A Cup of Tea & a Banana (Janathon Day 5)

Run - 7.8km, 50 minutes

The main job of January is to establish a routine and limit the temptation to backslide. The timing of runs is crucial as I know if I leave it to long before starting my exercise the chances are I will continue to put it off until the whole day has gone. Although studies have shown the best time for physical activity is the afternoon, for me, this is no good. My body might be slightly be at the park of its insubstantial powers but my mind will. It will find all sorts of ways to creatively procrastinate until that peak time fades away, the evening comes and tomorrow seems the sensible option. So I need to start by getting going before I can even begin to think about and begin the day feeling virtuous, as if I have achieved something. It is here that a routine is important because morning is the time we are most likely to automatically follow habit. How many of us do exactly the same thing day after day, even to the extent of eating the same breakfast. Changing such habits require a bit of conscious effort for a period before it has settled down and I am still in the settling stage but so far these first 5 days have been good.  My new routine is to roll out of bed, put on my kit and then have a cup of tea and a banana before setting out. Tea and banana now seems the perfect way to start a day. 

This morning was lovely. As I was drinking the tea I could watch the rays of dawn picking out the small clouds to make a pink mackerel sky. It wasn’t long before the pink faded and the sky was mostly blue but it was fun to watch the changes in the morning sky. When I got outside I could see there had been a heavy frost and everything was covered. My run took me through Gadebridge Park and there everything looked spectacular: trees, grass, ready river bank, skateboard park, all sparkly white. The air was clear, the wind was still., people and cars were scarce. There was a sense of peace. if you can’t enjoy a run on a day like this then it is time to find a new sport.

There was however one problem - only very tiny, hardly worth mentioning but nevertheless something a problem - yesterdays rain had left the pavements smeary wet and the frost meant there were areas of slipperiness. Quite a few times when I went to toe off I could feel the slight give of my foothold. Nothing drastic but just a reminder to pay attention and look out for ice and there was one sharp bit of hill where I thought it wiser to walk. But other than that it was lovely - a good way to start the day.