Obsession

The mind is a funny thing. A strong, powerful thing, but a funny thing nonetheless. Here I sit, waiting for the sun to come out so that I can embark on the first running session of the training programme I am going to be following for Lapland Ultra. I've already studied two chapters' worth of notes for my Sports Psychology test (which is on Thursday), but I still have a mountain of work to do. I'm also meeting an instructor later on to see over my gym training plan, and later this evening I'm heading to my second ski lesson. All of the above are activities that I would rather avoid.

So instead of stressing about all the things that I chose to inflict upon myself in a moment of madness and can't get out of now, my mind has chosen a different strategy: pretend they're not there. Why think about doing involuntary cartwheels down a slope in front of 30+ strangers tonight, when I can daydream about more pleasant things?

And the thing I find myself thinking about a lot lately is (you guessed it) Lapland Ultra. 

I study my training plan. I talk about the race with N, my running friend and enabler partner in crime in this endeavour. Read and re-read the information on the race website. Look at photos of the midnight sun over endless stretches of forest roads. Lakes, mosquitoes, reindeer. Fatigue, camaraderie, transcendence. The longing for this adventure is overwhelming.

I also started reading a book about ultra marathons, which doesn't help me to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing, but it does help me to concentrate on my goal. The book is ”Running through the wall” and it is a compilation of short stories by both amateur and professional ultra runners. In other words, more fuel for my obsession.