Why?

Hill training at Queen Elizabeth Country Park

I asked myself WHY? as I headed up this hill for the 3rd time in my hill training session last week, I said to myself as I slipped and slivered underfoot, what are you doing, you’ve been running up these hills for years now as I remembered fondly the familiar naivety of blindly saying yes to running as part of a team for our clubs Cross Country series.

Out of my Comfort Zone

I remember pelting it up this very hill all those years ago, I recall being shocked at the terrain and elevation, I was usually a road runner, cross country races were my nemesis; so why was I back here under no duress but my own? No one coerced me into thinking it was a good idea, I chose to inflict the inevitable discomfort, muscles straining, burning lungs and a pounding heart.

Window of Opportunity

Over the last 20 odd years, I took for granted my ability, my speed, my recovery, my nutrition. Some years, I ran on the edge of my potential, on the cusp of achieving great things because I didn’t have the time or the knowledge of adding all the other factors that piece the jigsaw together of how to become a more efficient runner.  The culture and focus were on the short-term gains, not long-term goals; it felt like there was a “window” of opportunity where you were at your best, especially for female runners.

Post Menopause Running

Historically post 50-year-olds runners were not “seen”, encouraged to literally get off the tread mill, give in and give up the arduous training because gains weren’t necessarily numerical. And nobody was even talking about menopause and perimenopause back then, it was whispered, embarrassing and shameful to get older, it felt like you went into menopause, and you were washed up and that was it.  The female athlete specific research was so limited but were talking about it and finally there is recognition that we’re not washed up after all.

Pryenees Skyline

On a personal level, I know I’m a more efficient and stronger runner than I ever was, but these improvements have taken years, and some years I could barely make it out of the front door; 2 children, a demanding Head of Department job and a sometimes “absent” husband. My “linear” running journey looked like a skyline of the Pyrenees during a lot of those years, but the good news is, if running success takes years, then having a running hiatus should also be measured in years; the running window of opportunity isn’t fleeing anymore, there is no end date.

The Window is Wide Open

I’m no longer on the cusp, on the edge of running, I’m trying to piece all the jigsaw pieces together, nutrition, sleep, hard hill sessions, easy session, robustness, resilience; I’m no longer dipping my toes in. Yes, life is still busy, but I’m in it for the long haul, I don’t want a quick fix, there is no quick fix, I get that now. But If I can run what I do now in 10 years’ time, I'm still competing and I'm having fun then I can’t ask for any more than that.

SO WHY NOT?

In answering the why, it’s because I can, it’s because I’m not letting the window shut down on my, in fact, I’m smashing it right open. So, if you are feeling that it’s too late, that you will never get back to where you were, you’re wrong, you could get better than you were, but you need to start where you are right now and progress from there. You might need to take the focus off always getting faster, made a shift to being in the game for the long haul, because becoming more efficient usually, ultimately correlates to being faster.