“Behind every mountain are more mountains.” – Ryan Holiday
This all started with a desire to get fit enough to complete a 108 mile walk around Dartmoor. That quickly evolved into a love of running. At first running was a chore, out of shape as I was, I had no benchmark for what a decent routine looked like. My goals were fuzzy and intangible, I had done no preparation and so, to no-one’s surprise, my first run lasted 60 seconds.
Fast forward three months and I was running for 70 minutes, up to 10k and feeling pretty awesome for it. I set myself a couple of mini-goals on the way. Firstly to run 5km around the top of a pretty undulating hill near where I live. The second to take part in a 5k parkrun with #littleDacombe in under 30 minutes, and then of course Dartmoor.
And now?
Goal 1. The Hill. Done, very happy. (This post)
Goal 2. Berkeley Green Parkrun. Smashed it. (YouTube)
Goal 3. Dartmoor 108. Done. Brutal, but finished. (YouTube)
So what’s next? A 10k, a half marathon and a marathon. Over the next 12 (ish) months.
In the process though, I found that having rolled my ankle some ten years ago I have a hip that wants to turn my right foot outwards and add a twist to my knee. After a couple of sessions with a physio, I now have the tools to counter this, so even though I talk about it ad nauseum, my training kicked off last week with a benchmark run that went really well.
So, I am tracking my progress to April 2023, when I am going to run 26.2 miles in one of my favourite cities, Brighton. On the way I want to complete the Silverstone 10k and the Bristol Half Marathon.
I do struggle with imposter syndrome, but constantly remind myself that we are the navigators of our own destinies, and stand accountable for our choices. It is how we act that makes us who we are, not the circumstances in which we endure.
I am not going to break any records, but I am going to be better than I was yesterday as I navigate past the middle of the bell curve.
Buckle up, I have no idea how this is going to go.
Be awesome to each other.
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” Albert Einstein.
