I wouldn’t describe myself as an ‘outdoor type’!
I love running, and I love seeing how fast I can run…
And I love executing the training necessary to do this…
So this does mean that I have been outdoors
A lot!
Almost every day of my running life (over 50 years!) all year round…
I have seen the seasons change – the leaves fall from the trees – and then flourish into verdant life again; I have run as the sun is rising in the sky and setting again.
I have run in all weathers, in hail and snow, in wind and sun – and rain – a lot of rain…!
But I would still not describe myself as an outdoor type!
I am happy to sit in a coffee shop, or in a square if it’s sunny, watching the people, and everything going on around me….
And, I am more than happy to come back indoors from being outside – to a warm bath, to a soon to be clean body, clean clothes and food…
I have only camped once or twice in my life…
In France – in the sun…
And the deal was that we would eat in a restaurant each night!
No camp fire meals for me…
No – I’m not an outdoor type!
I ‘seem’ like an outdoor type, because I’ve done lots of races in rainy rainy conditions
I ran in the inaugural London to Brighton X country race in 2008…
It literally rained from dawn til dusk…
The race took me 11 hours and 25 minutes and every step was a rainy one!
But as people get to know me, they realise that however cheerful I am about ‘running in the rain’…
That in my essence, in my core ‘I am not an outdoor type’
A friend once sent me a link to a song called ‘I lied about being an outdoor type’ – he said that it reminded him of me’…
‘I’ve never set foot inside a tent
Can’t build a fire to save my life
I lied about being the outdoor type’
Not that I have actually ever lied/ pretended to be an outdoor type…! 🙂
And yesterday, I ran The Squerreys winery parkrun, in rainy (August!) wild weather
I loved every moment; the rain felt all part of the fun
But I knew there was a warm bath – and brunch in a bright brasserie awaiting me…!
