Today, I had a 4 mile run around the Wrekin planned with running club buddy Darren in preparation for the Wrekin Relays on 11th July. In contrast to the constant precipitation yesterday, this morning the sun was shining and the sky was blue and I headed out of the house with a little more enthusiasm, although I was a bit surprised to notice that my "resting" heart-rate before leaving the house was 94 and assumed it was a side effect of the antibiotics and recovery. We met up with fellow Harrier Cristina and set off on our warm-up walk up the steep hill before following the Relay route. I'll admit to finding the warm-up walk hard work - not a very promising start really. I found the first couple of miles of the route hard work, my feet and ankles were feeling more comfortable than yesterday but I just felt a bit wobbly and slightly light-headed if I pushed too hard. I settled for just doing what was comfortable and trying to focus on some of the techniques I learnt at Colin Lancaster's downhill running class last weekend.
I'd really struggled at the class - although I could understand the techniques and why they would work I have a mental block at running fast along a path I can't see the end of - I know that there isn't a sheer drop at the end of my line of sight and I know that I'm not suddenly going to drop off the edge of the world but that doesn't stop me feeling scared that it might happen. It's totally irrational and I can't even say it's because I'm scared of heights because I'm not ! I used to have recurring dreams about accidentally driving a car or bike over the edge of a cliff and I'd always wake up with a start then go back to sleep and have the same dream. Running or driving or running at something unseen gives me the same feeling. Anyway, I'd enjoyed the downhill running class but left it feeling pretty frustrated and annoyed with myself.
Most of the route around the Wrekin is undulating so there are lots of small downhills to practice on - and I could see the bottom of them so I tried to relax and go down them as quickly as possible. It didn't always work - some of the hills had a lot more trip hazards than others so it was harder to make myself look ahead rather than at my feet - but overall I was starting to feel a bit happier.
As we got to the end of the Relay route, the path took us to a junction with the main path up the Wrekin and a gazelle-like man running with walking poles came careering down the hill past us and was out of sight in a flash, as smooth and rapid as if he was on skis, slaloming through the groups of walkers with ease. After gawping in admiration, we had to tackle the last uphill stretch to the Halfway House before making our own way down the hill. Feeling inspired by gazelle-man, I decided to see how well I could do and launched myself down the hill. I can't say it was a 100% success but it was a huge improvement - I relaxed, looked ahead (most of the time) and leant forward (most of the time), found the best route around the walkers, dogs and other obstacles, my feet fell lightly and quickly and I had a huge grin on my face, feeling like a child running for the pure joy of it. When I got to the bottom, I was so happy I ran back up part of the hill just so I could run down again ! There's still loads of room for improvement - I could see where I was heading for today so I didn't have the mental block of running to a point I couldn't see and I struggled to relax on the sections where there were more rocks and tree-roots to negotiate - but I did feel as if I'd turned a corner.
A little bit of a sour note came at the end of the run. Cristina is scared of dogs and as she got to the bottom of the hill, a man was letting his two dogs off the lead. She apologised "I'm sorry but I'm scared of dogs" His response was a rather stern "Well, you shouldn't be, they won't hurt you" as both dogs ran towards her.
While his dogs might have been harmless, we did think that was a bit harsh and not very helpful. I think most of us have something we're scared of and it doesn't have to be rational, it could be spiders, dogs, cats, heights, crowds or stepping on the cracks in the paving slabs. I love dogs but I still think a fear of dogs is more rational than my own fear of falling off the edge of the world ! Some dogs have been known to harm people, even if not intentionally, but I don't know of anyone who has run, driven or ridden over the edge of the world. I think the important thing is to acknowledge the fears and try not to let them hold you back - it might take some work but it will be worth it in the end !
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