I've entered the London Marathon. I've made the commitment to myself, to the Outward Bound trust, to my friends and family. It's a little scary! No surprise there I guess.
People think I'm mad! Why would you do that? What's the point?
Whilst I've always been sporty, running was never my strong point. I remember when I was about 11 years old. I was in the school Football team and I was a pretty good player. I remember it was Sports day and I was competing in the 100 metres. I stepped up to the start line and arrogantly thought to myself, 'well I'm a good football player therefore I'm likely to be very competitive in this race.' I had a big shock as I found myself out of breath and struggling to even get close to many of my athletic competitors. I was well and truly trounced, finishing a lowly 7th. That kind of put me off running for some time, like 30 years!
Instead of thinking to myself that running is another life skill that, to get good at, requires some technical competence and some practice, I just thought, oh well, why bother. And there is some truth that, why would you bother to develop some competence in something that you don't want to develop. That's indisputable. But as a lover of sport, and in particular, football, I certainly would have benefited from a better running technique. That would help me to be a better footballer. I didn't see it like that at the time though.
Also, just because I wasn't a good 100 metre runner at the time, that didn't make me a poor runner full stop. There are many different running distances as we all know and yet it's amazing how much I was limiting myself as a result of one race. If I'm doing this for such a simple thing like a school sports day, where else am I limiting myself in my life?
Actually when I look back on my football playing life I had a pretty good engine. At the time I never really appreciated that about myself. It's only now that I go running I can see that. I used to hate running. I'd go running as part of my football training. It was purely a means to an end. I knew it was necessary to get me noticed at football. To show my skills and stand me a better chance of getting picked for the team. I didn't see any benefits in the running itself though. But as I got into my thirties I started to see that instead of playing football to keep fit, I actually needed to keep fit to play football. And then just as I was turning forty the football standard gradually got worse and worse. The aches got harder and the day came when I decided to hang up my boots.
Like so many people I would go to the gym. It's a ritual. I would pound the treadmill. Basically I found myself running to keep up rather than running at my own pace. There were some colleagues who were marathon training and they kept pushing me to join them for a run outside. I was working in the Docklands in London and there was a great 5 mile run along the River Thames. I turned it down for weeks. My competitive instinct made me refuse. I thought of myself as a poor runner and I didn't want to go along with these guys and get left lagging miles behind. But they kept chipping away at me and eventually I agreed to join them.
I was like the new boy at school. The newbie runner. I would set off quickly. I didn't get the whole pacing thing. And as they were training, they quite liked that, as it meant the pace was quickened when I was there. But by the mid-point I was slacking behind and the others would over-take and then push on. But I started to learn about running. Things like running in groups, talking while running, and just breathing. The techniques people use to run in the best possible way. To run as efficiently as possible. The differences between short distance sprinting and long distance endurance running.
And then, over time I found myself getting so much out of running. Working in an office environment, I found it really beneficial to get outside to run. I could breath the outside air, clear my head and fill my lungs. It's well established that regular exercise releases endorphins. These natural chemicals make you feel good and positive about yourself and your life. By getting out of the office, you clear your mind from the day to day pressures and stresses. By focussing your mind on something else (even just your breathing) you help to relieve yourself on the day to day challenges and anxieties.
After a while I even started to look forward to my runs. I found it an excellent way of releasing tension and it would help me to feel better about myself. Nowadays I can't do without it and it is something that is actually pretty mindful for me.
So there you go. That is why I have now entered the London Marathon. I'm under no illusions that this marathon is my greatest challenge so far. And yes, it feels pretty crazy. At certain times, even a little scary. But it's a challenge I want to face. There's an excellent paragraph in one of the books I've been reading about training for a marathon.
"Training for and running a marathon is not a single event; rather, it is an experience. It is a discovery of self that will forever change your perceptions, perspectives, priorities, and possibilities. You will meet yourself at what you thought were the boundaries of your potential and endurance and watch in awe as they evaporate to reveal only open expanse. To know that the only boundaries in life are those that we create ourselves is a discovery which cannot be taught - it must be experienced. For once you have seen the view from the mountain top, living a life of voluntary blindness is no longer an option." From The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, Whitsett, Dogener and Kole.
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Thanks for reading my blog. I’m running the London Marathon on 24th April 2016
Please sponsor my charity, the Outward Bound Trust by clicking on the link,
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper
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