What a pleasure it is to run, to put on a pair of trainers and head outside to clear your head after a long day at work. How healthy it is to let go of worries by running and exercising.
As you jog, you leave behind negative thoughts and accumulated tension; it’s a reset mental needs. I enjoy running: it gives me balance and lets me face everyday life with good humour and enthusiasm.
Training, on the contrary, is another concept.
An activity you enjoy whenever your body and mind call for it becomes a routine requiring perseverance and discipline. Running for hours on end and getting kilometres into your legs is the minimum preparation for taking part in Marathon des Sables. With family and work commitments to consider, everyone has to juggle their time to find hours to train.
During the week, I manage to get out three evenings. I save Saturday or Sunday for three- or four-hour runs with my backpack on my back, my MP3 player, energy bars, plenty of water and... off I go!
It is hard to run in winter: you have to dress up in two tops, thermal tights, a hat and gloves, yet you still end up either freezing or wearing far too much. The classic image we all have of the jogging is the one where, on a hot afternoon, you pass along a seafront promenade among skaters and ice cream sellers with your walkman. The reality of training is different: lonelier, colder and harder. Normally it is at night, in the dim light of the street lamps, with fog or a little rain for company, and little noise apart from my inseparable comEvery step of the way...
