Sunday 4 August 2019

It’s where you set the bar,

As my training hours and intensity builds, my body and mind are “going through the ringer” as they say.  It’s like tenderising a piece of meat , you just keep hammering it.  I’ve never set the bar as high before and the great thing is having a bunch of likeminded people supporting me through this journey.  Nobody in that group is questioning the height of the bar, or the reason it’s set so high. They are all just playing their part in supporting me which is helping me work outside my comfort zone.
On Monday I set off at 5.30am and ran 33km to the office - remember that was on the back of a lot of  KMs in the previous 3 days. Tuesday was gym and swim, Wed was a day off, Thursday a 1 hour run with hill reps.  Friday was a gym, swim and 3 hour run.  Yesterday I spent 5 hrs 15 mins in the mountains expertly guided by my friend Alan Stirling.  There was over 4,500 ft of ascending and the conditions underfoot made it almost impossible to run.  Today I ran for 2 hours 40 mins and was grateful for Beth’s support for the last hour and 20 minutes.  My body was tired and yesterday’s blisters didn’t help but the session was done.
Tomorrow is a 5.30 am start with a run to the office - 3 hours.  Now you know what I mean about tenderising meat! But surprisingly my legs feel ok.  They might not tomorrow night!
Everyone sets a bar. The worst thing you can do is set it too low and accomplish it.  But if you have a support network of likeminded people around you then you really can set that bar high.  Go on, edge your bar up a few notches.  We are all capable of so much more and it’s great fun pushing the boundaries. How else will we find out what we are capable of?