I wish... I was a cross country runner (part 5)

Don't miss out on nature's beauty because you're squeamish about mud.

At the beginning of the month I set myself a goal of ten cross country runs. I picked ten out of the air because it's a nice round number. Five seemed too few, and twenty too many. There are only twenty-eight days in February after all (this year anyway).

With one week of February left, I had seven more runs to do. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't realistic either.

Run number four was a Sunday afternoon jog through Hempstead Woods. It was good, but I decided I would try a morning run next time, and I would go somewhere different.

So I chose Views Wood for run number five on Tuesday morning. It was brilliant! Relatively big with a variety of paths. I dropped down onto one beside a stream and leapt over smaller streams feeding into it. It was so much fun that I forgot to take any photos.

The downside of running in the morning was that my legs felt stiff and achy. I wondered whether I was doing myself an injury. Also, it was a considerable chunk of time out of my morning, which meant I started work much later than I would have liked.

I did the opposite on Wednesday for run number six; a late evening jog around Hempstead park and a secondary school playing field. My legs felt OK but I was worried about breaking them by tripping over tree roots, molehills or teenagers snogging in the dark.

So for run number seven I stepped out in the morning light for a jaunt through Buxted Park.

There wasn't much morning light. A low heavy cloud hung over the countryside, and a steady drizzle soaked me to the skin. It had been raining all night and the muddy paths had become quagmires in which my running trainers were completely enveloped.

I had high hopes of fitting in three more runs to reach my target of ten. But it didn't happen. I went to Brighton yesterday, had a late night, and couldn't face another rain-drenched boggy run today. 

I'm not disappointed though. Seven cross country runs is respectable. Four runs in one week is astounding - for me. That would have been unheard of at the beginning of the month.

More importantly, I have got back into the habit of going for a run. I've moved my running shorts and shirts to the top of the pile, and my trainers are by the front door. More than that though, I have decided to build a cross country run into my weekly routine...

Every Thursday afternoon I will go for a cross country run. Before dinner. When my legs are warmed up and the day's work is done.

I'll leave you with 3 things that I have learnt from cross country running this month:

1. It's OK to get muddy. Mud is natural. Being muddy makes you feel closer to nature.
2. Running through woods feels primal. It's what our ancestors did to hunt wild animals, or avoid getting eaten by one.
3. The more time you spend in the countryside, the more beauty you see in it. And during the winter you have these special places to yourself. Don't miss out because you're squeamish about mud.

Tomorrow is the start of a brand new month. What do you wish you could do in March?

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.