Diary of a Greenpeace Marathon Runner: Part 3

The fact that this blog is several weeks late is an indication of how much I have been struggling to fit training around work and other commitments. The last three weeks have been tough. But I have more or less kept on track. Just.

So, the following thoughts on motivation and inspiration, written at the end of January, are even more relevant now:

The tiny gadget pictured cost me £30 a few years back. It’s been money well spent. Music  has been sustaining me through long training sessions on treadmills at the local authority gym, when ice and darkness have made road running risky. More than that, some tracks lift me to such an extent that I surprise myself at how I can wind up the pace.

It’s one of a number of things that keeps me motivated.

Contemplation of nature, while running the country lanes of East Yorkshire, has the same effect. At times, it can be magical. Four weeks ago, with two miles left of a fifteen-miler. A tawny owl swooped across the road in front of me and landed on the hedge just a few yards away. Moments later, three deer, less than a hundred yards off, seemed to be acting as pacemakers, and ran beside me for about a quarter of a mile until a large hare – darting across my path and into the field – startled them and sent them charging off into the distance. It was a joyous two minutes.

Supportive, encouraging and interested friends have been vital. I’d have been a very lonely runner without them and I don’t think I’d be where I am now. I don’t have a regular training partner but there are a few of us within the Greenpeace network who are doing various things to get fit, lose weight and meet assorted personal goals. We keep in touch - as virtual training partners, I suppose. It’s been very important.

On the way back from Jo Melzack’s retirement party in Manchester, Tracy (from Yorkshire Coast group) and I took in the gym and ran for half an hour on adjacent treadmills. A running partner can be the best form of motivation – and so it proved. Tracy – who has only been running for a few weeks – made the huge leap from two miles to three and I blew apart my personal best distance for a 30 minute run. Huge grins all round.

And PBs are, in themselves, further motivation still.