I think I told you that I had a house guest over Easter. Here he is.
He really is the nicest dog and I was secretly hoping (albeit not very confidently) that his owners would forget that I had him. A training run with Padster didn’t go particularly well as I told you last time but I know that he has run the parkrun 5k in the past so decided to give it a go. Edinburgh parkrun has a rule that runners with dogs start at the back so once I was changed and ready opposite the start I tried to get Padster to move to the back of the field. But he wasn’t for moving. He’s an intelligent dog but clearly didn’t agree with the rule about dogs starting at the back. Just as I thought our trip had been in vain the runners set off and he was haring off like a greyhound after a rabbit. Now this was embarrassing for two reasons. One we clearly weren’t at the back of the field and two the combination of speeding dog, long attached lead and yours truly in a mass of runners could only lead to one thing – a calamitous pile-up in front of the race director and volunteers. A lifetime parkrun ban flashed before my eyes. Somehow I reigned him in and we diverted as far right as I could without taking out the bemused volunteers.
Let’s be kind and just say that from there on Padster had forgotten how to pace himself for 5k. If he had kept up his initial pace it would have been an outright pb for yours truly but of course he slowed and would actually have stopped at another few points if I hadn’t kept tugging him on. We finished in 23 minutes 3 seconds which I reckon is a pb for Padster. He gave me a dirty look when we finally finished and flopped to the ground for a rest.
So another week and no pb for me. Desperate times call for desperate remedies so I’m now going to try the one thing I haven’t properly done – a strict diet to facilitate weight loss. It will be painful and I’ll be even grumpier than usual. But I have to try it. Any secrets of dieting success that you can pass on?
Is there life after a marathon? 
I can just visualise the scene, well done with keeping young Padster from bowling over your fellow runners. My top tip for losing weight is straightforward and simple, although not necessarily easy: eat less and move more.
Also, apparently if you slow your eating towards the end of a meal you’ll eat less. Research has been done, according to a book I read recently, that shows eating more slowly at the beginning of a meal doesn’t have an effect on how much you eat, but if you gradually slow your consumption throughout a meal you’re likely to eat less overall. Worth a try, perhaps.
That’s interesting Lorna. I always thought you were meant to start eating slowly. Or even have a decent drink of water before you start eating. I think my problem is all the extra snacks that creep into the day. I need to eliminate them.
I wish you well with it, I know how hard it is to stop snacking, especially when the snack is scone-shaped.
The best I can offer is that the grumpy phase only lasts so long, once I got used to being a little hungry and it didn’t suck anymore, I did a lot better. No more than a week or two. Good luck.
Thanks Jim. I’d be overjoyed if the grumpy phase doesn’t last too long. I think you can train your stomach to expect less although I’ve never lasted for long. Maybe this time though?
Don’t mention scones please!! It’s been ten days since I had one and I would almost kill to get one!
After you have some good tips to lose weight please pass them along! I’d love to drop a couple of pounds for the sake of a better running time.. 🙂
I’m full to good tips but the trouble is that I can’t follow them myself! I’m trying to be self-controlled but the harder you train the hungrier you get. When I’m struggling during a run I tell myself it is punishment for over-eating – perhaps not the most positive thing I could be thinking of when I’m trying to run.
Hi David, I thought you were about to describe a massive pile-up in the park! I’m glad that didn’t happen. Taking a dog on a park run sounds like a risky venture to me, unless you have him attached to a skateboard (which could work – handy tip to remember!) I have no real advice to offer about dieting, other than I believe it’s better not to eat your last meal too late in the day, i.e. a good few hours before you go to bed. Good luck!
Thanks Jo. Losing weight for me is much harder than training hard. You’re right about the last meal not being too late – we tend to eat at 6 and I’ve been trying not to snack after that – with mixed success. It’s a holiday weekend here which doesn’t make cutting back any easier!