In this case I'm not talking real challenge and drama. Just something that knocked me off-track a little recently. Those of you that have been tuning in for a little while will know that one of the things I like to do is to run. I'm not particurly good at it in that I've never really been built for endurance sports but I'm improving quickly.
At the end of April I signed up for some running events, which started with a (ridiculously difficult) 20K off-road event and the initial block of 5 bookings culminates in a 45 mile ultra marathon in January. I know...
Anyway, I duly started training like a madman and lo and behold I picked up and injury. And surprise of surprises, I sort of ignored it. And when I say sort of, I ran on it including a 16K treadmill run a few days ahead of the 20K race. I think it was at this point that my poorly knee said enough's enough. You idiot. And loud enough for me to pay attention. In the back of my mind I was thinking if I could just run through it (stay with me) I'd be fine for the half marathon road race scheduled for August... Uh huh.
So as I lay on the physio's couch 10 days ago and having a variety of pain inflicted as part of the examination, I casually asked about the prognosis. Afterall, I've a half-marathon to do. You can forget that said Physio. No running for 3 weeks at least. 3 weeks? At least?! :-( (And yes, I'm looking for a replacement event, probably late September..).
I was sent away with an order to rest, ice and take anti-inflammatories. Oh, and to maintain cardio fitness I have to swim. As many times per week as I can fit in. Great. From running out in the sunshine in the great outdoors I have to flap around smelling of chlorine.
Many moons ago, I was a competitive swimmer, so I know my around a pool without drowning (so far). It even turns out I still have some moves, which surprised me. But not as much as how completely exhausting swimming is compared to running. First session I was winded after just 2 lengths of the pool. This can't be right?!. I can run 12+ miles and I'm fairly fit! Different sport, different muscles, breathing etc. etc.. All in all, seriously hard work. However....
Turns out I rather like it. In fact, time allowing, I've been in the pool almost everyday since being ordered there under sufferance! I've got a bit of a routine worked out, spoke to a lifeguard who's an ex-triathlete who gave me the use of some floats to work arms and legs separately and gave me some tips. All of a sudden I'm transported back in time to days when I was up at 5am (then not now!) to swim before school and loving it.
So there you have it. Could be a bit of good old fashioned 'if life give you lemons, make lemonade' in action. I should do that more often!
Thanks as always for stopping by.
Showing posts with label personal goals and ambitions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal goals and ambitions. Show all posts
Monday, 19 July 2010
Monday, 21 June 2010
Mission Accomplished!
Event 1 of 5
Yesterday I completed the longest and toughest competitive running event I've attempted so far (I've only ever done 1x 10K road race, officially). 20K (approx 12.5 miles) is quite a long way but yesterday was a different challenge altogether. I knew it was off-road. I expected hills and was prepared for some of them being steep.
The race consisted of 3 events in 1: 10K, 20K and 30K races. The clues were there. It was called Mid-Summer Madness and it was organised by a company called Go Beyond Ultra whose strapline is 'Human Endurance Defined'... That should have served as a warning!
10 laps of 2K each. Forget undulating, this was steep gulleys and and old railway embankments thrown in for good measure to the point where many inclines were just too steep to run up. The 'easy' elements of the course were clearly used by mountain bikers, given the number of ruts in the ground. About the only flat, proper path is pictured above...
As early as the first lap I was wondering what I'd let myself in for. Within a couple of minutes of starting there were a couple of heavy fallers. My turn was to come on lap three. Note to self... Don't lose concentration on a steep descent with loose gravel and earth underfoot!
By lap three I was feeling the pace but had joined up with a 'buddy' who informed me that the previous year he'd dropped out of the 20K and so this time around had entered for 10K only. Not exactly what I needed to hear that this point! We chatted and drove each other on for 3 laps until he finished then it was 5 laps on my own.
Strangely, it took me 5 laps to learn how to run some of the trickier parts of the course, having never experienced anything like it before. All of a sudden I seemed to find my pace and was feeling better about the world.
By the end of lap six I was aware that my troublesome left knee was starting to ache. Not a good sign. At the start of lap eight I was in genuine discomfort and the difficult terrain was taking it's toll. This, combined with the temperature starting to creep up and the lack of fuel except water and jelly babies, meant I was getting very tired and I was occasionally light-headed.
On the final lap, knee pain aside, I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. There were several times during the race when I'd have liked to have stopped and I thought by the end I'd collapse and maybe have a little cry! I had people waiting for me at the finish line and there was no way I wasn't going to make it to the end.
And make it to the end I did in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 28 seconds. Not a bad effort for a first attempt!
So thanks for your support, it's always much appreciated. If anyone would like to start the ball rolling, I'm raising money for 3 very worthy charities through these 5 events. See here for details.
Yesterday I completed the longest and toughest competitive running event I've attempted so far (I've only ever done 1x 10K road race, officially). 20K (approx 12.5 miles) is quite a long way but yesterday was a different challenge altogether. I knew it was off-road. I expected hills and was prepared for some of them being steep.
The race consisted of 3 events in 1: 10K, 20K and 30K races. The clues were there. It was called Mid-Summer Madness and it was organised by a company called Go Beyond Ultra whose strapline is 'Human Endurance Defined'... That should have served as a warning!
As early as the first lap I was wondering what I'd let myself in for. Within a couple of minutes of starting there were a couple of heavy fallers. My turn was to come on lap three. Note to self... Don't lose concentration on a steep descent with loose gravel and earth underfoot!
By lap three I was feeling the pace but had joined up with a 'buddy' who informed me that the previous year he'd dropped out of the 20K and so this time around had entered for 10K only. Not exactly what I needed to hear that this point! We chatted and drove each other on for 3 laps until he finished then it was 5 laps on my own.
Strangely, it took me 5 laps to learn how to run some of the trickier parts of the course, having never experienced anything like it before. All of a sudden I seemed to find my pace and was feeling better about the world.
By the end of lap six I was aware that my troublesome left knee was starting to ache. Not a good sign. At the start of lap eight I was in genuine discomfort and the difficult terrain was taking it's toll. This, combined with the temperature starting to creep up and the lack of fuel except water and jelly babies, meant I was getting very tired and I was occasionally light-headed.
On the final lap, knee pain aside, I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. There were several times during the race when I'd have liked to have stopped and I thought by the end I'd collapse and maybe have a little cry! I had people waiting for me at the finish line and there was no way I wasn't going to make it to the end.
And make it to the end I did in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 28 seconds. Not a bad effort for a first attempt!
So thanks for your support, it's always much appreciated. If anyone would like to start the ball rolling, I'm raising money for 3 very worthy charities through these 5 events. See here for details.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Not Life or Death. It's More Important than that....!
Whilst watching the BBC football pundits review a World Cup match last night I was struck by the intensity of the debate and it reminded me of the famous Bill Shankly quote:
"Football is not just a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that."
And there was me thinking it's only football....!
Fortunately, very few of us have lives depending on our daily business decisions but wouldn't it be great to be as passionate as the pundits? There's a school of thought that says that to be truly passionate about our business endeavours, our business goals must be in line with not only our personal aims and ambitions but also our core values.
Are we in a position to have a business life that maps on to our personal goals? And our values? Do we know what our goals and values are?
When these things are out of kilter it helps to explain some of the ups and downs and time spent in the doldrums which affect us so often. The bursts of unsustained enthusiasm, the easy distraction from our paths. All could be explained by the lack of cohesion between goals and values.
More than a little food for thought. I could go on about coaching stuff at this point, but I won't. I'm going to think on it a while. Why not do the same?
"Football is not just a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that."
And there was me thinking it's only football....!
Fortunately, very few of us have lives depending on our daily business decisions but wouldn't it be great to be as passionate as the pundits? There's a school of thought that says that to be truly passionate about our business endeavours, our business goals must be in line with not only our personal aims and ambitions but also our core values.
Are we in a position to have a business life that maps on to our personal goals? And our values? Do we know what our goals and values are?
When these things are out of kilter it helps to explain some of the ups and downs and time spent in the doldrums which affect us so often. The bursts of unsustained enthusiasm, the easy distraction from our paths. All could be explained by the lack of cohesion between goals and values.
More than a little food for thought. I could go on about coaching stuff at this point, but I won't. I'm going to think on it a while. Why not do the same?
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