Mud glorious mud
Feb24201012:45 p.m.
So there I was this morning, pounding around Bushy Park in London and two things happened. First of all Mo Farah breezed past, running so elegantly it was unbelievable. You know the way proper athletes look like thoroughbred horses when they run. Well he did. I on the other hand, looked literally and metaphorically like a Shetland pony...However in mitigation it was pouring with rain and I was chatting non-stop to my running mate about her weekend in New York. Well I say chatting. I was listening while subtly gasping for breath. She was doing the talking.
So that was the first thing and the second thing was, we went off the beaten track a bit and found ourselves running through a swamp. Now it really took me back to my cross country running days. My career was brief but magnificent. Against all odds I managed to break into the school cross country team at Penair School in Truro, which was some feat considering the fact I hate running and am not very good at it. But for some reason I came 5th in the trials and rocketed straight into the team. I was alarmed to put it mildly, by this obvious aberration. However it was swiftly rectified when I distinguished myself on a particularly foul Cornish afternoon, when through lashing rain, I settled nicely at the back of the field and managed to finish 18th out of 19.
That was only because the girl from Redruth School, with whom I had been having a very pleasant chat, didn’t bargain on my blistering sprint finish. Basically I accelerated away mid-sentence as we hoved into view of the finish line. I didn’t feel proud, but that extra point made all the difference and we won the match. However I was dropped for the following week and never troubled the team again.....
Well this all came flooding back to me this morning, as we ground out our latest 5-miler. We did get very muddy and wet, but it was so worth it. And just when we were nearing the end of our run, Mo Farah ran past us again. It’s fair to say we weren’t looking our best, but boy did we look hardcore.... sometimes appearance really is everything, don’t you think....??? www.justgiving.com/Sue-Thearle
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Comments (3)
tontini 'I've seen some of the elite runners (Kenyans, Ethiopians etc) warming up and most of them are so slight they look as though a puff of wind would have them over. Amazing though the endurance they display to maintain the pace that they do. Mo does well just to stay in contention with them. ' added 24th Feb 2010
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anoif55 'When i was doing my 'pushy mum's' classes whilst on Maternity Leave in bushy park, i used to see the elite athletes training too.. It used to spur me on to lose the weight even more as you saw them training!!!! Me and the pram and a whole load of Woman trailing through the park! Nice picture that... ' added 24th Feb 2010
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Sue_Thearle 'I love the idea of a convoy of prams being pushed along at speed I really do. And yes tontini, you are so right about Mo. He is a legend and much under-rated. ' added 25th Feb 2010
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