I’ve been struggling with an Achilles injury for the last couple of months. It’s been the bane of my running life and has, at various points in the last 20 years, affected my ability to be able to run consistently.
As I get older, the frequency of ‘episodes’ seems to get more regular – and the length of time to get rid of them, longer and longer. This most recent bout hit in mid-August – and I’m still suffering now.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. For the last few days, I’ve been staying with my friend Dave Jelley (www.jelleylegs.co.uk), who runs (if you’ll pardon the pun) a business offering guided runs of the North Yorkshire and Yorkshire Dales.
I’ve literally been running once a week for the last eight weeks, but whether it was the air, the feeling of getting away from the grind or just the threat of being charged by rutting deer, but I managed to run twice in three days, 45 minutes each time.
What is it about a change of scenery that can reignite our enthusiasm for running? We are all so focused on our busy lives that we seldom step outside the bubble to see what else we can do for ourselves.
For Dave Jelley, there is no bubble. Running is a way of life and he brings his passion for the sport (and his physio skills) to everyone who stays with him. Of course, having an enormous park at the back of your garden helps, as does having the Dales on your doorstep.
If you need a break from life and want to find your running mojo, then do something different. Carrying on with the same running on the same routes will only make you stale and bored.
As Blur’s Damon Albarn once sang: “I ‘m payin’ the price of livin’ life at the limit, caught up in the century’s anxiety.” Sometimes it pays to find a nice big house in the country.
