Sunday 26 April 2015

Inspirational weekend

What a fantastically inspiring weekend.  On Saturday I went to watch the Highland Fling, the 53 mile ultra from Milngavie to Tyndrum - the one I ran last year. I had a number of friends running this incredible race and I wanted to surprise them so I headed up to Balmaha with some friends. Watching all different styles, shapes, ages of runners was inspiring.  They had completed 19 miles and we're all looking strong but I knew what they still had to face. A very tough 34 miles.  They all completed the run with some fantastic time. It didn't just happen they had sweated blood, sweat and tears and deserved the accolades.
Once they had passed through I went for a swim in Loch Lomond with my pal who wanted to experience the cold water as he is doing a standard distance triathlon in 3 weekends in the loch.  When we got there we did a safety assessment as the water was only 7 degrees and it was choppy.  Entering the water was a bit of a shock to the system but after a few minutes we were starting to "warm up". We cut it short at 5 minutes as we'd achieved our objective.  I was meant to be doing the 70.3 ironman in 3  weeks time but have pulled out as I am still resting my foot and therefore not running until I get my new orthotics next Saturday. That would not be sufficient preparation therefore I made a difficult, but the right decision.
Today I had the pleasure of watching the London marathon on TV and following friends on FB.  One friend deserves a special mention, Laura Gordon.  3 years ago she achieve her target of running a 10k. Today she completed the London Marathon. Unbelievable achievement and she raised a fortune for a good charity. It just shows what is possible with the right mind set - well done Laura.
Spectating isn't my favourite past-time but it gives me a chance to support my friends who have supported me. Watching people achieve their goals is inspirational. It makes me all the more determined to get over this injury and reset my goals.