Tuesday 26 March 2013

The Stampede

I feel like a broken record. 

First I start by doing a post about how I've fallen out of love with running. 

Then I start running again and post about how much I love it.
 
Then I stop running again.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

After completing my firstever 10k back in September last year I've basically not run again.

I have a myriad of excuses as to why I haven't been running and they are all 100% kind of valid to the extent that I cant help feeling that if I put as much effort into running as I do into excuses for not running I'd have won some kind of championship by now.

The basic problem is that I don't reeaaaally like running.

I mean I like it when I'm doing it well and I'm definitely really up for the idea of it, but the actual execution of it is a different matter. And I've come to the conclusion that unless I've something to run for, I'm not going to be running. I'm not out of my mind, I don't like running so much that I'm just going to do it for no good reason.

After the 10k people were full of. "half marathon next!" talk. I was full of intense feelings of hatred for those people. I did 10k, why was this not good enough?! There was no way I was contemplating running further and I'm still not for the following reasons;

A) I'm not mental
B) I don't have mental problems

Hats off to those who can run that far but it just doesn't appeal to me. I can only just manage the 10k, not just in fitness terms but in terms of battling total boredom. It was a stroke of genius deciding to listen to podcasts whilst I ran but I've reached my limit both mentally and physically.

However, the fact remains that my love for ALL the food means that I need to keep exercising to prevent myself turning into 2 Tonne Tessie. So running and I need to get ourselves back on track again and the only way we're going to do that is if we have something to aim for.

At some point last year it was mentioned on Twitter that there was such a thing as zoo runs, where people could go to a zoo, and...you know.....run.

SOLD.

And so I ended up signed up to the Whipsnade Zoo Stampede where I will be running 10km around a zoo.

Clearly I cant do this on my own. 

Me + running + wild animals = running into lampposts/bins/other people and falling over. 

I need someone to keep me on track and this person is Lucy.

Luckily I've met her once before so I'm pretty sure she's not going to kill me and tip me into the bear pit.

However she is a veeeery good runner. She just completed the Thirsk 10 Mile at the weekend, where I am currently struggling to make it to 2.

I think it probably best that Lucy prances gazelle like ahead of me whilst I plod along like a rhinoceros (you may laugh but i wouldn't want to stop a rhino in its path, you know what I'm saying?) and we shall meet at the end and go and properly look at the animals.

But we don't want to keep all the fun to ourselves, we would like to open this up to all you internet people, a kind of Bloggers Run Wild experience. 

Be you a rhinoceros or a gazelle come and join us at Whipsnade Zoo on June 9th? Or come and cheer us on?

Who's up for it?

Too see the course map and hear Lucy's plea - go HERE
 
(If you do want to take part let me or Lucy know, either here, or on the Twitterville by tweeting @LucyInTheClouds or @Shippers1983)

13 comments:

  1. OMG I am kinda jealous, I would love to do a zoo run. I'm actually no good at running, though.

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  2. That sounds like a brilliant idea. I can understand why running would get boring. Funny though, I used to be able to swim for an hour at a time and not get bored, churning through the laps and I didn't even have music ;-) I wonder if you just need to find the exercise that is like meditation for you and running isn't really it. Maybe cycling or some such thing?

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  3. A zoo run sounds so much fun! I've never been able to get myself into running, I wish I could.

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  4. I AM EXCITED!

    Also, have you seen the zombie runs that everyone's doing now?!

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    Replies
    1. They look TERRIFYING - you'd be bringing out a corpse if I tried to do something like that.

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  5. Ooh, that sounds like fun. I'm just back into running (again...) so I know what it's like. I found a series of Couch to 5K podcasts where a guy talks you through each week and tells you when to run and when to walk - so much better than having to keep looking at a watch and feeling like the agony will never end.
    Can't wait to see the photos...

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  6. ps... OK, she got me: What are zombie runs?

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    1. http://www.runforyourlives.com/

      Example above. It just looks terrifying. I'd end up curled in a small ball screaming repeatedly until I wet myself.

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  7. I want to come on the zoo run but I can't run, maybe I can trail behind at the back?!

    Maria xxx

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  8. How long does it take to train for 10k and how would one go about doing so?

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    1. Hmmm I'm not really the best person to ask because I am terribly lazy. I'm hoping to run one in May and the last distance I ran was 4km yesterday....but I have high hopes!

      You can go online and there are loads of training plans but basically I just ran for as long as I could, day/two days off, run a bit further than last time and just keep going!

      And I didn't actuall run 10k before I ran the actual race, I trained up to about 8km and then when you're in the race it just kind of comes from nowhere and you find the other 2km in your legs!

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    2. Um, sorry but you can not follow "I am terribly lazy" with the phrase "the last distance I ran was 4km". The last distance I ran was...about 100m and that was purely to stop my thighs from going numb whilst waiting for the bus.

      But...June 9th is ten weeks away. So, train to 10K in ten weeks is plausible, right? If I can muster the effort and acquire equipment* to start this week, well, I may well go for this.

      *by which I mean, I own no suitable footwear...yet.

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  9. Sounds wicked...but alas! Not home yet! I'd cheer...never run! But I hope it all goes exceedingly well! :) xxx

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