Today Was Different From Every Other Day
Today was different from every other day.
Yesterday, the inside of my left leg was really tight and sore. But after getting into the ocean for a swim, something happened that I’ve experienced many times before: it loosened up almost immediately.
Walking barefoot on the sand seemed to act as recovery lotion to the sore area . So this morning, I decided I’d go for a run.
Nothing big.
About an hour. Around 1,000 feet of elevation.
Just an easy run.
But on the first descent, everything changed.
I came across two young boys. One was sitting on the floor holding his left leg, while the other was standing over him looking down.
I don’t speak Spanish, so I just asked, “Are you okay?”
I could see there was blood on the boy’s elbow, so I helped him up and sat him on the wall beside the path, where he looked a little more comfortable.
Then a couple who had been hiking came along. They started speaking Spanish and pointed towards his leg.
The woman lifted his bicycle shorts slightly.
What we saw made all of us audibly gasp.
There was roughly a very large gash where there was simply no skin. You could see straight down into the leg, towards the bone and tendons.
It was horrific.
She quickly pulled the shorts back down and started speaking to the boy.
I had already asked the other boy to call emergency services, and within the confusion, everyone just seemed to instinctively know what needed to happen next.
The man who had arrived with the woman and I carried the boy down the entire descent, his arms around our necks.
As we walked, I kept telling him:
“Breathe. Breathe. Slowly. Just breathe.”
He was clearly in an incredible amount of pain.
Eventually, a policeman arrived and took over. Emergency services were on their way, and the boy was going to be taken to hospital.
What struck me most was how quickly everyone came together.
It was a complete community effort.
Nobody was asking whose responsibility it was. Nobody was standing around wondering what to do.
People just helped.
And I’m genuinely pleased that I stopped.
I feel like I did what any decent person would do.
But as I continued my run, I couldn’t stop thinking about that boy and the amount of pain he must have been in.
At the bottom of the descent, I asked the other man what had happened.
He pointed towards the boy’s bicycle and specifically towards the brake caliper.
Apparently, that was what had caused the horrific injury to his leg.
It was a pretty unsettling way to start a run.
Then the Run Continued
Once I was moving again, I tried to get back into my own headspace.
I listened to a conversation with Gediminas Grinius who has spoken about his journey from post-traumatic stress after serving in the army in Lithuania to becoming a champion on the UTMB World Tour Series.
He also talked about his third-place finish at Thailand by UTMB in the 100-mile race.
That one caught my attention because I’ll be heading to Chiang Mai to take on the same 100-mile challenge.
It’s funny how your perspective can change during a run.
One minute you’re thinking about your own tight calf, your own training, your own race goals and whether you’ve done enough.
Then you see something like that and suddenly your own little problems seem very different.
And that’s one of the reasons I love running.
It gives you space to think.
Sometimes about training.
Sometimes about life.
And sometimes about things you wish you hadn’t seen.
Recovery Isn’t Always About Pushing Through
Later, my girlfriend Thao called me.
“Hey, I’ve made you a recovery smoothie. Do you want to meet me at the beach and go for a swim?”
Absolutely.
So I cycled down to the beach, drank my recovery smoothie, drank another half litre of water, and then got into the ocean for a 1km swim.
After the run, that felt perfect.
And it reminded me of something I talk about with the athletes I coach all the time:
Training isn’t just about the work you do. It’s about how well you recover from it.
Yesterday my leg was tight and sore.
I didn’t force a big session.
I listened to it.
I swam.
I walked barefoot on the sand.
I recovered.
Today I ran, but I kept the run relatively controlled.
And then I swam again.
That’s not being soft.
That’s being smart.
Because the goal isn’t to win today’s training session.
The goal is to arrive at the start line healthy enough to perform when it actually matters.
And Then There Was the Fire
On the cycle back to the apartment, we saw a huge fire near the area where the running track and gym are.
Police from around Dénia were there, along with the fire services.
At the time of writing, it still appears to be raging.
It looks like it could cause serious damage to homes, businesses and cars in the area, and more importantly, I sincerely hope there are no fatalities.
Smoke from fire in background
Today Was Different
So, as I started this blog post saying:
Today was different from every other day.
It started with a sore leg.
It turned into a run.
That run turned into helping an injured boy.
Then there was an ocean swim, a recovery smoothie, a conversation about one of the world’s greatest ultramarathons, and finally a huge fire unfolding across the town.
Some days remind you that running is only one part of life.
And perhaps that’s the biggest lesson from today.
Listen to your body.
Look after yourself.
Help other people when they need you.
And don’t take being healthy enough to run for granted.
That’s something worth remembering every time you lace up.
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