Wham Bam Thank you Maam!

Suffragette city!

So I'm lonely right now. Not for a lack of friends. I've got enough. Too many to constantly keep in touch with if I'm frank and I let those friendships slide occasionally. There. I said it. I'm a bad person.

I know why I'm lonely. I was all happy, knitting, having midnight dance parties to the Backstreet Boys and Nicki Minaj and Slayer, rewatching EVERY episode of Buffy when BAM. A man showed a moment's worth of notice my way and NOW I'M LONELY. Which is stupid. Because I wasn't the weekend before.

I went to breakfast with some old work mates of mine, during which one of them proudly detailed how her son proposed to his girlfriend and showed us a picture of the huge BESPOKE (no idea what it means, but it sounds impressive). I exclaimed (bitterly, as I am wont to do) "Look at all these happy people, being happy" to which my friend replied, "It's okay, I'm not happy, neither is my daughter." Our friend has been happily married for the last twenty years and was told she didn't count. 

I came home, had a bath, ate some truly crap food and when my listlessness couldn't be resolved by that new show Girls or a hot bath and depressing music I realised why I was lonely. And that I am stupid. Once again, I had the same experience- I actually remember twice now telling a friend that I didn't experience any weak knees or emotional lady boner. Chemistry, if you will.

So why the lonely?

I Gotta Run, Gotta Run.

Gotta run today.

Kate's Top 6 Tips to Enjoying Running.

1. Form. It's not going to be fun if you run like Phoebe Buffay through Central Park- not that she didn't look like she was having fun, but no one likes overexerting themselves/getting injured. So keep good posture. Remember in Yoga when the instructor says to straighten your torso and pretend there is a string in the top of your head that you are hanging from to align your spine? Do that. Have your chin pointed in a comfortable 'up' position, your shoulders back, your chest open and your hips tilted in towards your spine. I'm not saying do it the whole time. You *are* going to get exhausted, your posture will fail. Just try to remember and fix it when it happens. You'll get farther.

2. Make it a game. I like to pretend I'm the Terminator and I'm hunting down every person in front of me, annihilating them as I pass them and targeting a new victim. When my posture is failing I pretend I'm a Transforming as I put each part of me back into place. I increase my lung capacity to rapping along with Puff Daddy (he was Daddy back in my day). There are ways to make it fun even on the days the endorphins aren't kicking in when they should.

3. Consistency. Keep going. No one has a 100% good runs. Some days you won't be able to make it past 3kms. Just remember those other days when you made it to 10kms, or ran no stop up hill for half an hour. Because for every bad run you'll have a least a weeks worth of good runs.

4. Keep a record. Sure, when you're starting out and can barely make that first kilometre keeping a record seems pointless, but it's fascinating to see how far you've come. I started running on August 29th 2011 when a friend of mine (who quit running with me after a week) and couldn't even manage a kilometre. My Runner-versary is just around the corner. I had to do intervals just to get the first one under my belt, but I kept going. Today I can bust out the spare 5-6kms I keep in my back pocket three times a week, and when I really put my mind to it I can bust out up to 12 non stop and am slowly working on my first half marathon. I am now running at 10.1kmph. I'm stoked. You can keep your own records, or you can download applications that do it for you (I can really recommend Kinetic GPS). If you are running to lose weight weigh yourself daily (Weightbot is another good app) and I can full recommend keeping your chest, waist and hips measurements (which comes in handy when you want to start ordering AUHmazing dresses online).

5. Eat well. If you don't put the fuel in you are not going to get the distance. End of Story.

6. Don't limit yourself to just running. Yes- it burns a buttload of fat. Yes it builds muscle, but it is not the be all and end all. You can't have cake every day and still enjoy cake, and no matter how many different tracks you run you do eventually get bored. I switched my running up to involve a weights routine. The weights I lift strengthen my legs and ensure I can make distances. The work I do on my torso and back cushion my spine for the impact of running. Also, denser bones, LADIES.