Stupid idea really but I'd signed up for the Downland Challenge Race so it seemed a shame to miss it despite forecasts of 30 degrees heat. I panicked and bought a camel back which holds a litre and a half, and drank incessantly which gave me stitches that were so bad I found it difficult to breathe. By the last 5-6 miles virtually everyone was walking.
Basically I went with an agenda. I then paid the price for that. Secretly in the back of my mind I was hatching plans of faster times in direct contradiction of my philosophy which is to stay at the back and run as you feel, getting faster over the miles if the body allows it. This time I tore off in the first thirty and spent the whole day being passed by a various assortment of people aged generally between 50 and 70. It was generally an unpleasant and disheartening experience - OR WAS IT.....
Thinking to myself later as I recovered on Brighton Beach in the evening glow, recovering more from a near drowning experience than from the run (I'm not joking - the tide turned when I was still out) I realised that this was a terrific learning for me. Go back to the enjoyment. What am I seeking. I won't find it because I already have it. The enjoyment and meditative aspect is in the distance not the time. Later that week I made the decision to focus my training for the autumn on a community endurance event and getting some of the less experienced guys to do some mileage, and thus experience the buzz free from addiction. If this means cancelling the last two dates of my Vasque Championship placement attempt then that's OK. I can always do it next year. Take it easy.
PS note picture of Hampstead Heath (not unlike the South Downs!)
