Twice A Day...
Today has been twice a day training day...
There was a time when it was a way of life, to train two times every day.
Apart from Sundays which was usually a twenty mile run, and maybe Wednesday too, which might be a fifteen... it was out in the morning and again in the evening every day, day in and day out...
An easy day, a rest day was two easy five miles runs, one first thing and one later on...
I remember when training twice in a day was first suggested to me... I was sixteen years old and I was going on holiday with my family to Hope Cove... Because I was going to be away with 'nothing else to do', my coach thought this a perfect opportunity for me to train more...!
We arrived and the twice a day thing didn't sit so comfortably, it felt a burden and a 'got to do'. I remember my mother saying 'Oh darling, surely you have to really want to do it, it mustn't be too much of a task...'
I knew she was right and so went against my coach's suggestion, and trained just once a day on that holiday...
The twice daily started not long later when I was seventeen; but I was ready for it then, I wanted to do it...
And even when I put my training volume up - because I wanted to - it was still often tough 'getting out of the front door'!
Over the years I have found this the hard bit; but once the door has been opened and I have closed it behind me, there is nothing else to do but take that first step... it all unfolds from there...
We set an alarm this morning so that we could run the length of the beach, do a circuit on the outdoor weights and run then back before breakfast; the whole 'session' takes an hour and a half.
We left here at 7.30am and discovered the tide very high. At times the sea was up to the very top of the beach, and so we ran in water ankle deep...
I was reminded then of that holiday in Hope cove... one of my 'sessions' was to run along the beach ankle deep in the sea, to create resistance and build strength...
There were three points on our run where the ankle deep changed to thigh high!
Later on today we set off for session two, into the jungle again; as we journeyed Anadi told me of the research he had been doing today...
'If monkeys start to circle throw stones at them, get a stick and prod them, don't whack, they are too fast for whacking...'
And keep clear of all snakes, generally they will make a move to get away from you, except for vipers; they attack... And never tread on them!!
It was only just over a week ago that Anadi did just that, fortunately not in bare feet and fortunately after briefly coiling up to attack, the snake changed its mind and slithered off...
On our way back along the sandy track today I saw a snake just beside me. I stopped and touched Anadi's arm, he stopped too and we watched it slither away... It was very beautiful. We have looked it up, and discovered that it was a Sunbeam snake...
Today's experience gave me evidence that something has shifted within me. Historically, on encountering danger or unexpected snakes on the path, I would gasp; and if Anadi was near enough grab his arm! - and have fear shoot through my being...!
I have 'reacted' like this to snakes, to overhead lightening, to rip tides, to earthquakes...! My instant uncontrollable response has been panic, followed by a gathering of myself and then dealing with what is in front of me...
I was keen to shift the deeper reactive fear response; until it is shifted it is uncontrollable. The last time it happened was in Corfu - meeting a snake in the grass just in front of us - I went right into the reaction in even more depth, so I could get to the core fear, the core deeper vulnerability that was accessed through these sudden unexpected 'snakes on the path' in front of me...
And now that reactivity is gone, nothing panicky arises in me, I get still and I ready myself to deal with 
it... This was even evident on the 'Anadi stepping on the snake' occasion...
But as with everything, we cannot decide with our mind to change things, we can only clear the stuff it arises; we can use our mind to commit to clearing and we can use our mind as the amazing tool it is from this clear space...
But if we try to make it do things when the deeper part of us is going another way then nothing happens... It is why so many New Year's resolutions do not go forward!
