What I didn't tell you about Saturday's run

I expect an achy knee, tight calf muscles, blisters on heels or even toes, I do not expect to give myself grazes on the skin over my collar bones. Yes, two grazes or burns, each the size of a broad bean are clearly visible, on either side of my collar bone. I look like, and most definitely feel like, an idiot! I noticed slight chafing early on in the run, but nothing that constituted discomfort. It wasn’t until I met no.1 supporter that I (he) realised the damage that I had done. It was simply the nylon straps, from the little rucksack with the water, continously rubbing against my skin.Yes, you may laugh! It looks ugly and sore, but it’s not in the least bit painful; we must have very few nerves there. It’s all high necks for me for awhile which normally would be fine, except that I am off to Spain on Friday.  Scarves, I think; I will have to cultivate Grace Kelly’s elegance with scarves.

It didn’t stop me from today’s run which I did along the canals. We are on a two-week break from teaching which means some  holiday time but, more and more, it means a chance to catch up on writing, research, reading and even admin jobs. In terms of running, it means my routine is not as steady as previous weeks. Today I work from home, tomorrow I have meetings on campus. Wednesday and/or Thursday I need the library in Trinity, so I have to jiggle my usual routine around a bit. With that in mind, I completed the six-mile run today instead of beginning the week with the usual three miles. I was tired still from Saturday, but the weather was warm and sunny and it was lovely to be out. I kept my pace to a 6min 20sec pace, deliberately keeping it slow but, in truth, also needing to.  Again, I failed to do any real cross-training yesterday – just some essential housework. I’m not stiff today (or even yesterday), just a little tired.

Still, the run was in me and that’s what I find amazing.  I might feel a bit ‘overused’ stepping out, but I can tell that the run is in me.  I think it’s really important to run on these days. These are the days that will get me through the last hard miles (whether they are 5, 8, 10, who knows?) on the day of the marathon. Learning the art of pushing on and through, without straining, is as important as building muscle and cardiovascular fitness; the mind must also be trained. I find myself counting,  not my steps, just plain mental counting. It seems to help me stay with it, not think too much. I just count to ten or twenty or more,with no great purpose. I'm not gritting my teeth or anything, but just needing to help my body along by mentally focusing a bit too. In fact, I don’t really have any profound explanations for it, but somehow, counting works for me on the more tired days.

Etty has some lovely photos added to her Circles post. For the first time ever, in my whole life, I can see a resemblance between us (around the eyes maybe) and it reminds me of a brief encounter I had as an undergrad in UCC. I was in the lift, heading up to the third floor of the Boole where us English and French students hung out. Etty was also in UCC at the time studying music.  At that time, I was in a religious order (Sisters of Mercy) and so had to go through the stages of postulant and novice and spend a year in First Profession before going ahead to professional training. Hence, the 4 years between Etty and me narrowed so that we, happily, found ourselves in college for the same few years. Anyway, back to my story, another student got into the lift with me. I didn’t know her. Quite spontaneously, she turned to me and asked,  ‘Do you have a sister in UCC?’, I said ‘Yes’. ‘Does she sit on the third floor of the Boole as well?’ Again, I said ‘Yes’. ‘Does she do music?’. I was beginning to wonder where this was going, but said ‘Yes’. The girl then turned to me and said, ‘I don’t know ye, but I knew ye were sisters. Ye don’t look alike or anything, but there’s something about ye.’  Then she seemed to get embarrassed; we had landed on the third floor and she was gone. I was pleased by the unknown girl’s obervation,  and have pondered it from time to time, although I’ve never really figured out ‘the something’.   Looking at the photos, I still wouldn’t say that we are alike but maybe, there is something?