I've quit the gym!

Well, I'm still technically a member, but I've taken my training outside!!

I figured that since I was doing so well on the treadmill, it was really time that I started to take my training outside. It's a well known fact that running outside on tarmac is a million, zillion times harder than doing it on a cushioned treadmill, in an air conditioned gym!

So this Saturday I donned my gym clothes, grabbed my iPod and hit the streets. I thought that since I was soooo brilliant at running now, I would run over the Itchen Bridge and back 3 time (yes, that is a 3 there - not a typo!). So off I went...however..even though the 'Debacle of the Itchen Bridge' has been well documented, I somehow forgot just how steep and horrific it is. So I got to the base of the bridge and it all came flooding back. I managed to get halfway, but then I turned around and ran all the way back. But it was also seriously windy on Sat morning, and I didn't want to risk being blown off and into the waters below (yeah right, because I'm such a waif!!!). So anyway.. I ran off of the bridge and trundled along around near where my flat is. I say trundled, because I can't honestly say it was running.

I came home 19 minutes after I left. And I was probably only running for 10 of those minutes. I was such a pathetic, wingy, whiny moose. I came back thinking 'I can't do this..it's too hard..I don't want to do it anymore'.. blah blah blah.

Seriously - when you're whining so much that you actually to annoy yourself, it's time to take serious action!

So, yesterday I went out and bought myself some new spanky jogging legging things (£34 reduced to £12 - bargain!), and so to celebrate (or justify the purchase, depending on your outlook on frivolous spending) I decided to hit the road again.

This time though I went far, far away from my front door, so that I couldn't give up and go home so easily. I went to Southampton Common. And told myself that I would run for at least 10 minutes without stopping. And since I can do 3 miles in 31 mins on the treadmill, I knew that I would have to be a mega wimp not to be able to do 10 little minutes in the park.

Off I went.. running away. It was hard. Very hard, but I didn't stop. I kept on thinking to myself 'you can stop when this song (on my iPod) finishes' or 'you can stop when you reach that dustbin' etc. But whenever I reached that point, I told myself I could go on for just a little bit more. And before I knew it I had run for 20 minutes 53 seconds!! I was shattered when I finished and my legs were really sore from running on tarmac, but I did it!! I was uber impressed with myself (I did actually give myself a pat on the back!! Loser!).

So it's now given me the confidence to know that I'm not rubbish at running, I'm just very good at giving up when the going gets tough!! I need to carry on running, even when it gets too hard.

The map to the right plots where I ran. A total of 2.24 miles.

I have the Race for Life on Sunday, so I'll fit in another couple of runs before then. I'm hoping to run it all non stop!