Guest Post: Spring ...by Pat Walsh

 ** Spring **

#Hope 

Many thanks to St Brigid for bestowing a Bank Holiday Weekend on us at the start of February. Winter is drawing to a close, days are lengthening and it is time to start emerging from the darkness of Winter. The Year is ahead of us and we want to embrace it. 

#Trust 

It is a critical time of the year for many. You want to improve your training load but balance it against doing too much too soon and maybe the chance of a injury. You need to stick to a plan and trust that it will see you get to where you want to be in your running. You can’t train or race if you are injured so be careful. 

#Patience.

We want to see results but we know but we forget it takes time to see tangible results from a new regime. Look for small short term gains first before the major improvements further down the road. 

#Acceptance 

Accept where you are today and start from here. Past glories count for nothing in the future. Yes, great to have them of course but your future running depends on today and tomorrow. If you training hasn’t been great, just accept it where you are and try to improve it. You can’t change what did happen, you can change what will. 

#Defiance 

Also remember, (and this is rather personal to me….!) As we age there will be some decrease in speed and ability so it might not always be about improvement. Doing the same as 5 or maybe 10 years ago, where you since defied the aging process can also be viewed as improvement. 

#Reality

Start now, don’t delay a further day and get out there. Lift your weekly mileage from wherever it is at right now and add on some extra. Nothing major or drastic, just continuous little increases. 

It isn’t about the watch or races. They don’t matter, racing and races have peaked in Ireland and the new reality will be something different. I hope to focus more on general health through running this year rather than chasing PB's.

It is just a healthier, fitter, happier you that is needed. If your runs become easier, if the belt on your pants goes in an notch, if you are walking with a spring in your step, can all be taken as a good sign of your own self-worth and improvement. 

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
‘Winter is dead.’” A.A. Milne

Have a lovely weekend. Run for yourself and your sanity.

#pwr