Just keep running
Do you ever feel like you are constantly on a treadmill? The pace of life is just so fast at times that I think it is easy to feel like this and for me recently, I literally have been too.......I am currently taking part in a virtual running challenge, running coast to coast (120 miles) in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity. I'm nearly there and have been able to clock up between 10-14 miles a week, so am pretty pleased with my accomplishment. The weather has been so pants recently, that most of my miles have been clocked up on my treadmill. I am a regular, pretty slow and steady runner and whilst the treadmill is not exactly exhilarating, I always feel exhilarated after my 20-50 minute runs. For me, running is not just about keeping my body fit and weight in check (although these are added bonuses!) it is about keeping my mind in check too. Running for me is therapy, it is my drug and probably my slight addiction. I need to run to keep me well, to keep me occupied, sometimes to help me make sense of things and sometimes to help me not think about anything. I think for Steve it was the same. He found a love for it that has inspired me to train harder and get better at it. I know that he has inspired many of you too, to put on your trainers and pound those pavements (or treadmills!) Our good friend will next year even be taking on the bonkers real-life challenge of running from Paris to London, (only a mere 300 miles) in memory of Steve and for BTR!! In honour of Steve, I will be setting up my own virtual challenge this summer, which I hope many of you will sign up to. I promise you will not be expected to run, walk or cycle 300 miles - not in one go anyway....Unless you really want to!!! There will be challenges, I hope to suit all, from the beginner to athlete, so keep an eye out for these on Facebook.
For my final words in this blog, I had the devastation of losing my precious ring containing Steve's ashes last weekend. I fear that I may have lost it for good, having searched high and low in places where it could have been. A similar situation happened to me 3 years ago.....Just before Steve was diagnosed, I lost my engagement ring when it somehow managed to slip off my finger. A couple of months later whilst Steve was in hospital, I had a message from my sister to say she had found it amongst some toys - fate, I suspected, intervened that time around. I am hoping for some kind of miracle and that like that ring, it will somehow make its way back to me. Losing it has felt like losing a part of Steve again. I have felt completely naked without it and have beaten myself up a lot about my carelessness. I know these things happen, but the thought of a part of Steve being somewhere I don't know, is very hard. What has been amazing is the kindness of strangers, friends and family who have tried their best to hunt for it or sent me kinds wishes or in one instance, a very precious gift in its place. In the words of the beautiful Jake Gyllenhaal (my "in my dreams" celebrity husband): "Bad people are rare, good people are everywhere" and I have definitely felt that this week. So thank you for making a bad week be that little bit better. Catch up soon after I have completely my challenge xx
