Feeling much better

AIt has been almost a week since I withdrew from Spartathlon and it is a real weight lifted from my shoulders. It has not only affected me mentally but also physically. I have started sleeping better with longer periods of deep sleep. I walk taller, no mean feat for a short arse like me. And my weight is better.

Most importantly I have started enjoying running again. I went out three days on the trot. All of them runs around my local lake in Langendreer West, the Umminger See. It was a joy to go out and just run for the sheer pleasure of it. To see everything around me with new eyes instead of obstacles to running fast enough. This time of year the geese are sheparding their goslings, squirrels, red ones, are scampering around and there are masses of people around enjoying the sun.

There was was quite a lot of reaction to my last blog on Facebook. People not quite believing that having gone to Spartathlon for the last five years that I had really quit. Greeks stunned and giving me a chance to reconsider.   That race really does mean a lot to me and it was the hardest decision related to run I have made. I really will miss going. That race deserves respect and a chance to run it. I really could not justify going and spending all that money to fail and for it to turn into a jolly again. Besides I have opened up a place for other people who have more desire than me at the moment. I am so pleased that Tarique is first off the waiting list. After chatting to him in numerous occasions I know he wants it more than me at the moment.

A short word about my beloved Chrissy. She is going to hate this bit, sorry baby, but you expressed it so much better than I did. Those of you that know both of us will have spotted she is the sensible sophisticated one, I am just a zero, to paraphrase the  Stereo MCs. Hence her reaction was quite out of character.
She read all  the comments about me having time to get fit and was quite annoyed. 

"I just want to tell them all to F Off. I want my husband back. I want him enjoying running and not hating it."

That amused me, when Chrissy resorts to actually saying an F, you better watch out. Also the fact everyone wants me to go but do not understand the cost implications. As a contractor every day not at work costs me a shed load. Shelling out close to a thousand euros and not getting anything at the end is just plain daft.

And that's it. The point of my running is a cheap way to stay fit mentally and physically and not enjoying it or spending money and not running hardly​ achieves those goals.

On a positive note I received several very kind offers of coaching. Chrissy was rather dismayed, but I explained that someone telling me what to do was a lot less stressful than me trying to meet my own goals, so we agreed to try explore the offer.

I took some time to think about it and took one of them up on it. I was pleasantly surprised that the plan they offered was a lot easier than what I target to do myself.

So I am going to give that a go. I have six weeks to get fit for a twenty four hour race. The original idea was to get an Spartathlon autoqualifier, but now it is to enjoy running in circles and getting lost in myself for a day. No watch,  no worrying about the distance covered. Just enjoy running and having fun with my crew, Russell and Sandra. It will be a blast.