There was a time before cable and satellite TV, a time before before the advent of Channel 4. A time when it just wasn't possible to whine and whine and whine until your parents give in and put Peppa Pig on for the 15th time that day. In those days you had to watch what your parents wanted to, and on a Saturday afternoon my dad wanted to watch World of Sport on ITV. Having spent hours studying the form and not having put a bet on (far too risk averse to actually part with cash us accountants!) he'd be glued to the ITV7. We'd either get to watch his theoretical picks romp home or, more amusingly, get to watch my mum decide to do the hoovering or a spot of dog training in the lounge just as the big race of the day was off. Anyway, on some weekends the weather would be much like it has been recently. Racing would be off, the football program decimated (denying us even the chance to watch the teleprinter for the afternoon) and Dickie Davis would have to front an afternoon full of alternative sports coverage. Ice speedway was a favourite staple of such days (Ivan Mauger anyone?) but sometimes they'd cast their net wider and we'd see something altogether more unusual.
One such Saturday occured in February 1982 and we got to watch some sporting coverage that has stayed with me ever since. Julie Moss, a student from Califormia, decided to enter the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Doing so apparently as part of a college thesis and without having trained properly she tackled the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. Amazingly with only a few hundred yards of the run to go she was leading, not so surprisingly her unprepared body decided it had had enough and began to shut down on her. The pictures provided by ABC sports were almost agonising to watch as she fell time and again, only to get up and stagger on. Just 30 yards from the line she fell for the last time and whilst being tended to the eventual winner Kath McCartney jogged past. Even then Moss wasn't done and she famously crawled over the line.
As I say I've never forgotten that footage and Julie has very much come to mind this week. Not only because of the snow and those happy TV memories but because I've been struggling. I'm moving into a phase of my training where I'll be tackling longer distances than ever before. This has coincided with life just not allowing me time to run more than twice this week, the snow coming and a touch of the man flu making me feel generally crappy. It seems easier to say "I can't do it" and slink away from this challenge but in reality I need to get a grip and get on with it. So here follows this weeks pep talk to self....
When times are tough, when snow interrupts my training, when I'm feeling like chucking it all in, remember that you can make it. 26.2 miles may be a very long way, but it's not insurmountable and you can do it. Missing a couple of sessions won't derail the whole training plan but I do need to be consistent with my training to be properly prepared. Failing that I'll just crawl over the line !!
Click here to watch Julie
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