Over these last few weeks, I’ve been making some feeble strides to get back into this ‘running’ thing. In reality it is more jogging-ish, with still more stop-start than I’d like. On the other hand, I have been grateful that my ability to put one foot in front of the other, is not as shabby as I thought it might be.
As I’ve been out there, sometimes purely because of mind over matter, as well as my promise to do a short distance run with someone, I’ve had many memories of the first time I took up this running malarkey.
Memories of not wanting to be seen, and thinking I must look a sight. Memories of being overtaken by others, and feeling pants about it, and so on.
I have though also remembered to tell myself to “run your own race.” As that person who zipped past me may have just started their run, so be fresh and fast. Or, they may just have been doing this running thing longer and are better at it. Either way, they are running their race, at their pace. A pace which can take time to set, a pace which can be unique to the individual, a pace that does not have to be mine. As I gots mine, feeble though it may currently be. So if I keep going at my pace, I will eventually get to my destination or goal.
Last time, it got me to and through, the London Marathon, and a number of other running distances. With me even managing to encourage others to join in the ‘fun’ along the way. Now I ain’t looking to run another marathon anytime soon, but I have some markers in mind, and also the experience of before to lean on.
The tips ‘n’ techniques I learned before. The correct way to breathe, the way to tackle a hill, what works for me hydration wise and so on. Just like the muscle memory of the body, my brain muscle has surprisingly retained a number of things. They are coming in handy, as I work on getting back into my stride.
If one is so inclined, I reckon you can find parallels for life in this. I’m not going to break them down or point them out, they will be apparent for those with whom it resonates. I’ll just end as I began,
Run your race.
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*Additional food for thought: Being Brave. A post by a friend of mine who has recently started blogging.