19 miles and no more glasses

And just like that, summer seems to be over.

September is here, the sunshine seems to be diminishing each day, and the nights and mornings are drawing in. But it’s quite nice in some ways to snuggle into the duvet at night and feel cosy rather than hot and stuffy!

I’m also grateful for cool days for running as well. Like the weekend before I did my long run on the Saturday and combined it with a parkrun, Netley parkrun this time. I stayed at my parent’s house on Saturday and had a route planned out that would get me to Netley after running 15 miles.

I set off at 6.30am and it was almost cold. I remembered my compression socks this time and wore shorts and just a singlet. I was at a perfect temperature. The first mile took me up to the seafront at Hill Head and the mist over the water tempted me to take a photo as it was so beautiful but in all honesty I couldn’t be bothered to faff about and get my phone out. I took a mental snapshot instead. It was so quiet and peaceful at this time.

There were a few lone dog walkers and some photographers and fisherman setting up near the water (along Hill Head there are usually lots of photographers taking photos of the wildlife and sea; it’s a very picturesque place and it’s right next to the Haven Nature Reserve so there are usually lots of birds and wildlife about).

In my head I had broken the run up into 6 miles (where I’d be running a familiar route – actually my usual long route but going the opposite direction) and then 6-11 miles would be getting to Hedge End (where I live) and then from there getting to the parkrun. So it was nicely broken up. There were a couple of nasty inclines at points (but also a great decline as you can see!) but otherwise the miles ticked away quite quickly.

In my head I really wanted to do a bit more than last week (18.5miles) and when I arrived at Netley I’d done 15 miles so I went round the long way to add on some extra distance. I’d also arrived at 8.40am and didn’t want to stand around for that long before parkrun.

In the end I only managed another 0.7 as I bumped into my friends (and one of my friends from my non-running group who’s been doing parkrun on and off for a bit and we’ve been meaning to meet up to do a parkrun for a bit – another Anna. It was lovely to see her).

The parkrun itself felt tough and I was mentally ticking off every 0.1 to the finish. It did feel a bit sad to be relatively slow compared to my normal times of late but I’m more than happy to take a slower parkrun (24:17) and get the long run done so early than a fast parkrun and still have the long run to do the next day! I’m chuffed I beat last week’s time at Fareham though by about 30 seconds.

I decided as I was running I’d add on a little extra to bump up my total distance to 19 miles. This meant running through the finishing funnel, taking a token and carrying on running up and around the field until I got to 3.3 miles. Woohoo 19!

I then sat down and contemplated life for a bit I was knackered!

I then helped clear down parkrun with the other guys – which was good as it meant I could shake off my legs a little bit. After a coffee, my friend Mike gave me a lift back to my house. I’d checked with him beforehand if it was OK because otherwise I’d have been a bit stranded (and luckily just before I left my parent’s I remembered my keys so I could get in my flat!). Thank you, Mike!

I felt pretty good after the run! Though I distinctly remember being in the shower washing my hair thinking, I could honestly do with a good nap. I didn’t though sadly as I had to rush around getting stuff done before my dad picked me up and took me to my eye laser surgery appointment. Can I just stop for a moment and celebrate the happy circumstance of my weekend travels? So my car was at my parent’s house, I ran to parkrun, I got a lift back to mine. Coincidentally I had an eye appointment that meant I couldn’t drive afterwards due to the drops they’d use in my eyes – so handily my dad took me and brought my back to their house – reuniting my with my car. Ta da! Obviously big thanks to my dad for being my taxi of course.

So yes, laser eye surgery. I had a consultation and after a lengthy eye examine and, well, consultation I decided to go ahead and book my appointment for 31st October. No more glasses and no more contact lenses! Now me wearing glasses might be a shock to some of you because I never have any photos taken with them on and I rarely wear them in public. I hate them and think I look awful in them. But I am very short-sighted and have been since I was about 10, just progressively getting worse. Now my eyes have finally stopped getting worse and I’m fed up of the faff of lenses. I’m fed up of not being able to tell the difference between the shampoo bottle and the conditioner bottle in the shower. Or seeing the clock in the middle of the night.

I still need a firm go-ahead from the surgery, and I’ll have that appointment in a few weeks but (hopefully) I’ll be able to get it done. It takes four minutes to do the surgery but about a day to recover (though no pain, just blurriness). THIS IS AMAZING. Yes it’s a lot of money (just under £3k) but it’s something that really affects my confidence. And it’s just such a faff wearing lenses and then having to take them out in the evening and effectively being all ugly again (in my head). I’m not saying people who wear glasses are unattractive, absolutely not. I just don’t seem to look as good as other people in them. I wish I could wear those bold, in-your-face glasses but I just don’t seem to suit them. People say I look “studious” in my glasses but I don’t want to look studious!!

The worst part about the appointment was that I wasn’t allowed to wear my contacts for the day of the appointment. This meant running 19 miles in my glasses and my running friends seeing me. I felt so self-conscious (and not to mention how annoying it was to run in glasses – steaming up, getting droplets of water on them and not sitting right with my Aftershokz headphones that go over my ears). But if it meant the possibility of never wearing glasses again (OK until I need reading glasses) then I was happy to do it.

Finger’s crossed my next appointment goes well!

Do you wear glasses, or contact lenses?

Is there anything you feel self-conscious about?

Would you get your eyes lasered if you needed to?

25 Replies to “19 miles and no more glasses”

  1. Great decision. I had my eyes done 18 months ago and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. I went to Optimax in Southampton and thought they were brilliant there – hopefully wherever you’ve chosen is just as good… although I did feel embarrassed about having to run in sunglasses for a while afterwards (I had mine done at Christmas, so it wasn’t sunny then!)

  2. My hubby and I have been discussing laser for a while now. We both wear contacts [and glasses] so it makes sense for us to get it. In the end it would save us so much money in appts, contacts and solution! Plus there is nothing more annoying than trying to put contacts in while camping…
    kat recently posted…Vegan PB&J BarsMy Profile

  3. Nice work on the long run!
    I have only worn glasses since uni and I don’t mind- they can be annoying in the rain getting all wet, but I wear a visor and that helps. I am so squeamish about eyes that I could not even tough my eyes to try out contacts, so I would not consider surgery. I am short sighted but not too bad- I can squint with them off and see things in the distance OK!
    Maria @ runningcupcake recently posted…Wimpole Estate parkrun tourismMy Profile

  4. Well done on the 19 miles! And the perfectly planned day, too.

    I have glasses. I don’t wear them because I don’t think I need them. I got them at a time when I had a lot of health issues and I really think those were the cause of my vision problems, since I see fine these days!

    As for things I feel self-conscious of, the biggest thing is my body. I’m very uncomfortable in my skin since gaining weight. I’m also very self-conscious about my social anxiety, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t help it!
    I used to hate my height (I’m 5’11”) and in school I’d do everything I could to look shorter, which I now regret because I’ve come to like being tall.

    I can’t say I’d never get laser eye surgery, but the thought of it makes me squeamish. I don’t like people near my face, so I think my vision would have to be really negatively impacting on my life to consider it. I’m excited for you that you’re getting it – sounds like it really will change your life!
    Laura recently posted…Severn Bridge Half MarathonMy Profile

  5. I am very short sighted also, I cannot cope without my glasses- everything is fuzzy. I wore glasses since I was in primary school, but when I got to high school wore lenses for about 10 years and then I switched back to glasses after university and I absolutely love them, I feel weird when I don’t wear them or I wear contacts now. I would love to get laser surgery at some point- it would be nice to wake up in the morning and be able to see!
    Lauren (@poweredbypb) recently posted…August UpdateMy Profile

  6. Well done on the long run.

    I’m meant to wear glasses for driving and for watching the TV, but I have no idea where they are. Although I don’t have a car at the moment, I know that when I start driving again I’ll definitely need my glasses. I can hardly read road signs when I’m navigating from the passenger seat. I’ve given myself a permanent frown line from all of the squinting I’ve been doing.

    I know loads of people who have had laser surgery, their only regret was not having it done sooner.
    Emma recently posted…Great Birmingham Run training week 10My Profile

  7. Wow- congrats on such a great day of running! You’re definitely making a strong comeback. As for Laser Eye surgery, I think you will have to wear your glasses every day for two weeks to relax the retinas or something like that before the surgery. At least that’s what they told me. I’ve looked into it but I just can’t get past the idea of someone doing something to my eye. And my contacts don’t bother me really, so I figure, I will stay put.
    Elizabeth C. recently posted…Pacing MyselfMy Profile

  8. I love running in the part in the early morning. It’s peaceful and fresh. I’ve worn glasses for years and I’m considering taking a laser surgery but still a little bit confused. Wondering whether it has any side effect.
    Wish you well.

  9. I like running and I always wear glasses. I don’t think there is any inconvenience when running with glasses. But perhaps laser eye surgery will be a better choice in next few year because my degree of myopia is still increasing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.