Sole Searching

Mike Bodnar pounds the pavements in search of fulfilment

It's blowing a northerly gale and I don't want to go out running in it.

Actually, it could be the most perfect day on earth and I wouldn't want to go running. But the problem is I have signed up for a 10 kilometre 'fun run' (I use the term 'fun' here loosely), and I have just 26 days until the Big Event. I have only myself to blame.

For those stuck in an imperial past, 10 kms is 6.2 miles, so basically just under a quarter of a marathon. Unlike the original Marathon Man, I would therefore never have made it to Athens to deliver the news that the Greeks had trounced the Persians, but then I wouldn't have died as a result either. No news is good news in this case.

So why am I doing this? Let's add some context. This year I turn 70 - hard to believe I know, but there you are. I have a certificate to prove it. It's called a Birth Certificate. And I haven't run for anything other than a train or a bus in about 20 years, so I am not to be seen pounding the pavements or anything like it on a regular basis. Nor am I a gym bunny. My idea of exercise is leaping to conclusions.

But, as with most years, my wife Liz and I are trying to do 'Dry January', where we give up drinking alcohol for the whole month, 1) to allow our livers to recover from the festive season pounding, and 2) to prove to ourselves we can do it - and hopefully feel the better for it. But for me, oh no, that wasn't enough, was it? No, I had to go further. 

I happened to stumble across an item online announcing that this year's Round The Bays Fun Run is to be held on 18th of February, and foolishly I thought, well, why not add a bit of exercise to the non-drinking thing and see what happens? At the worst I won't be able to run that distance, but I do like walking, and walking the 10kms is an option if the running doesn't work out. So I paid the registration fee.

Am I mad or what? (Hold off answering please until you've read a bit more)

No, not entirely loopy. I ran a couple of half-marathons back in the 1980s and did so in quite reasonable times. In those days I would run for enjoyment (I know, right?), and I did actually sometimes reach that 'zone' that runners talk about, where you achieve a certain physical and mental satisfaction - if not a kick - simply from running a decent distance. It's a buzz, a fix.

1987 half-marathon, that's me in the middle, post-run

But as I said earlier, running for a bus is about all I've done in recent years, although I am at least blessed with legs, hips and knees that still work okay, and walking, even long distances, isn't a problem.

One doesn't, however, at the age of 69 just slip on some running shoes and head out the door for a five kilometre jog; that would be foolish and possibly even dangerous. No, one is supposed to build up both distance and stamina over time, and so there are schedules available online showing how far to run each day (or even if to run - there are rest days), and how to increase your distance gradually over time. Which is what I've been doing.

It's been going okay, but I have to be honest, I really don't want to do it. Yesterday for example was my weekly 'rest day', i.e. no running at all. Lovely. It was also 29 degrees Celsius (84 F) so I  shouldn't have been running in heat like that anyway. Instead I lay on the sun lounger and drank zero-alcohol beer.

Today though I'm supposed to be out for another training run, and I just don't want to go. It's very windy, and that seems like a good excuse. The Clash is singing in my head right now: Should I stay or should I go? Followed by the lines: If you run it is a slog... So stay at home and write a blog. Which is exactly what I'm doing.

It's a delaying tactic. I'm good at those. I should write a self-help book on delaying tactics, and maybe I will. One day. Maybe.

But I will run today. I know I will, because in the past three weeks I've gone from not being able to jog even a kilometre, to now running 4.42 kms non-stop. Plus I've lost around 3 kgs (6.6 lbs) in weight, although given that I'm not drinking alcohol it's likely to be a combination of that plus the exercise that's doing it. I needed to lose weight anyway as I was developing what's known as a roof over the tool shed.

It's helped that at weekends my son comes running with me and is gracious enough to shuffle along at my pace rather than his more lengthy lope. I suspect he also knows how to make sure he stays in my will. It's good to have a running buddy though and I look forward to our runs together. But because he works Monday to Friday I find myself having to train alone during the weekdays, which makes it harder. As does Wellington's wind today. Oh the reasons not to go running are mounting up!

The training advice online says that if you are in pain from running then you should stop, particularly at my age. I do actually have a bit of a twinge behind my knees, another excuse to stay home, but if I'm honest it's not really bad, and I know that when I start running I won't notice it.

And then there's the people, the crowds. I had planned to run today along the waterfront, and now it's lunchtime which means there'll be lots of people promenading, getting in the way, blocking my path. Yes, I should just stay home. There's always tomorrow, or the next day. Maybe I'll just do some sit-ups and push-ups, a few stretching exercises. The deck is sheltered and the sun lounger is calling to me. There's a cold 0% alcohol beer in the fridge.

Oh sod it. I'm going for a run. See you later.