The neck test

After waking in the night and feeling horrendous, I woke up feeling sniffly but ok. I googled 'running with a cold' and was informed that most runners use the neck test to evaluate whether or not they should run: if your symptoms are below the neck, don't run. But if your symptoms are contained above your neck, you're good to go.

After church, a nice bowl of soup and some life admin, I decided to just go. Recently I've found that running is really good for thinking space and getting clarity and would only help with how I feel.

I've been really enjoying Richard Askwith's book 'Running Free' which encourages us to look at our motivation for running and to call us back to the simplicity of running, especially in nature. Since then I've stuck my iPhone in my pocket and run without headphones, meaning no Woman's Hour and more importantly, no km by km updates and split times. This has done me the world of good as I'm now concerned less about feminist current affairs and beating my times, and more on soaking up the environment around me. Granted, the streets of Shrewsbury aren't the best for doing that, especially when you get chased by teenagers on scooters in Harlscott, but all that should change when the floods recede and I can get back to my normal routes.

Oh, and how lovely is my new running top?!