Sunny Sunday Runday

After a much needed sleep in and a gentle start to my morning, the Mister and I headed to one of our favourite nearby spots near the bay for a sunny run. I really wanted to run with him and we started out together, doing 6:30 min/km pace on flat concrete paths. But as we ran he checked in with me:

How was I feeling? Was I going to do the whole 10km after my fast parkrun yesterday?

My reply: It depends on how uncomfortable I want to be.

He reminded me that I shouldn't really try and keep up with him; he's been running almost every day for months now. His weekly running mileage is easily 2-3 times what mine is. Just because I could run the 10km on the flat at that pace doesn't mean I should.

I thought about my tendency to over do things, to push too hard, to do too much.

I thought about what I could do in the extra time I would have while I waited for him. I had some people I wanted to reply to that needed some quiet, solo time. I thought about how much better my day would go if I didn't push myself to my limit on my run.

My decision was made. I had a drink at a water fountain just before another road crossing and used this 2.3km point as my turnaround spot, leaving Brad to forge on ahead to his own planned turnaround location. I took another sip of water, gratefully, quietly and then jogged at my own pace back to the car.

It turns out that the pace was pretty good for me after all; running on my own naturally saw me sitting right around 6:30 pace anyway. But I did other things I wouldn't do with Brad; I thought about spots where I could run on the grass instead of the concrete; I jumped up on stones and then back down again, practising my natural movement skills; I smiled at more passers-by.

And 100 metres before I reached the carpark I saw one of my favourite running buddies approaching. With coffee in hand she was walking home after doing her own run. We took 10 minutes to chat about running and races and being too hard on ourselves. Then we awkwardly and deliberately avoided hugging as we said goodbye; she's someone I always hug, so we're finding the sensible decision of not hugging at the moment difficult. But we both appreciated the chat.

While I adore touch - hugging and kissing the people I genuinely care about and feel safe with - I am still appreciative of all the opportunities that exist to still have meaningful connections in the ways that feel safe for everyone.

After our run we hoped in the water. We weren't alone; on a sunny Sunday in South East Queensland you can expect every spot with water to be teeming with life. This spot was no different. (Photo by Brad. Thanks babe!)

It was sunny, it was hot, and it was totally and utterly gorgeous. I'm never disappointed when we run here. It's always amazing. (Photo by Brad).

Proof of my run. In hindsight, I probably would have run until I hit 5km if I hadn't run into my friend. But the connection and conversation meant more to me than completing some arbitrary distance. (Screenshot of Garmin App).

I just finished a 4.21km running that lasted about 0hh:29mm:26ss !
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