Conversations On The Run...
I have just walked back through Bubion having spent the afternoon working with Tim, the hazy heat reminding me of summers long gone...
Did I imagine summers were hot in England? Is it my own version of events? Is it part of the story of my life that I have coloured and brightened and added in extra heat and lazy summer days...?
I have memories of being with my friend Wendy by the river, all day long... We would cycle to the edge of a field, drag our bikes through the hedge and then leave them there and make our way through the long grass to the river... We carried a picnic, the books we were reading and a transistor radio in case we wanted music... And there we would stay all day long; sun bathing and swimming with the little fishes that darted....
My boyfriend Richard lived on a fruit farm... Many of our summer Saturdays were spent under the apple trees together, lying about in the grass... It was always hot, no hint of rain...
The story of my life...
While the three of us, Anadi, Tim and I ate breakfast this morning outside at Teide under the cherry trees... Delicious tomato salad in oregano and olive oil, crusty french bread, omelettes, fresh orange juice and coffee... We told stories to one another; some of the stories are just that, the narrative of our life to tell as we choose... Mine full of hot summer sunny lazy days of lying about in the grass...
Tim spoke of camping trips and plans to set sail for who knows where; Anadi told us how he reconstructed motorbikes, discovered at the local tip... to race about on in the woods...
Just stories... Fun to tell and fun to listen to in the sun on a Saturday morning...
And then there are the ones that still hold us in their grip, ones that are hard to tell, or we feel shame or embarrassment or anger still bubbling up to be released....
Disappointments, regrets, stories of might have beens....
These are the ones that hold some energy, have a charge and point the arrow to where there is still 'work to be done...'
And as we sat chatting together round a table sharing food and laughter and joie de vivre, I suddenly said... 'Oh oh, we are the same, I discovered on our run that we are bonded and united, we are a band of three'!
Anadi looked at me quizzically, smiling...
This morning we had driven to Portugos Village with 'supplies' for tomorrow when we once again plan to run there and back... Covering twenty miles in total...
The 'plan' is that the three of is will run there, and then Tim and I intend to run back and Anadi is going to drive the 'support vehicle'.
And so today we drove the car there, and Tim and I ran the ten miles back over the mountain... Six miles up hill and four down!
While Anadi chose to run the 5 miles back along the road...
As we ran we talked, and at one point I got out my little bag which held my phone, doubling today as a camera... In the bag was also some money and some loo paper...
'All a runner might need', I laughed, and then the conversation turned to 'being caught out for the loo' on a run; and how I have had more conversations about bowel movements on the run with my fellow runners than anywhere else....
Later we stopped to take photos and have a drink and I stretched my back out by squatting down....
Seeing me, and I imagine prompted and following on from our previous conversation...
Tim said...
'I read an article the other day that was all about the position you are in now, being the ideal position to poo in...'
'Yes, yes, it is' I replied....
And so we discovered that the three of us believe this to be true and adhere to the articles ideas...
Which essentially said how important it is to raise your legs on the loo seat or a stool 'squatty potty' placed in front, so that we adopt the squat position which allows the natural movement for the body to evacuate, and avoid all manner of potential disease processes in the body...
It was something that Anadi and I discovered about one another early on in chatting together, and today over breakfast I excitedly announced that Tim too, had found the benefits of squatting in the 'restroom'!
