Socially distanced running

Today was the Edinburgh Half Marathon, which officially marks my first milestone and puts me one third of the way through the Panama training. It was also the first time that I’ve trained hard enough for a race to justify tapering like a ‘real runner’. Last week I was super excited at the idea of tapering and doing hardly any training for a whole week ..... but in reality I’ve spent most days feeling like a naughty student who knows they haven’t done their science homework. Even though I was following the guidance I couldn’t shake the nagging sensation that I was somehow skiving!

This was also the week that I had my first Covid vaccination and I spent about 24 hours feeling like I had a hangover. The good news is that if the conspiracy theorists are right then I just need to work out how to turn on the GPS in my arm and I won’t have to carry my phone with me when I run any more.

Also, even though the race today was just meant to be a training milestone, I‘ve been getting really hung up on completing the distance within my target time of 1 hour and 40 minutes. I know it’s silly since pace will be irrelevant in Panama due to the distances and terrain, but I can’t help myself. I’m as likely to find the off switch for my competitive DNA as I am the one for the microchip that Bill Gates is apparently now using to listen in to my conversations such as Orla telling me that I have a brain smaller than that of a tiny fish!

Unfortunately this year due to Covid the event was run without crowds and without the traditional route. If I’m honest I was sad about this because every year I walk down to the road and cheer for the runners as they come past the house and I’ve always loved the atmosphere. At least during the run today I would occasionally cross paths with someone who had their EMF race number on display so I knew they were completing the same event. I would clap and cheer each time with growing enthusiasm to show solidarity for my fellow competitors as we passed each other. Unfortunately just after finishing I offered someone a big ‘Woop Woop’ and air pump as they ran past me only to realise too late that they didn’t have a number on and that I had just frightened one of the local joggers who looked very unimpressed about it.

So, it has been a strange old week with lots of mixed emotions. But tonight I’m enjoying a rare glass of whisky to celebrate my first socially distanced race and knowing that I’ve made it a third of the way through. I love the fact that everyone is still out there running and finding ways to make things like the EMF work.