So, last time I posted about my London Marathon training journey I was facing up to a few niggles which could not be ignored. My feet were cramping at night and my ankles were hurting in odd places. For a while I was quite despondent and fretful and thought I might have to call the whole thing off.
So I went to see a physio – which was new for me and quite an eye opener. The most excellent lady told me in no uncertain terms to stop prodding myself, stop over thinking everything and get back out there. Hell’s teeth has she been talking to my husband!? (That over thinking thing – for me its just research and fact gathering – admittedly from the internet and rather obsessively- but you know.)
So that was it – after a week off running during which I cross trained to maintain fitness – I was back out there. (The week off was not all bad as I got to try out spinning – which is totally mental but very effective – and I returned briefly to a former love, swimming, which I miss. I gave it up when I got over promoted to the fast lane and couldn’t keep up – there’s some sort of life lesson there I think.)
So hurtling towards me after that was my half marathon Race Your Pace training run at Dorney Lake – a mere 4 tortuous laps round the now famous lake with some very serious looking runners indeed. The leaders go so fast their pacers ride bikes. In the event I found it quite meditative. I didn’t need to listen to music but simply lived each moment as it came, including some extremely windy ones. I was reminded that each race you enter has it’s own unfolding story and that if you go with it you can become totally immersed in the characters, the event and your surroundings.
I formed a bond with a fellow lady runner, who despite peeling off at every water station would magically appear back at my side just when I’d given up on her. We ended up running the whole thing together, often in perfect synch, and at at the end, as she flagged, I waited for her and we crossed the line together hugging. I have never seen her before in my life!
That, ladies and gentlemen is running for you.
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