Brathay At Large

Duncan
4 days ago
4 min read

Paddington At Large

Duncan can I squeeze by you, one of the students asked at dinner. Johnny looks up from his dinner, suddenly remembering something and said something along the lines of 'I took a lass out to dinner the other week, I asked her if I could push her stool in?' Lets see how dinner goes first.'

Star Wars Day today, 'D0 or do not, there is no try.' From the very off today, something did not feel right and I was in my own head from the start. Eight years ago I developed shin splints on Day 4 and throughout the night I was dreaming I'd got them again. Playing over and over in my head that something was wrong. Saw Dr Katie in passing this morning and mentioned it to her, what did Ella say? 'You're fine, legs are in good shape.' There you go then, get on with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3-CpzZJl8w

From the first mile the leg's just weren't moving though, I thought I'd get to half way and I'd settle into it again but nothing felt right. My head was screwed on though and I kept reminding myself to just get it done. Olly is displaying incredible mental strength with the injury he's carrying, there's the 'dark side' for a few runners who have all successfully managed to get passed the hoodoo of having to retire at previous 10in10s. This event can mess with your head and wherever possible you just have to 'use the force'; the love for yourself, the desire to succeed for others, for Brathay sometimes, but only if your body allows you. Sometimes the dark side is stronger but there's always another day for a rebellion and sometimes you come back stronger.

Occasionally though, thoughts wander, we miss phrases we used to hear daily, we reach out for things we used to possess or miss something we sometimes need. I used to love being called 'Mon Loulou', I still miss it over 10 years on, but that part of my life is dead, buried and encased in cement, I'm still 'Papa' though and that fills my heart with love and pride. Looking back at some of the old photos from previous 10in10s, I smiled as I recognised the same comfy socks I'm wearing today, maybe we don't miss possessions so much after all. What all of us need though is a little love, something to show care, something form of recognition, of you or your efforts, my heart skipped a beat today when the person I was following reached out to 'high 5' the absent children at Hawkshead School, Maybe, they'll never know how much their being there, their small gestures mean to us all? Their cheery, innocent, enthusiastic faces are what I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

'Hawk', 'hawk', 'hawk' the peacock laughed, I wonder where the bloody thing is? Apparently they make great 'guard dogs'. I was sneaking behind a low wall to have yet another pee. I've never had to nip for a country wee so many times on a marathon. Apparently it's a good thing. Not so sure when literally it feels like every mile I'm stopping to urinate in the Cumbrian countryside. I must have a bladder the size of a hobo's wallet, I'm seriously thinking of Tena for men at this stage.

Diesel and Charlotte are together! What? A United fan and a Liverpool fan. After yesterday, I can see why she's unhappy with him, and that's before he's said he'd like to bleach his hair just like the inimitable Gary Howells. If you were playing Black Jack you're on 16 and considering twisting, I'd stick if I were you Diesel. The house always wins... that said, Jamie says he can do the hair bleaching because it's what it says on the carton. What? On the L'Oreal carton it doesn't say do a patch test or anything like that, it says, leave it to Jamie, he knows what he's doing? Bizarre what they put on labels nowadays, next you'll be telling me takeaway coffee cups from Starbucks say 'caution; contents may be hot'. What will they think of next?

James needs to sort his sh.. out too. Look at the detritus he left after taping Johnny's feet, I bet he was the miscreant who left the empty milk carton in the fridge? Look at this ...

Here's the heroes, who put up with all our creaking, moaning and whining like 56 year old unoiled, un-serviced, broken down bits of machinery.

Thankfully, no injuries to report, it was all in my head and I ground out a finish time of just less than 6 hours. We go in to tomorrow effectively having had a rest day. Cunning planning on my part. The finish line ditty was Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way', and thanks Mum and Dad, I'm glad I was born this way.

This is Ella by the way... the amazing young woman who with her calmness, confidence and tolerance is putting me back together day, after day, after day. Only another 6 to go... She's the one on the left, but then I'm labelled, like some mashed up liquorice allsorts, the brightly coloured ones with the sugar coating, yellow, red, green, baby blue (socks), what was I thinking?