My Big Run

Hello, I'm back again!

Now I know you are out there, reading this blog!, I can see I have had visitors, quite a lot of them, but I don't know who you are. And I don't know if you want to talk about weight loss, or running or both...or even about earthquakes.

So I shall write about running today.

I have told you about my run/walk programme before, and technically I am on week 7 of that (run7 mins, walk 1 min, repeat 30 mins or so). However when I was away on holiday I decided to do some hill work. I live by the sea, and have nothing bigger to run over than a sand dune.  So I thought I would trot uphill for 7 mins, then trot back down again, and repeat.

But I sort of changed my mind.

I ran right to the top of the hill!

I started at the village below, Le Bons Bay, on the Banks Peninsula, South Island, NZ, as you can see, it is right at sea level! 

I trotted uphill as far as I could. When I thought I was going to be sick, I stopped and walked until the nausea passed and then I jogged on again. The photo above is taken from the first time I stopped to walk. Taking pictures is an excuse to stop completely!

This is another time I stopped to walk...even higher! The village is now out of sight around the corner of the hill.

About this time I thought I could do no more. I so wanted to reach the top, but every time I thought I had got there....another top appeared, even higher up! I decided to go to the next top, and if that wasn't really the top, I would go back down.

The top!

I made it. This is the signpost at the top of the hill to prove I got there.

The view down the Lavericks from the top of the hill. I didn't run down to Lavericks as I would have to climb out again and I was not sure I would be able to do that, so I turned and came back down again.

Coming down was almost as hard as climbing up, but in a different way. By the time I got to the bottom my left knee was complaining, but thankfully it stopped when I reached flat ground. The next day I was very, very, very stiff though!

So I went for a walk on the beach! 

I am very proud of myself. I never could have even walked up there a year ago. And now I ran it...not all the way, I walked some bits....but even so I am so proud! I ran a short jog at an easy pace the day before we came home to loosen the stiffness. Even though I am very slow, I ran for 30 minutes without the walk. I think the hill climb has done me some good. 

Let me know what you would like to talk about. Running? Weight loss? Earthquakes? Anything else?

Cheers! And have fun today!