DEJA VU
Then............
A feeling of deja vu....I have done this before, the excited chattering around me I have heard before, the whole occasion is tangibly familiar to me but how....where ? I can't shake the feeling but then the bell rings for the start of the race and off we all go.
My first time on this particular event and I was expecting nothing less than a gruelling challenge especially so as my training had been at best intermittent, nevertheless I felt prepared mentally which would be half the battle. So many of the runners have set off very quickly and I avoid the pitfall of trying to keep up with them, this isn't about times or racing, it's about me and pushing myself to achieve something. I settle down into my own rhythm,my own pace....I am enveloped in my own little world, coccooned from the hundreds of other runners who now begin to sprint away from me as we begin our first climb. We are still running on the road but not for much longer, soon we will be heading into open fields that stretch away towards the sea. The sun, so bright earlier, has now disappeared and the air is unseasonably chilly, which suits me fine, the last thing I needed was a hot sun beating down on me. A downhill section now, I apply the brakes a little more, I was never confident about running down inclines. I catch my breath as the ground levels off and I feel as though I am beginning to move more freely although I was painfully aware there was a long way to go.
A sea mist appears and all but obliterates my view,it gives me the uncomfortable feeling that I am completely alone, cut off from the outside world, I can no longer see or hear the other runners. Another climb, this one is the steepest we have to face and also the closest to the Coast Path. The mist is thicker now, I cannot see the reassuring sight of the race marshal who guides the runners on this particular cliff. I slow down almost to a walk and peer into the gloom....nothing......no marshal, no runners and no landmarks. I try to gauge where I am, how close to the edge, but my senses are confused and send me no signals. All at once I stumble, my left foot slides on the wet grass and my body slides with it, I put my hand down to steady myself but that does nothing to halt my slithering. My legs collide with thin air and I realise with horror that this is the edge of the cliff and I am helpless to stop myself going over. I reach out and grab at anything vaguely in reach, rocks, small trees and vegetation but in vain, down I am falling, spiralling away, my mind filled with confused jumbled thoughts.....somewhere in that falling body of mine I braced myself for certain impact......
Then............
A feeling of deja vu....I have done this before, the excited chattering around me I have heard before, the whole occasion is tangibly familiar to me but how....where ? I can't shake the feeling but then the bell rings for the start of the race and off we all go.
Then............
A feeling of deja vu....I have done this before, the excited chattering around me I have heard before, the whole occasion is tangibly familiar to me but how....where ? I can't shake the feeling but then the bell rings for the start of the race and off we all go.
My first time on this particular event and I was expecting nothing less than a gruelling challenge especially so as my training had been at best intermittent, nevertheless I felt prepared mentally which would be half the battle. So many of the runners have set off very quickly and I avoid the pitfall of trying to keep up with them, this isn't about times or racing, it's about me and pushing myself to achieve something. I settle down into my own rhythm,my own pace....I am enveloped in my own little world, coccooned from the hundreds of other runners who now begin to sprint away from me as we begin our first climb. We are still running on the road but not for much longer, soon we will be heading into open fields that stretch away towards the sea. The sun, so bright earlier, has now disappeared and the air is unseasonably chilly, which suits me fine, the last thing I needed was a hot sun beating down on me. A downhill section now, I apply the brakes a little more, I was never confident about running down inclines. I catch my breath as the ground levels off and I feel as though I am beginning to move more freely although I was painfully aware there was a long way to go.
A sea mist appears and all but obliterates my view,it gives me the uncomfortable feeling that I am completely alone, cut off from the outside world, I can no longer see or hear the other runners. Another climb, this one is the steepest we have to face and also the closest to the Coast Path. The mist is thicker now, I cannot see the reassuring sight of the race marshal who guides the runners on this particular cliff. I slow down almost to a walk and peer into the gloom....nothing......no marshal, no runners and no landmarks. I try to gauge where I am, how close to the edge, but my senses are confused and send me no signals. All at once I stumble, my left foot slides on the wet grass and my body slides with it, I put my hand down to steady myself but that does nothing to halt my slithering. My legs collide with thin air and I realise with horror that this is the edge of the cliff and I am helpless to stop myself going over. I reach out and grab at anything vaguely in reach, rocks, small trees and vegetation but in vain, down I am falling, spiralling away, my mind filled with confused jumbled thoughts.....somewhere in that falling body of mine I braced myself for certain impact......
Then............
A feeling of deja vu....I have done this before, the excited chattering around me I have heard before, the whole occasion is tangibly familiar to me but how....where ? I can't shake the feeling but then the bell rings for the start of the race and off we all go.
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