A blog about writing, sketching, running and other things
Woke up and left early for an 8k run this Saturday. It was supposed to be super hot later on, so I tried to get my run done with before 7:00. I missed by a bit, but not by much. I was feeling depressed and anxious because of my mom, but as usual, pushing through the first kilometres brought on that welcome endorphin hit.
Swallows were out and about.
8k run complete. When in pain, run.
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, a huge, fun street party sort of affair, which I missed because I was with my mom in hospital. She got released home on Friday afternoon, but has to go back for more tests on Sunday, which makes none of us happy. And when I’m not unhappy or stressed I go out for a run.
Started out at 6:20, hoping to get 7k in before the sun started blazing (wear sunscreen!), but I forgot that my usual route was going to be partly blocked because of the Tel Aviv Triathlon. It made for a challenging and interesting run at least.
6:20AM and look at that sun already blazing:
Some of the decorations for the Pride Parade were still up on the beach, and some of them will stay here permanently:
The sprint category of the triathlon was just about to start as I tried to run past them and into the TLV port and park:
Here I was forced to go on several diversions before finally making it to the park for the halfway point of my run.
Whenever life sucks, go for a run. I guarantee that you’ll feel better.
This week’s long run was only 7k (easing into it), but fun and scenic nonetheless. My legs were sore when I set out and it would have been so easy to skip this run, but I told myself that I’d at least give it a try, and if it didn’t work out, I’d just cut my run short. This is a pretty useful trick to get yourself out the door, as once you’ve started running your inclination is not to stop.
I mixed up the route this time, going further north up Tel Aviv’s promenade instead of turning into the park. I still prefer the park because of its wildlife and relatively deserted footpaths, but it was nice to try something new for a change.
The weather was crazy, starting out grey and windy, then the sun came out and blazed on us (still windy though), only for it to start pouring rain outside the moment I finished my run.
Tel Aviv is gorgeous at this time of year, and there’s nothing better than exploring it with your feet.
This week’s long run was my first after another bout of sickness. Ran just 6k and had a bit of a tough time with it, since I’m still coughing and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath.
That did allow me to take a few photos of a pied kingfisher fishing, and some little egrets chasing each other on the shore:
As usual, the only run that you’ll regret is the one that you didn’t take.
It was relatively breezy and it drizzled during most of today’s long run, but that just made for a refreshingly interesting run.
Check out these waves. There was a surfing competition going on, which was befitting these 3.5 meter waves.
Things were calmer in the park:
A very nice 8k run. I’m easing myself back to longer distances, and as I got pretty tired near the end, I’ll stick to my original plan and run another 8k next weekend before pushing up to 9 and 10k.
I tried one of the NTC app’s new post run workouts, and it was very nice, and brought me up to 100 workouts completed as an added little bonus.
It’s Israel’s 70th Independence Day next week and there was an exhibition celebrating this in Ben Gurion Boulevard.
The weather was perfect though it did heat up a bit later on. Sunscreen season is upon us.
You know you’re doing well as a fisherman when both a cat and an egret are waiting for you to fail.
Ain’t she pretty? I love Tel Aviv so much, especially on days like these.
All this made for a fast and fun 7k.
Quite a short long run this week, since I’m easing back to running after being sick. The weather was perfect, if a bit greyish and misty, as you can see from the view:
There’s a smart little egret (Egretta garzetta) who likes to stalk talentless fishermen and beg for the small fry that they catch, and if I run early enough in the morning I get to see it in action
All in all a good 6k run on a perfect day.
I usually run in the evening at this time of year, but I love morning runs more, and the Tel Aviv promenade is so packed during the evening on Passover week that this is the only sane time to run.
After two weeks of not writing and three weeks of not training or running (due to illness), it is hard to get back in the saddle. What was once a breeze is now a pain — staring at that blank page or lacing up is now a terrifying ordeal. The easiest thing to do is cut myself some slack and not write, not train, not run… and feel like a failure.
So I put a timer on for my writing, and forced myself to just work on it for 15 minutes. Timers are a godsend for this. They always help me get over the hardest part of writing, which is starting.
As for the training, it helped that Streaks was nagging me about it, but that wouldn’t have been enough of a motivator at this point, since it was so long since I’d trained and I was still not 100% well. So I selected a beginner’s workout in NTC, and told myself that I could take as many breaks as I needed, skip a few of the exercises, and stop if it was too physically punishing. It took a lot of the pressure and guilt off, and I ended up surprising myself by completing almost all of the workout (NTC’s 46min Start Training, I did everything but the burpees, for those interested). It felt great, and gave me the confidence to go out for a 20 minute run today.
Was it my best run? Far from it. It was slow and hard and I had to stop and catch my breath halfway through. But I finished it, and I now know where my new baseline is. There’s only room for improvement from here.
This week’s long run was in perfect, perfect, perfect weather, of the kind you can only dream of – not too cold, not too hot, with just the lightest of breezes to keep things interesting.
The gulls were still out in full force, taking advantage of the low tide and scaring most of the other birds away as they flocked along the river.
Still, I got to see two cormorants fishing, diving to great distances.
Or just hanging out on the trees:
A great 10k run, the last one before the Tel Aviv marathon.
Writing at Large 