Training with friends

I’ve been struggling to fit in any training because work has been busy. Also, M still doesn’t sleep so I’m always tired. I’m also struggling with my weight, which isn’t helping to make me motivated. I’ve realised that training with friends is the key to getting me back on track.

parkrun with Kate

I met up with fellow RD Kate to do parkrun on 16th March. It was lovely to have a catch up with her. We ran the first part with Jill, another RD. Partway round, M fell asleep. Oh, what it is to be 2 years old and able to nap whenever you want!

It wasn’t a quick run, but it was lovely to have the time to catch up with a friend.

In the afternoon, we took M out on her balance bike. She’s finally learnt how to ride it and came racing down the hill we live on shouting, “I’m a winner, Daddy!”

Swim with Sarah

On 18th, Sarah and I went for a swim. Work is quite busy and stressful at the moment, so agreeing to swim with a friend is helping me to get to the pool.

6.5km run with Mimi and Paul

I finally got myself out for a run that was over 5km on 20th March. Running is a discipline where training with friends can make a huge difference. My colleagues Mimi and Paul were going out for a run, so I joined them. Mimi had never run more than 6km, so it was a distance PB for her and the furthest that I’ve run in 2019!

When I got home, I found that a new Zoggs swimming costume had been delivered in time for Swimathon. I absolutely love it as it’s so vibrant.

Bike ride with Teri

I managed to get out for my first proper bike ride of the year on 22nd March. (I don’t really count my cycle commute). We had a lovely ride out to Lepe beach, where we stopped at the cafe. It reminded me of the ride we did three years ago, where I waited until we got to Lepe to tell Teri that I was pregnant because I didn’t want her to worry that I wouldn’t be able to ride my bike!

Moors Valley parkrun

On 23rd March, we added to our parkrun tourism streak by going to Moors Valley parkrun.

Stuart was pushing M in her buggy, so he agreed to run with me. The start of the run was very congested. I suggested to Stu that he carry on at his own pace, which also meant that I didn’t feel any pressure.

There is an out and back section on one part of the run, so it was lovely to see Stu and M.

I really enjoyed this run. If we lived nearer we would probably go there more often as there is a lovely playground for children.

My third Swimathon

On 28th March, it was finally Swimathon time. When signing up, I had a choice of four lanes: slow; slow-medium; medium-fast and fast. When I swam with Southampton Tri Club, I was mostly in Lane 1, the slow lane (although on a few occasions, I was promoted to Lane 2). On that basis, I thought that slow-medium might be appropriate for Swimathon.

I quickly realised when I started swimming that I was the fastest person in the lane and I was comfortably keeping pace/passing people in the next lane up. I tried tapping people’s feet when we were reaching the end of a length, but they just kept ignoring me. I’m guessing that they don’t know that this is how to signal to someone that you want to pass them.

I got increasingly frustrated, so ended up having to do a fartlek swim. I would wait until I could see a large enough gap to pass someone and move in before someone came up on the other side. This didn’t help with my final time as I wasted a lot of time following people and didn’t get into a good rhythm.

My final time was 1:01, which was disappointing as I was hoping to finish in under an hour.

Run Directing at Southampton parkrun

30th March was my turn to volunteer as Run Director (with Stu) at Southampton parkrun.

I sometimes feel frustrated that I haven’t even reached my 300th parkrun yet… if I hadn’t volunteered so often in non-running roles then I’d be up to 350 by now. I also wonder what my volunteering profile would look like if I hadn’t requested not to be added for the many times that I token sorted at Eastleigh parkrun.

My third Mothering Sunday

I think the card I was given sums up my life pretty well at the moment!

How was March for you? Did you manage to fit in any training with friends?