What am I looking at?!
OK, so after two long months away, I’m finally back in Europe, and boy was I in for a rude shock! Nine weeks of prolonged daylight hours, mini spells of heatwaves (Australia) and continuous oppressive heat and humidity (Singapore) had scrubbed my mind clean of how cold it can be back in Metz at this time of the year.
So while I was treat to images like these while running overseas:
Now I have to contend with sights like these:
Where’s the speed, yo?
Scenery aside, there was something else I’d expected to see, but I’m still waiting for it. In Australia and Singapore, I was labouring under the impression that my splits could be ignored, because well – heat and humidity. My expectations were sky-high, that as soon as I return to France, I’d be like a cheetah with a jetpack, breaking the sound barrier with a BOOM! as I rocket past other runners at my local running route.
Nope. Didn’t happen. I’ve completed 6 runs in the last 8 days now, and my average pace per run, for every single run, has been honteuse (shameful). I can’t even use the heat as an excuse anymore which means, well, I’m out of excuses. I’m just a slow runner who’s gotten even slower after 2 months of holidays.
At any rate, it’s nice to come “home” and settle back into some semblance of a routine, which hopefully means I can snap out of the la-dee-dah attitude towards running, and focus on reaching my performance targets once more.
For a complete reflection of measuring progress as a runner, please visit my blog: http://thetaoofourlartdevivre.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/measuring-progress-as-a-runner/
ah! dont beat yourself up – have you heard the expression ‘a watched pot never boils’ ? I would get out next time with no watch and just run. It will soon come back again…..
Thanks for the kind words, bro. I’m just really annoyed that I’ve gotten slower! >:-(
On the plus side, I managed to increase my weekly mileage by 20% in the last 2 months, so that’s still something I guess. =D
Lol I feel for you. I’m a darn slow runner. I keep going out there and I keep hoping for improvement and nothing happens. Other than mileage accumulation. So I’ll just contend with that. Just keep going out there regardless of speed. It’s still better than sitting on a couch.
Thanks for the encouragement, I really needed it. =) You’re right, going slowly is better than not moving at all!