By Jamie Hill
I’m trying not to think too much at the moment.
It’s not hard during or after running. During a run all I can think about is the next step and the next mile.
It takes every ounce of my being not to stop. That’s what I’m mainly thinking about. (Although sometimes, when I see other people, I suddenly get irrationally self-conscious about my running gait and start forgetting exactly where I should be putting my arms and feet. Good that.)
And after a run, I can’t really think at all. I’m more of a zombie than a person who is able to put together cohesive thoughts. For several hours after a long run I don’t really function.
Thinking seems to be beyond me at these times. But it’s the times in between that are the worst. These are the times my rational brain is saying to me that what I’m doing is ridiculous.
That I’m only doing five miles at the moment and I’m basically a vegetable so what am I going to be like after completing 26 miles. Last week I mentioned the original marathon runner Pheidippides who ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to bring news that his people had beaten the Persians in an epic battle. What I didn’t mention, is that this poor bloke back in 490BC finished his marathon delivered his message and then keeled over and died. He basically breathlessly arrived said ‘We have won’ and then snuffed it.
Nowadays, he would just have to text the message and probably end it with a smiley face. No dying involved. So, I’m undertaking something that led to the death of the geezer who invented it. You can probably understand why I don’t really want to think about it.
It’s still five and a half months away until I run the Birmingham Marathon in aid of ICP Support but that seems to be edging closer and closer and I’m getting a deeper sense of foreboding as the weeks go on.
This week was pretty hard with Nike + Slavedriver app (TM) pushing me further than before. Yesterday I ran 5.25miles and it’s only making me do the same run again tonight just for the thrill of it. I think my family is getting used to zombie me already. They might even prefer it. Yours tiredly Fat (hungry for brains) Jamie