That time of the month

I had another post almost written about yesterday’s 10 miler but I changed my mind about it; it wasn’t honest. The first post essentially ignored the most unusual thing about yesterday’s run: I had my period.

Now that feels weird for me to write and maybe some will consider it TMI. I’m still not sure if I should post this! Yet I call myself a feminist, and periods are a normal part of life for 50% of the population, so why should it be weird to mention? We will all have our opinion on why that is. It’s not something that I see discussed often by sports-people either, unless I am looking in the wrong places. You generally only hear about elite athletes who don’t get their period because of excessive training or eating disorders. You don’t hear much from regular non-competitive runners like me.

Periods affect everyone differently, but in my case the issue can be pain and cramping. Yesterday was ok because I had only very low levels of both, so it didn’t interfere with my run. However there are days when I have terrible pain and wouldn’t be able to run. So I was lucky. I guess you need to have a plan B for the days when the pain is bad and a long run scheduled. At least it’s only once a month.

The 10 miles were very pleasant and I felt good for most of it – I was well hydrated and had porridge for breakfast which I think is much better than toast. Don’t know what it took me so long to figure that out! A mild morning with no sun also helped. Am feeling good today as I did some stretching straight afterwards. So all good. Period.