Running in France has a new dimension for me: a vertical dimension. Never believe a (French) person when he says a certain route is flat! We, Dutch people (flatlanders) know what is flat - what other people call flat is (at least) false flat and hey, I can feel it in my legs! Or worse: sometimes they just "forgot" there was a hill somewhere in the route as well. It gives running here a new challenge, because I never know how steep the hills will be in a race.
Luckily muscles can be trained and that is what I try to do: hill training. And you know what: I'm beginning to like the hills. For variation, hills are nice. As long as they are not too steep. I like variation, that's why I will never understand the way Dave Pollard describes his running: 100 rounds of 100 meter in his garden. That sounds really horrible! A sufferance, probably even more for the mind than for the body. Where is the fun? It probably satisfies his needs, but it sounds so boring to me...
I think fun is most important for me. I would stop when the fun part has gone. Sometimes a bit of suffering is needed (to climb a hill, to win a race, to finish in a certain time), but in the end it is the pleasure that wins. Give me a pair of shoes and a nice environment and I'm happy for an hour. Ok, I admit that I have a certain level of condition to run an hour relaxed (but to get there I had to suffer as well).
Actually, this is a sort of 'ideal' picture. In practice, like many fanatic runners, I'm injured quite often (mention an injury and I probably had it). It is like getting over the top: everthing goes perfect, I feel strong, and suddenly, like a 'pang': pain, somewhere. And then all the nice feelings are over, rest is needed and I'm not so happy anymore. So when you think I'm looking a bit sad, it's probably one of these pains. (Did you know runners only talk about three things: time, distance and injuries)
Comments