Content Warning!

It’s not always a constant flow of high energy, ideas, and miles and miles of running, writing, cycling, swimming and any other ing’ing that involves getting hot and sweaty. First thing in the morning I am caffeine withdrawn wreck who cannot truly function until I have had at least 2 cups of coffee. Especially now my supply has been reduced to Nescafe Red Cup!! So the inspiration for this latest post comes from the low point, the point I usually try not to write about.

The Low Point

Let us time travel back to Monday afternoon. I am done with work for the day, for the week. I have just finished a run of ten 12 hour day shifts and I am pooped. But I am stubborn and I have a change of clothes, so my plan for the evening is to walk back to the hotel – a mere 2.5 (4.4) miles (Kilometres), then maybe go out for a longish 7 (11.5) mile (Kilometre) run later. The humidity will be up but the sun will be down and I won’t have a pack. Plus a long outdoor run will be a nice ‘full stop’ to my working week. Whoop!

Well, the walk was harder than I thought. By the time I was back at my hotel I was hot and sweaty, not an uncommon look for me these days. All I want is to slip into the lift and get to my room before anybody spots me.

Fat chance.

A group of very pleasant Japanese men also end up in my lift, there are now 5 of us in the small, broom closet sized compartment and I am sure I smell. Me in my walking trousers, Nike T-shirt, walking boots and about 300 grams of perspiration. Them, cool, calm, un-sweaty and in expensive business suits.
“Been to the Sauna” they say. To make a joke.
“Haha! No.” I say, “Just walked from work.”
“Oh.” (and I am sure they are thinking ‘who the hell walks here?’ well me. I walk!)

The joke was funny and received well but I wasn’t in the mood for explaining the intricacies of my motivation for enforcing my stubbornness and insisting on walking while the weather and the humidity are below 50.

I return to my room, my dark (the curtains are broken again), messy (I have refused the cleaners for a few days while i have been on shift – It’s dark hole syndrome), room. The heat has beaten me, the sleep deprivation has beaten me, the Japanese have beaten me. I am in no space to go for a run.

The High Point

The 3 Amigos and some 12 hours (10 of those being sleep) later, I am awake. I have loaded up my playlist with some old running music I used to run to and I am ready to hit the gym. A busy day of gym and paddle boarding ahead – this should be good, I am definitely climbing out of the negative numbers. Some 85 minutes later, my clothes are more sweat that material but I feel awesome all my negativity has been run out and I feel like I am about to crest the wave.

The Low Point

Stand Up Paddle-boarding is cancelled! Boo!! Might be on tomorrow. I have booked, but if the weather is too windy it will be cancelled and then I have to choose between Friday morning Paddle-boarding or Friday morning running. Tough choice.

And So On And So Forth

I guess the point of this post is that I am constantly swinging from high to low to high. I had a shitty day yesterday, but a better one today. I guess that is part of the challenge.

The next one will be more upbeat!