I don’t like running. Correction, I don’t like training runs. Consequently, when I ran the Thunder Run for the third time a couple of weekends ago I had done very little training, not great when its a 24 hour relay race round a hilly 10km trail. I was the token slow runner on the team, managing 3 laps of 1hr13, 1hr14 and 1hr28. The last was the dawn lap starting at 4am which is actually my favourite: starting in the dark with a head torch and finishing in the misty dawn under a pink sky. I’ll be honest, the first lap was awful. Running under a full sun in high humidity; I was so hot my skin was tingling and I had to keep willing myself forward repeating the mantra “it’ll be over quicker if you keep running, it’ll be over quicker if you keep running”. I got cross and a bit weepy and then told myself off for being silly and that perhaps, in retrospect, a bit more training would have helped.
Now that the Thunder Run is over, I’m having a bit of a think about what’s next. First up, I have found a personal trainer, Jo. Part of my problem is I get so confused with conflicting recommendations I have read on how I should or shouldn’t train I end up making an excuse and not doing anything. Which I realise is a rubbish excuse. I’ve thrown myself upon the mercy (or not) of Jo to tell me what to do, when to do it and how much. So far it’s working, simply knowing Jo will check up on me is making me go out and just do something. So, what next? I need to be honest with myself, I like going for a run but training hard for running just doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm. When I look at the sports I love: climbing, hill walking and dancing, they all as much about mental and technical skills as they are about pure fitness. The obvious alternative to running is cycling. I’m lucky, I live close to good trails and quiet roads, I’m an engineer so bike maintenance appeals as well. Inspired by the film The Way, about the Camino de Santiago, I planned to walk the 500 miles in the Pyrenees however I’m unlikely to get the leave from work: but maybe I could cycle it in a fortnight. A plan forms…
In the Tough Girl Podcast on the 12th April 2016, Parys Edwards talks about being the egg not the potato: it’s the same boiling water that makes the egg hard that makes the potato soft. The Thunder Run was a boiling water moment for me, though I don’t feel very tough yet I think I’m almost soft-boiled. And in my world there’s no better way to start the day than with a nice dippy-egg.
Rando' Girls 