You Can Do More Than You Think You Can...
Friday night is jamboree night in Gros Islet...
Anadi and I went to visit Mac for a stretch out before running, and then jogged an easy four miles around and about - 'slowly slowly catchee monkey' - we have significantly increased our training load since arriving, so meandering about on the flat coast road that leads to pigeon island, was a lovely way to clear the legs and open the lungs without stress on the body; active recovery...!
As we ran back through the village, preparations were already taking place for the Friday night fun... Awnings were being strung up, trestle tables erected, barbecues were heating up... There was music playing loudly everywhere and people were calling to one another across the street....
Later on we wandered back into the village to join in and get our supper... We were greeted by a throng of happiness, the smells of food cooking, joss sticks burning, bright lights high up in the sky above the main music area; people dancing all night long.
The air was warm and filled with Barbecue smoke, a joyous atmosphere, relaxed, busy, noisy, peaceful in its freedom and fun which pervaded the streets... I could feel the rhythm of the music moving my body, the sound vibrating deep in my chest...
We walked right down to the sea, to a bar which was serving five varieties of fish. They were being cooked in a 'chicken wire like' apparatus... Lines and lines of fish over hot coals... At one point the coals burst into flames because of the fat dripping off the fish. The flames started to escape...
The guy in charge was very relaxed in his response, and simply lifted the fish off, at which point the flames leapt higher - he squirted them with water and deftly put out the fire...
There was no rush or panic...
It was evident that rushing or panicking would not have speeded the process, the people here know this; they live like this; 'there is no need to hurry man'.
They have a deeper wisdom, lost by many in the Western world....
Our meal was totally delicious, fresh tuna caught that morning served with rice and a garlic sauce. We ate hungrily at a trestle table under the stars, the waves lapping close by - a Piton beer to wash it all down!
Valentines day....
A year ago today we landed on this beautiful island... We were to be married in ten days time... Anadi had proposed to me on Christmas Day, and then just over a week later, in early January he was cast out of a project he had created all the software for.
He and his business partner had won a 'Future Cities Award', which gave them funding for further development - but then his partner 'shot the golden goose'... and threw Anadi out ...
Even though Anadi was hurt and reeling from the turn of events; he set straight to work again - the very next day - and over the ensuing months created ImediLibrary Sports, which was ready to launch, in July and is now a thriving enterprise...
You will know his orientation from reading his articles on Running Conscious...
He sought to investigate and clear the pattern within him that had brought this about...
And so it was that on a day in mid January 2014, while we were running together in the cold wintery weather, exploring, unravelling and talking about what had occurred, Anadi still recovering from the shock, suddenly said ' let's get married in St Lucia next month ...'
This gave us - (read for us ... Amy! Thank you Amy!) - about four weeks to plan our wedding!
And now nearly a year has passed....
Today...
We woke up early to our cockerel crowing outside; we went and sat on the balcony for a couple of hours, watching Gros Islet go about her Saturday morning. We drank coffee and chatted together and exchanged gifts; I gave Anadi a little colourful Caribbean shot glass to put his favourite Kumquat liqueur in! He gave me a beautiful bright blue bracelet... I waved to a villager who looked up at us as he walked by - it seems like we have never not been here; the days mingling and time swirling around us...
And then I ran down the road to train with Rodja; it started to rain as I left, light and refreshing for my warm up run...!
I arrived ten minutes early, so I sat down on a log under a tree. I was just opposite the bridge to my workout, and my new balanced strong future ...
As i relaxed there, a man came up to me... 'You have ignited a fire in my heart - I know that I could trust you and I would be safe with you' he announced. I smiled at him and said, 'Thank you...' 'I would like to see you again', he continued.
'I am married ' I replied 'Ahh... Well if you were not married, I would make you my wife and I would cherish you always', he respnded... I put my hand on my heart, smiled at him and thanked him again... And then he went on his way...
I walked over the bridge to my morning workout...
I loved it!
Rodja extended the movements I did in the last session; and suddenly I was taken back to a strength and continuing lecture twenty five years ago, where the lecturer Mike Winch - a British international Shot Putter - was saying that power cleans were a total body work out... Today Rodja coached me to put together cleans, squats and overhead presses into one movement and I could feel how this will strengthen the very core of my being, and my body...
We did sets of descending numbers starting with 21 reps down to 12... Super setted with slam balls and kettle bell swings...
'Take it slowly', he said as I was challenged by the clean and squat... 'Break the sets it into 2's and 3's...'
At one point I said to him, 'this is how I ran mountain races, they were so tough...'
The very first one I ran, was 10 kilometres straight up the side of a mountain...!
I remember setting off and finding that I was in oxygen debt from the first two minutes... I straight away knew that I needed a strategy, and so I decided to break the race down into ten minute blocks in my head. the record had been 62 or 63 minutes, and I broke it that day with my 6 x ten minutes approach...!
To be greeted with cheering crowds at the top of the mountain - and a glass of schnapps at 9am!
Taking it bit by bit, mile by mile, a few repetitions by a few repetitions, you discover that you are capable of so much more than you ever realised... And you get to see that...
You can always do more than you think you can....
