Different Perspective Sports Magazine Issue 3 | Page 40

fingers simply were not working! Eventually, having found some semblance of dexterity in
my fingers I accomplished this all too easy task. I am sure that much to the horror of Leanne
I tried to get changed with dignity by using the same towel technique she had so expertly
deployed but am no where near as well versed in such matters as she.
Dave was one of two of my heroes that day as he had the foresight to bring 2 disposable
BBQ’s, rolls, sausages and most importantly tomato sauce. That was just about perfect and
garnered many envious looks from the other runners who all got changed outside there cars
in the car park. The on-site caterers were charging £5 for a sausage in Bap which to my
mind is not necessary. Just because you have a captive audience does not mean you have
to exploit them. Had they been £3 I am sure the queue would have been far longer.
The other hero was Natasha who previously had not run outside, had only completed two
15 minute sessions on a treadmill and this was her first race. Unbelievable. I have so much
respect for her and she epitomizes the type of person I love. A get up and go attitude, no
fear, takes life head on, no excuses, no whimping out and shows courage. Most people
enter a 5km race first so to do a 10 mile Hell Runner when you are X years old is pretty
damn impressive and more so than anyone who did it in a super fast time as she showed
true grit, spirit and determination.
Having talked about the race at the start of the journey home I had a good chat with Leanne
and her goals for the year. Even though I had only just met her I felt I had to challenge her
on some of them. From what I had seen she had the same character traits as Natasha
but was fit and an experienced athlete and even completed the Rat Race “Dirty Weekend”
where you race 20 miles and go over 200 obstacles. That is pretty hard core and impressed
me no end as I had read about how demanding the race was in a magazine shortly
afterwards.
Leanne listed her goals and one of the first ones was doing two pull ups (chin ups) which
I thought a bit feeble really and being a little opinionated suggested that she should
reconsider trying for ten instead to make it into a real goal. The conversation developed
and Leanne explained that she had read it was far easier for boys to do chin ups that girls.
Not due to strength but muscle memory developed from an early age. Boys would be
climbing trees all the time whilst girls wouldn’t. This translates in later life to males being
more prepared for chin ups. I don’t know if there is any scientific proof of this but it certainly
is plausible. Going through the rest of her goals she agreed to adjust a few others to make
them harder and to help push herself that little bit more. In total we agreed on challenging
but achievable times for 1 mile, 5km, 10km, 1/2 marathon and marathon distances. I hope
she achieves them - she certainly seems to have the mental ability to suffer and if she puts
the training in could even smash them. Somehow she convinced me to attempt the 10 mile
time as well as it would represent a PB for me also.
UK - Buy Mid Life Trisis for just £6.50 inc P&P (usual price £12.99)
Rest of the World - E-Book - A link will be sent to you in February to download - $10