Being on a different training programme, I left
the majority of TPWs I was walking with and headed off to get some breakfast.
There at the restaurant, finishing her breakfast was another TPW member. I
joined her.
She was curious as to how long I had been
with the group, what I had done and when I had started. I basically told her
that I started training with Jeans Marines when I turned 50, my first marathon
was at 51 and my seventh marathon - with a few half marathons thrown in
between- was at the age of 59. I let her know that I just turned 60 the week
past and hopefully in Jan 2014 I will have completed the Goofy. She smiled.
She then told me that she was entering her
70s and leaving the country that day to go on a hiking tour. She spoke about
how she heard of us, her experiences and some of the hiking trips she had been
on.
Our stories mirrored each other in terms of
endurance.
Throughout my times of walking there are two
experiences that have stayed with me.
The
first was when I did a 5 K during hail and sleet. I would not have gone to the
corner store to get the last bottle of milk in that weather yet I was out there
doing a 5 K walk.
The other was when I was doing a 16 K
training walk and I thought my heart was going to bounce out of my throat and
land on the ground. At that time Graham was a Jeans Marines coach and he came
up beside me and basically told me that this is what occurs and people get
through it. I got through it.
Endurance comes in all forms. It is
celebrated in various ways. Within our group we have many form of endurance.
Good to be a part of it all.
