Action is the Cure

I went to bed at 9pm last night, tired after a starting a new job week. Everything went well. It's just a relief.
So this morning I was awake at 5am and couldn't quite figure out what I wanted. After having to meet externally set demands all week I was somewhat puzzled by the notion that I should figure out what I wanted to do. Of course I was going for a run, but what kind of run? And where? And what was I training for? And what was my next target? I didn't know.

In the end I just got into my running kit and set off along the coast.

It was warm already and when I got to Portobello I bumped into Thea Macmillan who was looking uneasy in gym kit. She had organised a bootcamp on the beach thing to help raise money for equipment for her daughter Greta. I should have hung around and taken photos but I was enjoying the run and feeling fresh as a daisy. Almost as soon as I'd left the house I'd realised my mistake. You don't need a reason or a plan to go for a run. The run's the thing. Especially on a nice warm morning....

I did a loop round Musselburgh, loosely thinking maybe I'd run 13 miles. On the way back the wind was behind me and suddenly the heat intensified as my body heat wrapped around me. Getting back to Portobello I was just too late to get photos of bootcamp. The crowd was dispersing. This time I met Ian Macmillan, who has been missing in action from club for some time and running with the Porty Dads. He gave me a hug and I warned him that I was a bit smelly but he said I always have been.

Then I saw Sarah who was on my course up until last year. We walked along the prom together for a chat. Then she had to turn up a lane and I had to get running again. The clouds were boiling up in a spectacular way by this time. Definitely some kind of front rolling in.

The moral of today's story being don't overthink it, just get out there. You don't have to be training FOR something. Especially when it's warm outside.

For the last couple of weeks I've been bumping into loads of people that I haven't seen for ages. I was thinking it might be fate but also thinking it might be because it's nice enough outside - at least some of the time - that people have stopped scurrying along with their heads down and are actually lingering a while. So suddenly Scotland's  a much more social place...