I think I stole that from The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.

On that note the first time I ran R4TK I was pretty excited and not just a little nervous.

A friend who knows more about running than me suggested that I needed to get some proper gear and so I dutifully trudged into the Big Horrible Sports Store and perused their range of runners and compression gear.

Compression gear was easy- great brand stocked, buy the ones that fit your BMI so I did, full length tights in black and teal.  Phew that was easy. Next came the runners. No one told me of the world of pain that comes with buying runners if 1. you dont know what you need

2. you go to a shop that employs teenagers who know nothing about anything especially not running.

Next time I will go to a place that looks at your gait, knows about running, knows about shoes but because I didnt know such things existed I went to the big dumb chain store.

A person who never ran an inch in their life sold me a pair of Asics that I still do love but are only a half size bigger than my usual shoe size and so began the tale of woe that ended up with a black toenail and a reasonable amount of pain.  I share this with you so you don’t need to repeat my mistakes.  Apparently if you run for several hours as I do then your feet swell and start to hit the end of your shoe. The result often involves blisters and sometimes blood. Ask my family how gross it is to have someone suddenly declare “hey my toenail is coming off” and suddenly hold it up like a prize from a Kinder Surprise.

But that all happened later- right now I am running Run For The Kids in my new proper running shoes and compression tights and me and 30 000 other people are pretty excited, nervous and just a little bit stressy.

As I chugged along, about halfway through the race… that’s the bit as you go over the Bolte Bridge and some people start to walk, the first of my running epiphanies hit me. You cannot judge your progress by anyone else, not in running and not in life.  Your journey will always be your own, it may have outward similarities to someone else but it is effectively as unique as your fingerprint.  Comparison is usually so superficial  it cannot tell you anything of real value. Motivating yourself with comparison will not lead to sustainable change. Just keep running…

The second was essentially a progression on the first. That one can only be fully effective in their life if you take full responsibility for it.  It may be your gear is wrong for the job or you didn’t get enough sleep or you just started and don’t have much experience but until you decide how much you are willing to push yourself and what price you are willing to pay you will pretty much coast at your default setting which is often under the pain threshold and will get you less than spectacular results.  Where else in your life do you do this?

So I ran, enjoyed the scenery, concentrated on pushing my pace just a little, noticed that people of every shape and ability run and appear to enjoy it or sometimes just endure it and I marvelled over it all… the sheer beauty of it.

I felt blissful as I sprinted over the finish, found my family and went to raid the chocolate supplies and I was grateful for yet another chance to learn something about the wider world from running.  There is something to be said for being part of the group and yet running your own race.  Oh and despite all of these enlightened moments I was still happy when I beat a friend over the finish line… some times it is nice just to know you’re kickin’ ass.

What in gods name for I think I asked. Apparently according to her it was going to improve my running and ideally I would sign up for those charity runs with the timing chip and stuff and run about with the rest of humanity.

Haha no was probably my initial reaction but probably not to her face… actually I might have said something along those lines as I’m known for speaking my mind in friendly company and to random strangers on the internet. After I got over my initial reaction of bewilderment at why anyone would want to run with the great unwashed it ocured to me she might be right and it might be something I could do. I looked up a run of a reasonable distance that was within the month and whacked my credited card out to pay for it on line.

Lo and behold it really is that easy and I was ready to go. Kinda.

I did do some research on last years times and it seemed that unless I was going to break both legs on the way I was in no danger of coming last which is of course the beginners biggest fear or mine at least.

On the day I am nervous and amazed. As I look around at all the other runners it hits me my private world of bliss is somewhere other people go. They also share the need to get out there even if it is just around the block. They know the happiness of plugging in your iPod and leaving everything behind you-literally. At this point I run in some low tech trackies and shoes somebody gave me and as I look around it occurs to me there is a world of geeky sportswear that I could so easily be swayed into if I hung out with people who cared about that sort of thing. I’ve never even watched sport before so this is a new world to me.

The run itself was great. It was a relief to actually get going and as I ran I thought about all the ways this was just like when I ran by myself by the sea. I was also amazed by all the different styles of running and I did play around with a couple of them as I went. There is certainly some energy to be picked up on when you run with other people . I found the second half of the run just blissful as I found my pace and stopped thinking so much.

I came in around 55 minutes I think for a 10km race which is nothing astounding but I felt fine with it and that to me was the main thing.

I liked a lot of things about this run.

What’s next?

The story began on a summer holiday in New Zealand in the Able Tasman National Park. I am not all that good at sitting around, in fact I am either pottering around in the kitchen or on my laptop or… no, thats it. That is where you would find me.

So in a ‘bach’ with very limited kitchen and no laptop I found my self at a loose end.

I never did any of the tracks around the bach as I am not all that good at walking with other people. I tend to walk quickly and get impatient at having to stop or you know… look at stuff or talk… damn people .

Anyway I decided that armed with my new iPod and just myself for company I could walk up over the saddle to the next beach, about 5km away and hang about on the beach for a day (I seemed to forget I hate sand for its nasty gritty qualities and unless the grass goes right up to the water the beach sucks for me)

I packed a little bag and headed off with every one expecting the walk to take an hour each way at least because of the hills and I would see them in the afternoon.

As I approached the beginning of the track there is a little bridge and something in my head seemed to whisper to run… it was just so inviting so I broke into a jog which was fairly short lived at the track turned steeply up hill but I just kept walking/ running and quite soon was flying down the other side of the track with what seemed to be the whole place to myself. It was the best feeling and as I reached the bottom I was dismayed to find I was already there and it had only been about 35 minutes. I wandered along the beach in the hope of finding the next track as I suspected it lead to another even more secluded beach a similar distance away.

I found it and although the track was very narrow and there were a few more tourists on it I ran again and it was bliss!

If you have seen the movies Lord of the Rings you will understand that there is a special quality to the bush in New Zealand and the tracks often disappear or take you dangerously close to a cliff edge with sea and rocks below. It is breath taking and exciting and I ran my heart out. I burst through the end of the path into a clearing meters from the beach much to the surprise of the backpackers milling about there. I actually laughed out loud at their faces, what they must have thought at me running like a bat out of hell into their midst in my military cap and black singlet and shorts. Even my shoes were black. This was before I bought runners and I had my black Reebok Princesses on- damn I love those shoes.

Anyhoo I sat on the beach for an hour and it was nice but like I said I am not so hot at sitting around so I pretty much got up and ran all the way back including running along the beach which was a major challenge and then back to base camp where everyone said ‘what are you doing back already’- “I ran” I said… been doing it ever since