Stressed and strained

I seem to be having a stressed couple of weeks. Modern life sometimes goes at a billion miles an hour. But we have to find a way to get on, carry on and push through the mist.

Part of this process involved a long barefoot run along the beach. 5 miles of firm sand and a salty bite to the air. It was sunny but I kept my running jacket on as the wind was chilly.

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Looking at things differently

It struck me as I was gasping my way on a run along the sand dunes that some things can be seen in different ways.

Above is how I saw it on the way out: the unearthly grunting is my laboured breath as I go pelting along the narrow paths, taking sharp turns as the way is narrow and unpredictable. It's great to exercise and feel the sweat forming on your brow, your body aching, telling you to stop but really I know my body can do much more. As I descend steep dunes my legs automatically adjust to the speed and I find myself coursing down at much higher speed than I normally manage. So I know I can do it. My body has told me this. It's a frantic run though and I am tired (and a bit hungover, dammit) but I love this sharp cold North sea air pinching my at my face. 

Then there's the pay off. This is another way of seeing the same stretch of beach and dunes: calmness. 

The crashing of the waves is soothing, its pulsing is lulling me into a feeling of safety and serenity. Even the industry at Tees mouth isn't going to spoil this calm moment for me. It's the same place but different approaches. Rush through life or meditate on it. Or both.

To top it off I see a lone oyster catcher on the way back and he's calmly pondering the water's edge. Wonderful.

The call of the dunes

As I woke up and curled under the duvet of the cold attic bedroom I knew the day had come. I could hear it calling me and although I wanted to stay a little longer in the warmth of the bed I could tell it wouldn't be long before my body would be inexplicably dragged to the seaside and beasted. To be honest I'd seen it coming. It had been calling me all weekend. The sea was waiting and I couldn't wait any longer. After a brief breakfast of a banana (this could have been a mistake but turned out to be fine in the end) I drove to the old fairground car park and looked out across the wide stretch of beach leading down to the North Sea. Seaton beach (recently famous as the place where the canoeist and scamster John Darwin lived and 'died') is beautiful. Wide and long with golden sand. Spoiled only by the odd littering it really is a marvellous place. The dunes, however have even more character and this is where I needed to run- to expend my energy and train my limbs and muscles.

As I set off on the bright and cold morning I headed to Longscar pier not knowing that when I arrived I'd be so inspired by the view that I'd continue on to Teesmouth which is what happened. Just before the pier I had picked up a fairly light but long log and perched it over my shoulders to give me more of a work out. At the mouth of the Tees there's a sand bar and small ridge of dunes where a lot of flotsam can be found. I exchanged my light log for a heavier one. It wasn't too bad-maybe 15-20kg but it was big!

I learned 3 main things as I chugged (I can't really say I 'ran') back to the car park along the dunes:

1. Breathe. It was a long old haul back to the car: about 2 miles and I was completely lost in the moment of carrying the log and progressing one foot after the next that I was aware of my

 breathing. Left to it's own course it was a choppy and fairly quick cadence: in over two paces and out over two paces. I found I could muster more energy by dropping into longer inhalations right down into my belly (using my diaphragm) and exhaling deliberately. It was enough to do this occasionally for a minute or so to keep me going.

2 Mind strength. More than a couple of times I thought, "Oh, knickers to this" and was about to drop the log, or even I found I wasn't jogging along but fast walking. Just at that point I simply told my body to keep going. Or I said sharply: "do it!" I was reasoning that actually my body could endure much more than it was going through at t hat moment and I used the power of my mind to keep at it. This time it worked! Other times it doesn't and I end up eating the chocolate bar....

3. Tucking my spine in. With the weight of the log and climbing dunes my bum started to stick out. I knew this wasn't a smart move as it puts great pressure on the lumbar region of the back so I tucked my butt in. This had the consequence of me waddling up the dune-with a straight back-but with my legs spliced out like a frogs'. Although seemingly ungainly I did work out my quads more in this fashion and saved my lower back some discomfort and possibly pain.

That last point reminds me of an article I read on Fighting Arts about front stance and posture. Go here to see 'A Simple Lesson in Body Mechanics'

Enjoy the route and the pics.

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