The week started with so much promise and excitement, I was looking forward to my 54th birthday on Tuesday 16 June and was going to run, with my running partner son, my first ultra marathon, 54km (of course). But no, it didn’t work out as planned. My prep just wasn’t right, I was exhausted – we started at midnight – I had probably been running too much before the big run and, biggest mistake, I’d had no sleep whatsoever beforehand. When I needed to draw on physical reserves, there really wasn’t anything there. I was physically and mentally depleted. So, what should have been a good 54km run turned into a not-very-good marathon distance run (42.2 km) – it really wasn’t very good: I walked/hobbled/limped the last 9km!
That was Tuesday – a great birthday day but soured somewhat by that running experience. Still, it was just a training day: back in the saddle, back on the horse, yesterday, Thursday. Tired, heavy legs but I had to push on… I did and I got my mojo back. It was a slow run but it didn’t matter:
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius.
Today, early ish this morning, up with the larks at 5.30am, out the door and onto the street at 5.50am. THAT’S my preferred running time of day – preferably earlier!
“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep.” – Rumi / @thinkerdave (quoted, @BurtonBrown).
There is, for me, something spiritual in the air in the early hours of the morning, the birth of a new day, the promise, the potential it holds, the opportunities, that new beginning, the spiritual sense, the Godliness, or the godliness (small ‘g’), depending on where you are spiritually (for me, spirituality can be ‘God-related’ as well as a non-religious experience) – it is tangible!
The plan was a 10km run, with a water break at 5km.
Again, heavy legs, tired (we were with friends last night so ’twas another late night), but out I went. I pushed through a real heaviness, got to 5km, pushed on, 6km, pushed on, had a drink at 7km, then powered on to 10km. It felt good, I got my self-confidence and self-belief back, I reconnected with a positive sense of self-concept, of belief in my myself generally, not just in relation to running. That’s what running does, it consumes me, the positivity streams through my whole being! I silenced that voice that told me that I couldn’t run, that Tuesday was proof of that:
“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint”, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh.
So, yes, the training week has ended on a positive, high note…
Have a great weekend!
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