16th January - Head is as high as the clouds, cant stop thinking about the finish. Waking up at the helicopter hanger, Selkirk Tangiers, I was massively surprised when I was asked would you like a ride to the top of one of the Rocky mountains? A fast, simple reply of WOULD I was my way of saying yes. I joined a group that was already going up there, to do some heli-skiing. Sitting in the back of the helicopter was magical, but hard to comprehend speed and height from looking out of a small window, I was only catching the tips of the mountains. Once we landed at the top, everyone jumped out and I scored front seat next to the pilot to fly back down to the hanger. Woooosh, my blood sank to my legs as we lifted off up into the air much faster than before. With the glass panels underneath my feet, we continued to climb and the pilot hovered over the rock face, closely, rising up over one of the biggest summits. As we kept rising I could feel the climax coming up and over the summit. Once reaching the tip, I could finally see the magnitude of the Rocky Mountains, it was like over looking what felt like the entire world - did I just run through them?? My stomach went round in circles and I squealed with excitement, just like the time when I got my first bike for Christmas at 5 years old, and nearly peed my pants. Beginning my 186th marathon my head was truly in the clouds, maybe it was the experience I just had, or maybe the finish was starting to dawn on me. Miles went by faster than Flash and I kept picturing the finish in the Pacific Ocean, what was I going to do, put my hand in the water? Dive in the water? Who knows. I could feel the emotion coming on. At mile 12, at the halfway point of the run, I sat down to take a break and suddenly realised that all I thought about was the finish and nothing else. And that I was running extremely fast, way more faster than usual. An email came in on my IPhone, I decided to check it. It was from Jamie Richards, a friend who uses his experience and expertise to help me through. It read: Mate, I was just driving up the M5 (and my how our lives are different). I started thinking about you finishing. What it would be like to see you and what an amazing future you have. I started welling up right there in my car. Then it occurred to me that you might be feeling the same. So I wanted to say something to you buddy. FOCUS. I know you are but it never hurts to get a reminder. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. The email couldnt have come at a better time, I had to listen to Jamie. Ive ran from St Johns NL, thinking in the now, which has gotten me this far, right now, my mindset was dangerous. I thought about what it could be like if I got a big injury at this stage, and how it could end everything. So I began to run, in a very relaxed state, focusing on my breathing whilst looking down at my feet from time to time - and most importantly, making sure that my pace was just right. With three miles to go to Revelstoke, the hills were rolling and Id finally refocused to the point of feeling that nothing was going to stand in my way of this run. After finishing up my last mile, I was happy another day had passed. For the evening, I spent sometime in The Last Drop Pub, to sink a couple of beers and demolish a rack of ribs, on the house. And then move into a night in the Powder Springs Hotel. What more could a man want? Actually, dont answer that question. Need to keep the focus, 14 marathons to go.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 00:28:23 +0000
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