I've been struggling with my running a bit these past few months. The year started brilliantly, with PBs at 5K, 10K, 10-mile and half-marathon.
Then started struggling with annoying wee injuries. Was delighted just to be able to finish the Edinburgh marathon with no major issues, never mind the high hopes I'd had for a PB earlier in the season.
But got round, and then over the next few months I did some of the most enjoyable races I've ever done - 7 Hills of Edinburgh, Black Rock 5, Dumyat. But the niggles kept coming and my times at standard races were nowhere near my best. Finally, I did what I should have done months back and I've been resting a bit. Taking it easy, doing more cross training (cycling, fitness classes, hillwalking). And at last I feel like my injuries are going.
Ran 4 miles pain-free this morning and it felt good. Apart from being noticeably less fit for running!
Finally I feel like I can look ahead to achieving something in 2011, the way I felt at the strt of this year. And Shona seems happy enough with a week up near Fort William in April next year. Guess who'll be signing up for the Lochaber marathon in the next few days?!
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Monday 23 August 2010
Time waits for no man
"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
William Henry Davies (1871-1940), 'Leisure'
or, as Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast - you don't stop and look around once in a while, it might just pass you by..."
Work-life balance is a bugger isn't it. The only time I ever seem to get it right is when i"m on holiday. Our holiday in Orkney this summer was just perfect. Suddenly I found time to get what I wanted to out of each day - family time, leisure time, and so on. Unbelievable how much more relaxed you are as a result.
But it can fade pretty quickly as time passes and you get back in to work schedule. All the various things that steal your time; domestic chores, work pressures, exercise and training, reading, writing, leisure time, family time, keeping up with friends, build up and you put pressure on yourself to try and do everything you can perfectly. For some reason I've always been acutely aware of how I have a finite period of time on this earth (I don't believe in an afterlife, I find that a ridiculous notion) and it's vital to make the best use of that time possible. That stretches from being the best person I can be and doing right by others, through to constantly ticking off the things I want to do. It's this drive that's meant I've done several postgrad courses, read a stupid number of books, and run 6 marathons and various other challenges. But it also means that having done these things, I'm still acutely aware of how much more I want to do and all the things I've yet to achieve. Places to visit, books to read, races to run - the list is endless.
What I try to remind myself to avoid this constant state of dissatisfaction and impatience is 1. that you can only do so much, and I should be gentle with myself in how I go about delivering stuff. 2. Sometimes you miss important stuff because you're running so hard to stand still!
You need to build in time to do things in a way that means you appreciate them, and consider people around you too. In the opening chapter of 'The Art of Travel', Alain de Botton talks about how travel is a state of mind. When you're on holiday you look at the world in a particular way. You decide to walk a different route to the one you took the day before so you discover more about a place. Or you decide last minute to ditch one plan in favour of another. You keep in mind the things you want to get out of your holiday and try and fit each thing in - you keep your view of things to tick off in the time you have, and you keep in mind the importance of enjoying yourself and relaxing while you do it too.
So, whilst you're busy and the pace of 21st century life is constantly buzzing around and pressuring you to fill every minute with 60 seconds-worth of distance run, keep an eye on the long term things that are important, but remember to stop and look around once in a while too. Walk a different route to work. Pop in to wander round that graveyard you've been past so many times and always been curious about.
It'll make you happier and more relaxed, you'll be surprised by what you learn, and it'll probably help you get to where you want to go just as quick. But more than anything else, what's the point in ticking off every little thing if you don't take the time to appreciate any one of them?
We have no time to stand and stare."
William Henry Davies (1871-1940), 'Leisure'
or, as Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast - you don't stop and look around once in a while, it might just pass you by..."
Work-life balance is a bugger isn't it. The only time I ever seem to get it right is when i"m on holiday. Our holiday in Orkney this summer was just perfect. Suddenly I found time to get what I wanted to out of each day - family time, leisure time, and so on. Unbelievable how much more relaxed you are as a result.
But it can fade pretty quickly as time passes and you get back in to work schedule. All the various things that steal your time; domestic chores, work pressures, exercise and training, reading, writing, leisure time, family time, keeping up with friends, build up and you put pressure on yourself to try and do everything you can perfectly. For some reason I've always been acutely aware of how I have a finite period of time on this earth (I don't believe in an afterlife, I find that a ridiculous notion) and it's vital to make the best use of that time possible. That stretches from being the best person I can be and doing right by others, through to constantly ticking off the things I want to do. It's this drive that's meant I've done several postgrad courses, read a stupid number of books, and run 6 marathons and various other challenges. But it also means that having done these things, I'm still acutely aware of how much more I want to do and all the things I've yet to achieve. Places to visit, books to read, races to run - the list is endless.
What I try to remind myself to avoid this constant state of dissatisfaction and impatience is 1. that you can only do so much, and I should be gentle with myself in how I go about delivering stuff. 2. Sometimes you miss important stuff because you're running so hard to stand still!
You need to build in time to do things in a way that means you appreciate them, and consider people around you too. In the opening chapter of 'The Art of Travel', Alain de Botton talks about how travel is a state of mind. When you're on holiday you look at the world in a particular way. You decide to walk a different route to the one you took the day before so you discover more about a place. Or you decide last minute to ditch one plan in favour of another. You keep in mind the things you want to get out of your holiday and try and fit each thing in - you keep your view of things to tick off in the time you have, and you keep in mind the importance of enjoying yourself and relaxing while you do it too.
So, whilst you're busy and the pace of 21st century life is constantly buzzing around and pressuring you to fill every minute with 60 seconds-worth of distance run, keep an eye on the long term things that are important, but remember to stop and look around once in a while too. Walk a different route to work. Pop in to wander round that graveyard you've been past so many times and always been curious about.
It'll make you happier and more relaxed, you'll be surprised by what you learn, and it'll probably help you get to where you want to go just as quick. But more than anything else, what's the point in ticking off every little thing if you don't take the time to appreciate any one of them?
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