Global Sport Stories

The past week has been an interesting one. Having returned back from a month away on Monday, I really had zero idea as to how my fitness levels would be. On top of this, I found myself stuck between feeling the need to rest, but then also wanting to get straight back into trying to rebuild some fitness that I was just assuming I had lost.

Having travelled back from the other side of the world, I was sure jet lag would pose an annoyance at some point, therefore, Monday was more or less a write off. However, I once read that you can never truly force yourself to catch up on sleep, the best way to overcome tiredness is by just gradually sustaining a healthy routine again. So with that in mind, I set the alarm for a reasonable time on Tuesday morning; the goal being to dust the cobwebs off and get a sense of my newfound fitness levels via a short and steady run.

Now I hadn’t run since I was in Indonesia in August, and even then it was short distances of about 3km due to the heat. That meant my last run over 5km was actually back on the 6th of July – according to my strava. Worrying times. However, that being said, I wasn’t exactly idle whilst being away. Two mountain summits of over 3,000 metres in the space of a week, alongside regular surfing for two weeks, I hope had kept my girlfriend and I in a somewhat decent shape. Add into that an additional multi day hike and a seemingly constant altitude of over 3,000 metres whilst being away in South America for the last month, I was quietly confident I would feel okay.

And I think I may have proved myself right. Strava says I covered 4.26km in 21 mins 41 seconds, resulting in an average pace of 5:05/km. Having reflected back over my runs prior to the summer, that seems to be the pace I was at before. More importantly perhaps, forgetting Strava and technology, I felt good. Of course I would like to work towards a faster pace but somehow I felt as if working at a higher altitude whilst being away had helped maintain my baseline fitness level. To be honest, I need to look into it more, as I am sure there’s some science that may be able to help explain it. But ultimately I felt good, so much so I’d already got the next run planned for Wednesday.

Now despite feeling good on the run, I admit I woke up on Wednesday with rather achy legs – suddenly the time away and lack of running had caught up with me! Nevertheless I had agreed to go on a run with two mates who were planning on running a bit further, and I did want to push myself to see how I’d feel. 

The route the lads chose was their ‘usual’ 8km loop on the Malvern Hills, featuring a few ups and downs with one substantial hill about three quarters through. It was nice though. Really nice. A fairly cool day, but not a breath of wind made for perfect conditions and temperatures. Partner this with catching up with two of your mates you’d not seen for over three months and it made for a very enjoyable 8km.

Timing wise, we’re not going to get bogged down in how quick we did it though, as the time I had us completing the loop in didn’t read too well… 7.8km in 51 mins 23 seconds didn’t feel too amazing. Whereas my friend Oscar, who was using his Garmin, reckoned we’d gone 9.02km in the same time – a little bit more respectable. Either way I feel as though I managed the distance fine (which must mean my recordings were more accurate), leading me to have more confidence in what I hoped to be true; I hadn’t lost much fitness over the summer and could get back into progression. 

Thursday morning, the achy legs were ever present, and I thought it best to give them some sort of rest, before a busy weekend I had lined up. That busy weekend took place in Plymouth – visiting a friend with a few others from back home. Yep, the week before I was literally surfing in the pacific ocean in Peru, fast forward a week and I was now in Plymouth. Life comes at you fast sometimes, doesn’t it?

I am joking in fairness, as despite not being overly inspired by Plymouth as a place, it played host to a great weekend. Additionally, having never been before, I returned home feeling as though we had made the most and seen the nice parts it does have to offer.

Friday saw us arrive and essentially jump into the sea as the first thing we did. The sun was setting and the sea was still, so it made for a very refreshing dip. Apparently, like anywhere in the UK now I suppose, you have to be careful of sewage releases down there, but we’d managed to avoid a bad time and ended up staying in for at least 5 minutes!

Friday night may have involved a few beers and a late night, so we weren’t exactly up at the crack of dawn on Saturday. However, we still managed to get to Dartmoor as planned, for an afternoon’s hiking. I had been once before and, despite it being a completely different time of year, I felt a stark resemblance between the two times. Dartmoor seems to hold an atmosphere within itself, one of untold potential. The writer in me instantly just feels as if it would be the best place to set a novel (which I know has been the case).

I don’t know how far we hiked, but distance was never the aim. A simple reintroduction to both friends I hadn’t seen in months, and what the UK has to offer in terms of countryside, was more than enough to get the endorphins flowing and make for a lovely afternoon.

Saturday night again involved beers, a few less though, meaning we were in decent shape for a Sunday morning of padel. Quite the personal favourite of mine. It’s not something I managed to play whilst away, despite my best efforts, so to be back playing padel really satisfied a bit of a long term craving. The mashup of tennis and squash represents a sport I would love to play more regularly and improve at, however, I genuinely feel as if I am at the wrong time of life. Sure I can play it more regularly (and plan too) but to play at the consistent point where you see significant improvement, I believe, requires a certain stability in life that I don’t think I’ll be experiencing as of yet. For Sunday morning though, it was brilliant. And we finished it off with another dip in the sea, what could be better!

Braving a couple of sea plunges made me think back to when I was a fairly regular morning cold water plunger. It also made me think back to the podcasts I’ve listened to explaining all the benefits it provides you. Because of this, cold water plunging is added onto my list of things I’d like to incorporate more into my life, along with surfing, climbing and improved eating habits. A list that I’m sure is going to only keep growing and hence become increasingly more unachievable. But you can only try, right?

Next week involves relocation back to my old University hometown in the North-East, which I am very excited about and means some surfing could very well be on the cards. Before then though, more runs, more dog walks and more quality time with family and friends.