if I can do it, so can you (maybe)
I am nervous the week leading into this race. Having run the Snowdonia Trail Marathon on the Sunday, smashing my body and mind against the cold rocks of Snowdon, I now have 6 days to get ready for the International Snowdon Race, 10 miles up and down Snowdon as quick as you can. I have the added pressure and privilege of being selected to represent Wales, and also Snowdon Race being chosen as part of the World Cup Series this year.
I know that Owain Williams is running really well, so resolve to try and hang on to him for as long as possible. Calf gets looser as race goes on. Gosh, I am really enjoying it. So exhilarating and different from the monotony of road running.
I have struggled my whole adult life with what it means to be a man. I get so confused about my role. I want to be strong and protective over my wife and family, but I would never consider myself a chauvinist. I cannot hunt and fight the way men did for a hundred thousand years, yet I still get testosterone fueled urges to do similar stuff. I have stupid notions about how crying, or expressing emotion, is ‘unmanly’ and frowned upon. Yet I want to be caring and empathetic and emotionally engaged with my family and friends.
We climb Tryfan on Thursday morning. There is no sun. Yesterday was sunny, tomorrow will be sunny, but today is wet, cold and windy. After 30 minutes of non-stop protesting, they both realise I am not listening, and they do not complain again. Tryfan is mine and Nina’s favourite mountain, it cannot be walked up. You have to scramble and climb. The rocks are wet, both Theo and Isaac get cold hands, but they don’t complain. The way down is even more difficult, jarring and slippery. They just get on with it. I don’t have to teach a single thing. The mountain explains it all.
After a pretty hectic 5 weeks of racing, which included; Berlin Marathon, Abersoch Half Marathon, National Road Relays, Chester Marathon and Manchester Half Marathon, I now have a few weeks […]
