I can’t believe that May has come and gone so quickly. Yet here we are at the beginning of a new month.
I set myself a number of targets during May. Firstly to walk 100 miles in aid of MS Therapy Tayside. I’m pleased to confirm that I beat the target and ended up walking 123 miles. For me it was great to be able to set myself a target and actually achieve it, moving away from the cycle of entering races, failing to turn up (due to injury) and then feeling like a total failure.
I’ve also learned this month to slow down and take more notice of where I am and what I’m doing. Everything isn’t a race. I’m not any less of a person just because I don’t enter races all the time. It is actually ok to enjoy the time that I am exercising and the places I am visiting. And there has been a variety of walking opportunities during the month.
I started the month in Albufeira, Portugal, home of cobbles and hills (and sadly the cause of my running injuries in the first place). I walked around Bristol, taking in the City Centre, the Harbourside, the Downs and the streets of Clifton where I live. The scope and variety of places to walk in Bristol is amazing, and I know there are so many more places to walk to. I also went back to Stoke-on-Trent for a couple of days and managed a walk by the Trent and Mersey Canal; even finding time to go to the New Vic Theatre to watch Dial M for Murder. The theatre is in the round which makes for a really different theatre experience and I had forgotten just how good it is. I also had a fantastic evening in Staffordshire visiting good friends, eating take-away pizza and catching up on the latest news. Such a simple evening, but it made me realise that life can be simple and still provide immense pleasure.
Finally, I finished the month in Nice and Monaco. The walking was not the focus of the trip, but to fulfil the dream of a lifetime, watching the Monaco Grand Prix. It was amazing, everything I had dreamed it would be and I was not disappointed. The sights and sounds were all I could hope for. Sitting facing the iconic marina with racing cars all around me is not something I will forget in a hurry. Equally impressive was the boat trip between Nice and Monaco. The French Riviera coastline is just stunning and I’d really love to visit it again.
Besides the walking I have also been focussing on my well-being. I go along to a Kinesiologist every 6 weeks or so. This is voodoo joo-joo at its absolute finest. Yaz, my kinesiologist is just fantastic and I would highly recommend her. I haven’t the faintest clue of how it works, but somehow it does. I rarely tell her what I would like her to treat, I suppose it’s a bit of a test to see if she picks up the thing that is most ailing me. She was spot on, I have been struggling with sleeping and have been quite stressed about moving house. Evidently my adrenal glands needed some tlc, so I was prescribed a variety of B vitamins. I was also prescribed Vervain, one of the Bach Flower remedies – for people who put themselves under great stress and cannot switch off – which would sum my current state up in a nutshell. According to the Bach Centre “When we are in this state the remedy helps us regain our balance so that body and mind and be restored. It encourages the wisdom to enjoy life and the passage of time instead of always feeling the need to be active.” I’m only a week in to these particular treatments so I will see how it goes.
Can I say it I am walking back to happiness? Not yet, but I do feel I am on my way, but I am starting to enjoy life again and appreciate those people around me. I am not placing so much pressure on myself to achieve self-imposed ideals. I am probably also less quick to judge and if I’m honest, a nicer person to be around.
Life According to TJ 