The successful long run where everything was perfect

 

Tara's phone said 18k, mine said 15k. Eh, neither here nor there! At any rate, it's the furtherest we've ever done it 1.) together, and 2.), after Covid. That wasn't the only buzz from the  workout

 Where do I start! The weather was beautiful, at least when we started, fresh and sunny. During our run it also snowed and blizzarded. 

The first point is that this woman is good at this. She goes and goes methodically, rhytmically. And goes, ang goes. This is excellent for me, as I lose focus at times and stop *ever so* briefly to stretch an ankle, or get lost in the peisage (some cool spaces have appeared in this neck of the woods that I hadn't noticed before), or not pay attention to the right turning of the road, or stop for a second to switch from podcast to playlist - to radio station - to audiobook - to some recordings I made 467346723 days ago - to a Ted talk - to a call to a friend. I exaggerate, but still. 

None of that happened during the long run on saturday (I think I should Capital Letter-it)- it was The Long Run. Only a couple of times, maybe 3, had she to look back to see what's up with me as she seemed to not put it past me to jump on a bus passing by ( why I am not even ashamed of this, I don't know, it's not a good image for someone who says running is serious business to them). So basically I aim not to behave like her overexcited Beagle.

 The second point is that we both hit that euphoric runner's high. Oh, people could write poems and songs about this!! It's lovely.. the rhythm, the company, the quiet, the togetherness, the frigging beautiful East London, in all weathers(🙄), but when the sun shows mercy, it's divine!

The third point is that I've got some serious ego strokes ( by my standards) running related, ofcourse. That for me meant casually eating jelly babies whilst not breaking stride, as yeah, that is a done thing when one runs far ( I am that One).

The fourth point is that I learnt a couple of different things that I wouldn't have come across to, had I not done the run:

1. The guy at the coffee shop where we stopped after our run had beautifully decorated gel nails, that, get this, lasted for 4 weeks and are still going strong. That is big, what a serendipity, my next manicure treat will be a quality one too.

2.  Tara meantioned she was listening to a podcast on 'White Fragility' - (a term coined by a sociologist, DiAngelo, in 2011" to describe any defensive instincts or reactions that a white person experiences when questioned about race or made to consider their own race." Wiki link here. So I went home and in the bliss of home-alone and a relaxing bath, I listened to a talk by DiAngelo, which was, to say the least, incredibly informative. My bath water became cold, because there was a lot to unpack, compare and contrast and reflect on there. I reccomend looking up 'white fragility' and learning what and how it is to everyone. You will be less ignorant than you were before it, because even good hearted ethically minded kind inclusive people can be ignorant to different degrees, to different things. We live and learn, please learn about 'white fragility'. 

And that's the stream of consciouness for this run. Itching to add some pretty photos we've taken, but kids are cold in the bath.

Addendum - Non-technical explanation of white fragility