I wish... I was a cross country runner (part 3)

Put an appointment in your calendar to do the thing you wish you could do.

"I can't wait to go running again" were my exact words after The Eliminator Race last weekend. I envisioned pulling on my running trainers on Monday evening and leaping into the woods near my house.

On Monday my trainers were still drying out (I had washed them on Sunday).

On Tuesday they were nearly dry.

On Wednesday there were dry at last (hooray) but didn't have laces in them (boo). I tried to thread the laces back into the trainers but the ends were frayed and I couldn't do it, so I threw the laces away. I borrowed some from an old pair of shoes. The new laces were fat and brown and horrible but they were going to get muddy anyway. By the time I had done all this, of course, I couldn't go for a run because it was time to drive to work.

On Thursday I forgot to run in the morning and I couldn't be bothered to get sweaty and muddy again after my shower.

On Friday I started work late and finished work late and decided it was too late to go for a run.

Then it was the weekend again.

Six days. No cross country runs. Poor. Very poor. At that rate I wouldn't achieve my goal of running ten times in February.

So on Saturday I went for a run. Straight after work. I put on my clean white running trainers with the pooey brown laces and I ran into the woods. And I slipped around in the woods. And I stopped running in the woods because I couldn't breathe properly. And I ran nervously past spiky slivers of tree trunk in the woods in case I fell and impaled myself on them.

It wasn't as much fun as The Eliminator Race. There was less screaming and laughing for a start. Nobody made appreciative noises when I nearly slipped over but recovered my footing. And nobody wrapped tin foil around me and fed me cupcakes when I finished. 

I know. Unbelievable.

But it was fun in a different way. The countryside looked beautiful in the winter sunshine, a huge wild rabbit barely moved as I ran past it, and I got the same buzz from skipping over puddles and rocks as I did last weekend. Overcoming obstacles. Dashing between the trees. Breathing in the fresh air. It felt good.

It would feel even better if cross country running was a regular habit in my life; something that I do a few times a week without hesitation. 

What do you wish you could do that you keep putting off? Put an appointment in your calendar to do it.