You will have to take my word for it: the photo in this post is Hannah and myself. Some might say it's badly exposed, technically poor etc. I would say it's atmospheric and hopefully sums up last night's run with Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club.
Firstly, just to avoid any confusion, the club isn't actually at Leighton Buzzard. It is at Linslade which is a smaller adjacent town. Secondly they don't paddle canoes as they paddle kayaks. Glad to have cleared that up.
Once again Hannah was keen to join in with the winter training programme which involves me, as her Dad, taking her over to Linslade. It makes sense for me to run alongside and I need little excuse. We are gradually getting to know the club members, one by one and they're a friendly bunch. This time there was about 10 of us and again Reggie was the coach and led as we ran from the Boat/Club House over to a park area in Leighton Buzzard, probably a mile or so to get there. That was enough to get us warmed up. When we were all there together, instructions were given as to the nature of the training session.
The plan this time was to run around a set path in the park, forming a triangle. The first side was up an incline and then a flat section - these were to be the "effort" parts i.e. to work hard and run fairly hard. The third side of the triangle is to be taken easier, either as a jog or an opportunity to take longer strides to stretch out a little. Running around this triangle didn't take too long, perhaps 0.25 mile at most. Now we were there, this was the plan:
Interval training
1 lap
Rest 2 mins
2 laps
Rest 2 mins
3 laps
Rest 2 mins
4 laps
Rest 2 mins
3 laps
Rest 2 mins
2 laps
Rest 2 mins
1 lap
Return to club house
Man, did I need that run
All day I had been sitting at my desk at work, periodically looking out of the window and yearning for a good run. I was tempted to have a run at lunchtime but the thought of sitting there all afternoon in a somewhat smelly state was enough to talk me out of it.
I didn't feel I was being very productive throughout the day. The only thing I had in my diary was a slot at SMT (Strategic Management Team) where I had the hot seat to talk over something I was working on. After I had said my piece I sat there listening to some of the conversation and again I found myself looking out of the window with thoughts of running but only for a split second as immediately there was the "Doug could I just ask you about page 5....." This brought me back to Earth with an abrupt bump.
To bring some tedium to the day, which was probably self inflicted, there were a few more keyboard problems. Again this was dealt with simply enough by tipping it upside down and giving it a good shake. You wouldn't believe the amount of crumbs that fell out. My colleagues felt sorry for me and one went off to get a can of compressed air and instead came back with a can of Spray Mount. Luckily he realised it was GLUE, just before he sprayed it into my keyboard; now that would have been interesting. Phew.
I promised myself I'd leave early, which I sort of did and drove home as quickly as I could, looking forward to a run so much. I knew that any kind of a run was what I needed; it did not matter if it was a lone, in a group, short, long etc. I simply needed a good run to clear my mind.
A positive effect
So even though the evening's run was quite chatty, it was just what I needed. It took my mind off work in a fantastic way and gave me a good physical workout.
Throughout the run it was dark. There was also a certain eery beauty to the run, which is crudely hinted at in the photograph above. As we ran around the park the mist was gathering and as our own temperature increased, the air temperature dropped. This meant our breath was adding to the mist. Looking at ourselves and the other members of the group, some were positively steaming and had the ingredients of us making our own little micro climate of a pea soup fog.
This has also whetted my appetite for running at night time and this is handy in November with the daylight continuing to become shorter and shorter. I have been a little apprehensive about this before in case I trip over again (I've had a few falls and injuries) but there's actually something quite nice about it. For practical reasons, it makes sense to do it with someone else and right now there are some options - further running with my friends Nettie and John (who are new runners and I'm their ruthless, utterly harsh and unreasonable coach) and my friend Jon, who is a very accomplished and experienced runner.
Wrapping up
I really like going along to support Hannah as it means I can have a run as well. Being the dutiful Dad I do try to keep to her pace or maybe just a little faster to egg her along a little and it's great to see her enjoying it so much - this is such a joy.
With the Kayaking Club in mind, I can see myself joining sooner or later (as a non-paddling member) as it's good to support a local club like this and to recognise how local communities really do benefit from such clubs. Also I think the club is well respected in Linslade and Leighton Buzzard; people like seeing them using the canal in this way.
Thanks in advance.
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