Group or Solo running?

Welcome back!

Although Monday is normally a lost day in the week, no one looks forward to it and everyone hates it (I'm sure someone wrote a song about it a few years back), today hasn't been entirely wasted.

As I'm on 1-9 shift and there is still a tiny scrap of daylight until 10pm I've been out this evening after work.

I live in an area which isn't great to be going out on my own so late so I'm trying to make it back home before dark. It didn't bother me so much in the winter as it was dark by 4pm, but even then I never went out any later than 7 or 8pm.

I do love running in the summer as I can enjoy not having to layer up. In the winter I've been running with a group, mainly with the 'safety in numbers' thought, which is what I want to talk about.

Do you prefer to run as a group or run on your own?

As I've experienced both now I have a different opinion.

I've found that as I'm not the greatest runner (although I know I'm improving) I feel that I'm always comparing myself to other people. So when I run with a group I'm thinking "why can't I go that fast?" or "they must think I'm not trying". I know it really probably isn't the case but I'm a much more confident runner when I'm running on my own, in my own little world, with my music and Runkeeper telling me what my improvements are.

Now I know you may say that I'll be running with all those thousands of people on race day but I'll be doing just the same. I'll have my music and Runkeeper to help me along every step of the way.

I'll also have Ant and the dog see me off at the start (he will also keep my essentials like my jacket and a change of clothes), my parents will be taking their place at the finish line really early in the morning, (just like I did for Ant 6 years ago) and my sister Kat and her friend Kristine will be doing a metro tag team and waving me past as many metro stops as they can!!

I've also made another decision. Kermit the frog will me coming with me too!!! So if you're there or if you're running and you see a Mind vest with Chrissy on the front and a Kermit the frog backpack - That's me!!

On a more serious note, coming up over the next few weeks I have asked a few of my very close friends to write something on their experiences with their mental health issues. All of these range from Bipolar, anxiety, depression. Another friend of mine suffered from anxiety when she was younger and is now a fully qualified counsellor.

These are the people who have inspired me to choose Mind.

Mind has also been in the news quite a lot and is getting even more exposure which I think is excellent. Denise Welch has been very open about her experiences with depression and is now the new Ambassador for Mind. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading today I know it's been longer than usual.

My charity page is www.virginmoneygiving.com/chrissyrunsin2013
your can follow me on twitter @79bobbin
Runkeeper is available free on android and I believe iphone. (they have not paid me to write that btw)

I hope to be back really soon with more fun updates and more information about Mind!

Happy running!

Chrissy