Distractions from Running….

There has been more of the same, and a lot of change since my last post. Most notably the World Cup has been and gone. I am not a huge football fan, but I did find myself sucked in to the wave of pride in the England team- and dare I say it a large degree of nationalism. I saw Ian Wright say that the country needed a win more than ever. It did strike me that surely what this country needs are more schools, hospitals, trains running on time etc. than a World Cup; however, I do see Mr Wright’s point. No one expected the England to get as far as the semi-finals, but I think what was far more important was the way they handled themselves on and off the pitch. There was a real sense of integrity and sportsmanship displayed by the team, and this was no doubt inspired by Gareth Southgate.  So for me what made this World Cup so special was the way the England team conducted themselves, they looked like they genuinely wanted to be there. So while I do think there is a lot that needs addressing within the UK- e.g. Brexit, Healthcare, the growing polarisation between left and right, etc.- I think this event provided welcome relief for a lot of people (myself included); it gave people the opportunity to talk about something with each other that unites, rather than divides. In this current political climate that is something I am grateful for. 

From a running perspective, the most powerful part of the World Cup was the BBC’s pre-match build up to the Sweden game. They discussed the 1990 World Cup and the impact of Bobby Robson on the England team, specifically mentioning his 11 commandments for inspiring a team:

To build a team of motivated players a good coach should:

1. Be able to control himself before he can control them (the team)
2. Be passionate about the subject
3. Be open-minded (Be a good listener)
4. Be single-minded about the ultimate outcome
5. Be a winner
6. Command discipline
7. Set good examples
8. Understand individuals (know what makes your players tick)
9. React positively to criticism (decreases the stress)
10. Be positive and confident himself
11. Be trustworthy

(Very grateful to Mr Wilson’s blog, where I found these and commandments. Mr Wilson also has the video clip on Bobby Robson from the BBC at his blog).

The most powerful part of the BBC clip was during the England game with Germany, where Paul Gascoigne got his second yellow and discovered he would not be potentially playing in the final. Bobby Robson didn’t shy away from the truth; he said he knew Gascoigne was devastated that he could not play in the final, but Gascoigne had the chance to play his heart out to help England get through. To me this was true leadership in action. Robson recognised the brutal circumstances for Gascoigne, and being able to show Gascoigne how he could still make a tremendous achievement for his country.

Whilst I am in nowhere near the same situation- I am not a world class footballer who has just received his second yellow- I have not been able to race properly for May, June and July. This is due to various things, such as ongoing house issues and Thameslate still being problematic, but has been mainly down to getting back to being fit enough to run. That’s where the similarities with Robson’s statement to Gascoigne lie. To allow my left hamstring to recover and to get back to racing as soon as possible I have opted for avoiding the track/ any intense sessions. It’s not been the easiest thing to confront, but I do not think I can see myself racing in the SAL during the remainder of the summer. Instead I can take the benefits of training at the track from the middle of August and the whole of September, hopefully there will be some 10k races or half marathons that I can peak for prior to the cross-country season. Taking Robson’s teachings, it’s about acknowledging the brutal reality of the situation, and finding small positive steps to take to rectify the situation.

What is going well is that I am doing controlled ‘speedwork’ sessions on the treadmill. I use quotation marks, because the pace I am building from is slower than the speed I was running at the London Marathon. Still it gives me the basis to increase my speed from and the treadmill allows me to stick with a consistent pace. I have been using a book that I saw another former club mate use, and will be writing about that in my next post. This is to get to towards the end of the eight week programme it prescribes, to report on my views of the book and how effective I think the programme was. The ultimate outcome from all this work is to get back to training with my new club, as I really do miss training with club runners.

I am not going to mention the nefarious builder and the building inspector, who are both trying to cover up their shoddy workmanship. It’s a lesson about accepting what you can and can’t control, which life seems to be about. Running is one of those sports where you have to spend a great deal of time- usually alone- returning to fitness before you can actually compete again, compared to football or rugby where you can be substituted after a ‘gentler’ introduction. So whilst waiting for my return to fitness, I have gone to see A Monster Calls that in my humble opinion is an excellent play; dealing with themes that our modern-day society rarely likes to talk about with such tenderness and nuance. I can’t really say much more than that without spoiling the storyline. I am also reading an anthology of poetry calling Staying Alive; which is a challenging yet rewarding read. Both these things help to take my mind off not being able to race on the track. I will take my rehab process, step by step, and be grateful for just being able to enjoy my running.

On a final note, a little known fell runner- Nicky Spinks, set a world record for running the 116 mile double Ramsay. I think this deserves a mention, amid the big events like the Tour de France, because I think British fell running/ ultra-running doesn’t get the recognition it should get.