I guess the countdown could start today then - 5 days left!
Not a lot happened today to be honest. I didn't even really enjoy the run, all 5km of it. My leg is still a bit sore, and it hurt. I feel a bit peeved about this, as there are so few days left, I wanted them all to be exciting, but alas, this is not to be.
Therefore, I had nothing to write about. Andrew suggested first that I write about selotape (don't ask), and then when I said I didn't think people would find that interesting, he suggested 1995, I suppose because it has 95 in it. I could also write about 1895, or 1795, or even 2095 for that matter, but at least in 1995 I was here, even if my memories are dominated by the angst of being 11, finally being allowed to have hubba-bubba and get my ears pierced, and going to high school. Now I think of it, I think it's also the year I got into cross country running, so I suppose it is a bit significant.
So I could talk about that for a while. How I got into running. I sort of fell into it really, not literally, I didn't fall from the sky into a pair of trainers and set off jogging or anything like that, but I kind of got into it because I wasn't good at anything else. I was quite chubby as a child (someone once told me my legs looked like sausages), and compared to my sister who is tall and graceful like a swan (no sausage legs), when I got to nearly being a teenager I started to get a bit angry about it. So when I joined high school, I resolved to become 'sporty'. I joined the netball team, but that dream was crushed (I literally did fall about in netball) and the pinnacle of glory I reached was being a reserve for the 3rd team (the last reserve). Then one day in November, our PE teacher shouted at us it was cross country season. Immediately, my competition was obliterated as half of the class brought in sick notes; wow, a lot of people have bad ankles, and bad periods (even some of the boys I think, on cross country days), and really soft parents. Needless to say, my parents hadn't given me a sick note. I remember being fairly no-plussed by the thought of doing long bouts of exercise outside in the winter time. My parents had had us out walking every weekend since I could walk, before that in fact, in the rain and shine, in fact if it was raining it was even more likely we would go. So I didn't get what all the fuss was about. At least we wouldn't have to throw a ball into a stupid net, and worry about how many times our feet touched the floor after we caught the ball - I mean, who's counting anyway, who even cares, at least I'd caught the ball, let's be grateful for the small things.
So there I was, in little gym knickers, a t-shirt, and some holey plimsolls in mid-November at the start line. Where I learnt quickly the first rule of cross country running - the faster you run, the faster you're done (and if you were at high school in 1995, that means if you finish before everyone else, you get to have a shower first, and before everyone else uses all the hot water).
Without ever running before, I finished 3rd in my class, and the rest is history. When you've never been good at sports before, coming 3rd is quite addictive, and so here we are today. I don't think I've ever come better than 3rd, but I don't think that's really relevant here, do you.
So I've been addicted since 1995 which is now 20 years, and isn't that a terrifying thought.
What else happened in 1995? Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League (and I still have the sticker book - completed). The Queen Mother had a hip replacement (and was the oldest person at the time to do so). James Bond came back after 6 years, in Goldeneye. 1% of the UK population had internet access. The summer was the driest in meteorological history.
OAnd o this day in 1995 Take That were at No 1 in the charts with that old classic Never Forget. Altogether now! NEEEEEEEEEEEE VER forget where you've come here from. NEEEEEEE VER pretend that it's all real......
I realised that in all these years I've only ever known those two lines. And look what the very first two lines of the song are!
"Been on this path of life for so long.
Feels like I've walked a thousand miles"
Ah ha! I'll Take That and party, thanks very much.
Stats
Total days: 95 days
Total miles: 960 miles
