Look After Your Body...
We downloaded our Sunday outing this morning and found that we had gone a merry route indeed – we saw how vast the expanse of running land is too; so much to explore. It stretches wild and free from one side of the island to the other; and drops down to different beaches around the northern tip.
We watched our confusion as Anadi set the bit that traces your footsteps – around and around we traversed in circles – it looked very much like Piglet and Pooh Bear in the 100 acre wood when they were lost and went round and round the tree...
I have been lost in that wood too – The Ashdown forest - home of Christopher Robin, Pooh bear and friends, and one of my previous running lands.
I can remember the very first day I ran there – it was freezing cold – and I discovered Pooh bridge, where Pooh and his friends played Pooh sticks – I didn’t even know till then that I was in 'Pooh bear land’
I arrived back to the car way before Nige, who I had gone up to the forest with – we had set off on separate runs as he was much faster than me – and he had got stuck on a big big loop – I stood by the car freezing freezing I was reminded of Pooh’s poem...
'And nobody knows Tiddley pom,
How cold my toes Tiddley pom,
How cold my toes are growing Tiddely pom Tiddely pom Tiddely pom Tiddely pom...'
There was a big army lorry parked up too; and in the end, I went along and asked if I could get in with the soldiers while I waited …
And then as the months went by, I found my way by getting lost…
And that is it really; I needed to adventure and get lost to find my way, or else I would never have discovered this new land, with its new paths, new possibilities…
All of the new unnamed lands become familiar eventually, once we have run them a few times, and know their ways, and the lie of the land….
There is so much to discover; we are limitless beings; we have everything within us, and if we go to the very depths of our being, and explore our own inner landscape, we will discover there is no end to us and our infinite power; to our innate energy of innocence and love, which can then express in all we are and all we do…
We certainly weren’t freezing today… We were resolved to find a loop route... We took note of our steps and stopped to look back from whence we had come, to check we were on the right path…
We heard the sound of the sea and came through a beautiful wooded glade that opened out onto the beach; and somehow we had returned to our Sunday beach… Woodpecker was sitting on a bench chatting with a friend… ‘How are you doing – how is the leg…'?
‘Let’s ignore the dogs…’ I said to Anadi, ‘then they won’t follow us…’
We watched a runner go by, and the three dogs on the beach looked idly up at him, and then continued meandering about, not the slightest bit interested…
However, when we had finished chatting to Woodpecker; and had asked after Roddy and Gabriel; we started to run; suddenly all the dogs stopped what they were doing, looked delighted and bounced around us. Two were the dogs from last week; our intrepid one we had left at the golf course - who was not at all miffed with us, just delighted to see us – the girl dog, and another had joined them.
They looked up at us expectantly… ‘Where are we going’?
We ran back to Woodpecker – 'what shall we do about the dogs…'?
‘Don’t worry man – they always find their way back – you run; they will be your tour guide…’
The dogs loved it – and like before the little girl dog turned for home after a mile or so, but the two boys were glued to our sides….
‘Okay – whatever Woodpecker says, I’m still not going on the main road with these two’ I said; and so we turned back and re traced our steps…
Once on the beach, the dogs left us, seemingly happy to have been taken for their walk…! So now we know, that we will need to run around off road if we go that way again, and accept that we will take the dogs with us and then return them to their beach…!
Later…
We went to the gym; Anadi has joined mac’s strength and conditioning class at 6pm on a Monday and Thursday; so we went along at 5.30 and did some assisted stretching together first... When Anadi went upstairs for his session, I did some more exercises… and a spin on the treadmill…
There is a notice in the gym I read and appreciate each time I go…
‘Look after your body, it is the only place you have to live in…’
When I finished I sat on the step of the gym, and talked to a young girl Joanna about my cuts and bruises – she had come over to ask me what I had done… She then showed me all the scars on her body and told me how she had got each one…
Anadi appeared hot and tired from his session with Mac; so we went for a recovery beer before making our way home for supper…