more can we expcet from ourselves?

@xLeahx

You don't begin to enjoy any exercise until you have built up enough fitness so it isn't always a struggle. That can take a while, however it takes only about 2 weeks to begin to experience having more energy in your daily life. You just have to stick with it until you gain some reasonable aerobic fitness. Then if you truly are not enjoying what you are doing you will still have that fitness as you seek some other activity. If you are constantly trying different things from a base of unfitness you stand little chance of enjoying them.

Fitness first, enjoyable activity second.

@EJ

I have learned to distrust subjective feelings about how I'm doing. Occasionally I will go out to do a run, usually something not too long, intending to just do it easy. Then I find I'm feeling increasingly bad, I can't make my legs move at what seems to be a decent pace and I will often cut the run short and walk stretches. Then I get home and log my time, and even with the walking I find I have done it much faster than intended. The problem is that my legs ran away from me and the energy demands, which would have been expected if I had been trying to run fast, lead me to feel as though I am running it hard despite 'doing it easy'.

Trust your watch, not how you feel. In fact use your watch to correct your feeling. Realising your split time was good can transform how you feel about all those sensations that are assaulting you.