Mileage: 12.5 miles, AM - 3.75miles; PM - 8.75miles
Today's running was pretty much the same as last Monday and many others that have passed in recent weeks, so I thought I would talk about other stuff.
There has been loads of sport this summer from the World Cup, to the Tour de France, Wimbledon, Test Match cricket and the recently finished Eurpean Athletics. I've watched quite a bit of this sport, particularly the Tour de France and the athletics and what I've seen has really inspired me in my own sport. I wonder how much, if at all, it has inspired other amateur sports competitors.
Why has it inspired me?
For me its the dedication, the passion, the emotion and commitment that these guys give to succeed. In some cases they give absolutely everything, like in the epic 5 set match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. They played for over 11 and half hours over three days and never once did they give an inch. They must have known at some point during that last set that they would never recover suffuciently to play well enough in their subsequent rounds, so in a sense that match became their final and they just did not give in. They treat it as a final. It was inspiring stuff.
Then there was the rivaly and competition between Schleck and Contador in the Tour de France and again watching them go hammer and tong up the mountain to decide who would be the winner was breathtaking. Neither would give up. They were clearly hurting and I am farily certain they would have dropped down dead before letting the other get away. Having a huge strength of character and will power to succeed must be crucial in order to peform at that level and to achieve what they have. When I am out running, especially on my long runs and things start to get a little tough and sore I think of sporting moments like that and try to let it motivate me to keep running hard and not to give in.
The athletics was also really good this summer. I am not a big believer in country and nationality, but I do cheer the British on and like to see them do well. It was great to see so many of them do so well too. I really loved watching Andy Turner's response to his victory in the 110m hurdles, you could simply see the emotion pour out and you knew exactly what it meant to him, or Chris Thompson's silver medal in the 10,000m and Mark Lewis Francis in the 100m. I love seeing that emotion, as it shows you just how good you can feel through achievement in sport. I know it's unlikely that I will win international medals, but I have my goals and even though I might not be able to reach their heights I can train as hard as them and achieve the goals I have set myself.
I was also impressed by the coolness under pressure shown by a number of the athletes, especially under the intense media and personal pressure put on them. Jessica Ennis in a truly world class field, always seemed to do exactly what she needed to get the points on the board to win the gold. In an event that spans 2 days and seven disciplines I am sure there are plenty of opportunities to crumble under that pressure, but she didn't, not once. Nor did Mo Farah, who won both the 5,000m and 10,000m. As a runner, his events and the marathon were the ones I watched most keenly. I was particularly impressed by Mo's tactics. He has often been criticised for getting things wrong, and he didn't have the best start to the season with some poor cross country performances, but he did everything right at the games. The way he controlled both the races he ran was a great lesson in running. It wasn't about running PBs it was about beating the other runners and winning gold.
So this summer of sport has been really inspiring so far and helps keep me motivated to run well and train hard, as I know it can lead to my goals.
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