Wednesday 20 April 2016

Hail The Conquering Hero!

Yes yes yes! I did it. I am practically bouncing up and down as I devour my well earned celebratory beans on toast. What might you ask is this achievement of which also proud? Have I discovered the meaning of life? Have I successfully split an atom using nothing but a Stanley knife, a g-clamp and duct tape? Have I finally completed my life long dream to sing bare chested in a boy band to a horde of screaming fans.

A.S.Chambers at his triumphal arch.Well it's none of these. This morning I accomplished something far greater.

I ran non-stop for 4.7 kilometres.

Okay, I can here the bemused silence from here so I had better explain. 4.7 kilometres is the distance from my house to the local Sainsburys whilst travelling along the river Lune. I have been running along this path now roughly twice a week since the beginning of the year. As the months have progressed my running distance has steadily increased so that the amount I run supersedes the amount that I walk.

Well, today saw me run the whole length of the path with no walking or breaks whatsoever. What's more, I managed it in a sweet thirty minutes.

Now I know that's no record breaking feat and I don't think I'll be booking into the London marathon just yet, but let me put this into context. Before January I had never run consistently like this before. My Ménière's disease would not let me. I would jog along to the end of the street and the world would spin as Quasimodo played a bell concerto in my ears. Today however, I feel totally upright and high on endorphins. The tinnitus is still there but rather than Big Ben I hear the gentle tintinnabulation of gentle summer wind chimes.


This is a victory. The sight of my triumphal arch (the gate into Sainsburys) marked a turning point in my life. This my body; it does not belong to Mister Meniere's. With effort, grit and determination I can make sure that he never claims ownership of it ever again!  

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