Inspiration comes in many forms

As the weather continues to reek havoc on the UK, I've tried as hard as possible to stick with my training plan for the week.  For safety reasons on Wednesday I switched my run for a tough leg session on the turbo trainer.  It's been a few weeks since I've done a turbo session and this one involved a lot of climbing.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed it and it was certainly safer than being outdoors with all the snow that was on the ground.
On Friday I got up at 4.40am and headed to  Tollcross so I could get a flatter terrain with less wind that at Strathaven as it was a tempo run which is much harder to complete on a hilly terrain, especially with the wind howling outside.  I had a "stonking" run and was so pleased with the results which showed my fitness was coming back.  I followed this with a 2km swim and it's fare to say I was tired for the rest of the day.
Perhaps that fatigue showed in my 2hr 20 min run at Chatelherault on Saturday where I had to dig deep to produce an average result but that is to be expected when the mileage has ramped up during the week.  Sometimes these average runs where you dig deep are the important runs because in a race you will feel this bad or even worse so you need to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.
It's hard not to judge yourself against other athlete's running ahead of you but I continually remind myself that we're all starting from a different place and to concentrate on my own plan.
This morning I had a plan B in place if Storm Dennis was too bad but fortunately it was dry but running in a 50 mph wind was tricky. Whenever I was near trees I was keeping an eye on them in case one came down!  But this turned into another stonking run which was a real surprise following yesterday effort.  Heart rate was fantastic throughout the run so "fighting Dennis" was worthwhile.
As you know my blog is a journal and if my tails, which have been going for 10 years, inspires 1 personal along the way then I'm delighted.  I was heading into the supermarket after my run when a pal came up to me.  He informed me that he reads my blog every week and found it inspirational.  That was lovely to hear and he explained that due to various physical ailments he couldn't run the length of himself.  However having known his story over the last 20 odd years, he has probably overcome more adversity in life than most people I know.  I think he was surprised when I told him what an inspiration he was to people.  To have come through what he has and still wear a smile on his face and a positive outlook is truly inspirational.
It just goes to prove my point that inspiration comes in many forms.  It's also a reminder that what we do in life whether it be running or just walking down the road with a smile on your face and being genuinely interested in people can be uplifting.  Thank you my friend.