It Was Sunny, I Ran

This abductor strain is taking longer than I'd hoped to heal. Thankfully the weather on Saturday was highly facilitative of rest. Cold and wet, I chose staying in bed over a x-trainer and a Balance class. However I really am happier when I run, and I start to feel extremely slothful if I take too much time off.

Sunday turned into a beautiful day, if extremely cold. I drove to the gym planning on doing another half an hour on a x-trainer followed by a Balance class. However as I drove to the gym I caught glimpses of a mirror-calm harbour, reflecting every square inch of the sun above me. By the time I got to the gym, abductor injury or no abductor injury, I was going running.

So I ran. Only half an hour - just out to Pt Jerningham and back. But it felt good. I was in party mode again, and so was half of Wellington. I ran quite quickly, or as quickly as I could while dodging kids on bikes and hoards of Sunday afternoon amblers. The Rimutakas reclined on the horizon, wearing a full coat of snow and looking stunning. I concentrated on technique, engaging glutes and pushing off each footfall. I maintained a moderate heartrate, not feeling any urge to stop. It was more than enough to remind me of why I do this.

As I ran past Freyberg two young guys approached me on one of the four-wheel cycles available for hire on the waterfront. They were wearing handkerchiefs at their necks and cowboy hats. I was marveling at their interesting appearance, when one of them put his hand up at a 45 degree angle in front of me. Not quite believing what I was seeing I returned the favour, high fived him, and continued down the footpath laughing. Thanks to the mysterious stranger - he made my day!

My abductor started hurting after around 20 minutes, but wasn't too bad, and by the end of Balance I was feeling okay again. I managed to score a spot in the sun in the studio and enjoyed lying in the warmth during relaxation.

Afterwards Sarah and I walked to Frank Kitts Park for post-workout sorbet. Sitting there on the water's edge, gazing out at the snow, it was only half-way through our cones that our core temperatures started to drop and it suddenly occurred to us that this was not the smartest thing in the world to be doing. Sarah scurried off to her bus, and I to the warmth of my car.

Hamish and I spent the evening at the Petone Winter Carnival. We watched a video production created by a friend of a friend next to the beach, where we were kept warm with pizza and mulled wine, but even so after an hour I was shivering badly. Things improved a bit when Hamish and I went to sit in the sand dunes to watch the fireworks and I managed to warm up a bit. The gorgeous evening had continued, and we enjoyed sitting there gazing out at Sommes Island and the city. There is so much beauty in this little world of ours. It was a perfect night for pyrotechnics. However afterwards, as the second half of the production began, I found myself shivering again. After ten minutes or so my leg was cramping up and I was completely unable to focus on anything other than my discomfort. Finally I gave in and limped back to our car, where I stayed for the next hour until Hamish and Naomi joined me, relieved to be out of the cold.

I felt better again this morning, but my abductor was still nagging when I lifted my leg. by six o'clock it was very dark, very cold and very wet. Ironically this only made me want to run even more. Some of my best runs have been mad, crazy sprints between raindrops. However common sense won over and instead I spent 45 minutes on a x-trainer. As the last of the Jog Squadders trickled home with wet, cold, grim looks on their faces I felt a little relieved that I had not been with them around Pt Jerningham. I headed off to the bus, comparatively warm and dry.

I will do Duck's RPM class tomorrow, and catch up on a missed weights workout (I just couldn't get out of bed this morning, it was soooo cold), then will try running again on Wednesday. As I said, I'm disappointed it's taking so long to recover, but I guess I have to be sensible.