Some metaphors

I typed out an extensive post yesterday that was lost. No matter, though: if the metaphors meant something then surely I will remember them.

The first: the way you feel before you do something will not necessarily be how you feel during it.

Prior to my 18 mile run, I felt extremely tired. In fact, I feel tired now. But I didn't suffer the debilitating pain of my top foot pain as I did before. When I was running, I felt the energy of determination and possibility. And so, prior to my desires to work, to travel and to do a variety of things, I often feel like doing none of them.


The second: Vary life, vary the way you run.

I have altered my running style to forefoot running under the guise that it would make me faster. It does. It also takes some of the stress from my knees and hips and I absorb the impact of my stocky frame. However, it also causes the stress to hit my calves and ankles - two parts of my body that are weak and tight in equal measure. Therefore, on my 18 mile run I varied how my foot hit the floor to spread the pain out over my body. It seemed to work.

The third: Ambition and striving feed themselves.

There is nothing inherently worthy in running. In Scarborough, as in other cities in which I have lived, people who do not run do not seem to know how to respond to runners running past. The usual response is to ignore or to laugh. This does closely reflect the response of the general public to the ambitions of the faceless minority.

The fourth: Rest is a good as rigor.

I am resting a little more now. I have a headache, a jaw ache and some footache. I walk on the beach in the morning (rather than intensely run in the gym). I intend to keep myself as much out of harm's way before the marathon as I do to push myself in it.

Finally, I should like to add that I am happy with the Garmin upload that you can now see in my blog update. More for my sakes than anything else. I am not even considering the 10k in Kirbymoorside next week.