Just back from supporting my running club annual ultra on my bike. Twenty nine miles from Ripon Cathedral (known as Ripon Minster up to 1836) to York Minster. We call it Minster to Minster or M2M.
It's not a race; it's set up to allow everyone in the club who wants to run it in similar paced groups; setting off at different times; fully supported with pit stops along the way, so that we all arrive in York at roughly the same time.
After following the winding River Ure/Ouse, everyone congregates at Lendall Bridge near the end before all 60+ claret clad runners jog the final 350 metres together up to the Minster front door, clapping and cheering every last one in. Icecream-holding tourists wondering what the hell is happening. Smiling faces all around. It's then off to the pub for a pint and lunch.
M2M was set up to give people within the club an inclusive introduction to ultra running without the external pressures of things like competition and cut off times, and has grown every year.
How many times did I hear 'I didn't think I could run that far' from the people who were doing it for their first time?
How many times did I hear 'I've made every excuse to not do this before today. Why did I not do it earlier?'
An echo of myself 12 months ago. And one of the things that allowed me to begin to contemplate signing up for my Le Petit Jog. (I called it 'Petit', by the way, to make it sound more achievable in my own mind).
There's lots of things in life that seem impossible until we give it a go. With some dedicated preparation, training, and the right mindset, imagine never being constrained by our fears. What will the people who completed M2M this year do next that they always thought was impossible?
Well, after increasing the frequency of cycling, and treadmill walking up an incline (almost as boring as static cycling), and gym-based core strength and conditioning exercises over the last week, my physio allowed me to try running today for the first time since the op. 30 seconds on for five repetitions. No pain. Progress. Joy.
Note to self: every time I hear myself say 'I don't think I can do this...', remember M2M and then add '...Don't think - just do it!'
Comments
Post a Comment