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I had the perfect running route planned. 5km from our Airbnb, up the hill, across to the river, and then follow the riverside path round the castle and home. I would be back in good time for breakfast and to be packed for 11am checkout. We were in Carlisle, and it was a rare opportunity to run in Cumbria and along the beautiful River Eden, where my mum and her family originated from.
So I set off up the hill, feeling positive and fit. The air was cool - perfect conditions for a morning run. I was to run for a kilometre to the top of the hill, and then turn right down the attractively sounding Shady Grove Road . I was determined to do the distance without stopping, so had imprinted a mental map of the route in my head.
Within a minute of setting off something was nagging me. Something didn't feel quite right. But I carried on regardless. I was running up the hill. What could possibly be wrong?
Reluctantly, I stopped and checked the map on my phone. I couldn't see Shady Grove Rd, but then the map was very small and I was definitely running up the hill. So I carried on.
Sure enough after a kilometre, I reached the top of the hill. But there was no sign of my Shady Grove Rd. Just the less inspiring Orton Rd which, nevertheless, based on my sense of direction, seemed be heading in the direction of the river.
Orton Road turned out to be cunningly deceptive. Imperceptibly, it leaned left and took me unwittingly out of town in completely the wrong direction. My legs were tiring and my mind was troubled. But I carried on, and it was only when I came to a major junction which signposted the town centre to the left, when I had assumed it would be right, that I accepted that I had no idea where I was.
I finally did the sensible thing. I stopped and carefully plotted a route back. And so my 5km turned into an 11km run. Not helped by me trying to take a short cut and ending up running in circles in a large field with no obvious way out. That's the small loop on the picture. It doesn't show the small dog who was determined to get entangled in my legs.
Sometimes in life, we think we are heading in the right direction. We run up the hill, turn right and plough on, without even realising we are gradually going off course. We feel tired and our head is complaining, but we carry on. We are in a job we don't really enjoy, working for a boss we struggle with, having difficulties in a relationship. But we persuade ourselves that things will get better, not wishing to face up to the reality that we need to change direction.
This is when we need to stop. Take a breather. Check where we are. Consult a map. Change direction. Plot a new route. Follow it carefully. Avoid seductive short cuts.
As a coach, I help people who have lost time, energy, happiness and fulfilment by veering off their true course and who realise they are in the wrong place, heading in the wrong direction. I help them find their way back to their path by the riverside.
#running #coaching
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