Nine lessons I've learnt this cross country season

Hello you lovely lot,

Yes...I do admit some of these things I already knew before this cross country season began. Nevertheless, they have been of particular relevance this season. So let me share my nine things I've discovered or re-discovered during cross country.

1: Never be afraid to dream...

I was over the moon and so honoured to be selected to represent Great Britain at the Great Edinburgh Cross in January this year after having a good race at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool. I couldn't wait to get out there and show that I'm not ~just a mountain runner, who can't run fast~.

2:...but be prepared to pick yourself back up when those dreams are shattered. 

After catching a nasty cold just before I was due to represent Great Britain in the Great Edinburgh Cross, I had to make the extremely hard decision to withdraw and allow a more healthy athlete to have the honour of representing the country and do the vest justice. Looking back now, that was the right decision but it was an extremely difficult one to come to. What was important was I was able to recover and pick myself back up to compete well for the rest of the season. I am hopeful that there will be more opportunities to represent my country in the future and I will be able to show people that I am not ~just a mountain runner~. 

3: Trust the process and don't stress over the short term results. 

The short term races are just stepping stones to the long term goals you are aiming to achieve. In the long term you'll look back at the ups and downs and see that they helped you to learn and understand what you need to do to achieve your best. It's all just part of your journey.  

4: If the tactic doesn't work the first time; it's probably not going to work the second. 

Enough said.

5: Appreciate the moment.

This cross country season I competed at my last ever Welsh Schools' Cross Country Championships after competing in every race over seven years.  It was the end of an era and made me really appreciate the amazing opportunities I have been given through being involved in this fantastic sport. This was further re emphasised when I competed for Wales at the Home Countries Cross Country this past weekend in Scotland. This was combined with the Schools' International (SIAB) and seeing all the younger Welsh athletes so excited to race in their Welsh kit for the first time was priceless. I remember that feeling; a feeling of nervous anticipation that I do still get standing on any start line today.

6: A bad race does not make you a bad runner. 

Everyone has good races. Everyone has bad races. It is important not to lose your motivation when you have the latter. Each race is a learning curve. Don't beat yourself up. Learn from it and move on.

 

7: A friendly rivalry can help bring the best out of each other. 

This cross country season myself and Cari Hughes of Menai Track and Field have had a friendly rivalry all season.  When you have those sorts of races it really helps and pushes you to achieve your best. I was obviously extremely happy for Cari when she won the Under 17 British Athletics Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships recently. Watching her run away from the leading group was amazing and I am glad that we have been able to push each other and experience this rivalry within Wales. I'm already looking forward to pushing each other over the country next season. 

Sorry Cari, I stole your photo!

 

8: Once people start to realise you write blog posts, they naturally want a mention and keep asking when you're going to write your next one. 

So here's a shout out to all those Welsh athletes wanting a mention that competed at the Home Countries Cross Country on the weekend. Naming names would be seen as favouritism: you know who you are! 

The Welsh team at Home Countries

 

9: Without my family and people around me; I would not be the athlete or person I am today. 

I am forever in debt to my family who have spent the last seven years being my number one running fans and supporting me wholeheartedly towards achieving my dreams. So a huge thank you as ever to my family and also the people around me at school, my friends, teammates and people within Welsh Athletics and Sport Wales for helping me along this journey. 

Onto the next chapter.
See you in the mountains, 

Heidi x

Writing & Running, Running & Writing

The days before I actually launch forward into writing a blog post, I can nearly always feel the words brewing as my brain starts to unconsciously form sentences of its own accord. Sometimes it could be just before I drop off to sleep, when an idea, thought or one short word or sentence pops into my head and nags at me throughout my sleep and the coming days ahead. Or it could be when I am out on a long run around the beautiful countryside of my hometown, or midway through a lung bursting interval when a eureka moment hits me.  As much as I try to banish them, these thoughts hardly ever go away and snowball forward, expanding into something bigger and more complex.

It is not until I stop, sit down and actually take the time to scrawl down the sometimes hundreds of perfectly formed sentences screaming to be released from my head that my brain can stop and forget that one word which started it all off.

To me, writing and running go hand in hand, complimenting each other throughout every day life. Through the act of running, you can unconsciously free the mind of the unwanted 'rubbish' and connect to your true self, helping to understand your thought processes and what you want and need to write. All of the unwanted monotony floats away on the breeze or escapes with each foot strike hitting the untrodden path ahead. This helps to strip you back down to the amazing raw human emotion of feeling and being free; running wild. There is no better feeling than unleashing the inner beast when you are out there, putting one foot in front of the other and experiencing the true sentiment that you could probably run forever. There are some days when running hurts and every step forward feels like two steps back. That's just part of your journey.

So why do I write? The same reason I run. For the adventure and to discover my true self. By putting pen to paper, it is easier to understand my own internal dialogue and running helps to simplify this down to a more naturally, clear state.

Running is my happy place

My head has always been full of words and full of stories. Discovering my love of running has only intensified this need to write. When I was younger, it was a familiar sight for my family and friends to find me sitting in the garden or squirreled away in a corner, reading and re-reading my favourite stories or hunched over my notepad scribbling down my own tales. I'm just glad that now I have found a way to share my thoughts and stories with the world through blogging.

Writing has always been easier and more natural than talking for me and now running has become easier and so much more fun and exhilarating than walking.

I run because it makes me happy. No matter how far my running takes me, I can be sure I will always be a runner and always crave the simple freedom that a run can bring.

I write because it also makes me happy and putting pen to paper is a process I will always perform.

After all, we've all got stories to tell and writing and running is just my way of expressing mine.

How do you express yours?

We've all got stories to tell

2015: A Year To Remember

Hello again,

So another year has almost come to an end and when I was thinking about writing a blog post to summarise my experiences and adventures in 2015, the saying ~A picture paints a thousand words~ came to mind. 

Here are my a thousand words and then some in the form of pictures. 

British Athletics Cross Challenge-Cardiff

Welsh Cross Country Championships

British Inter-Counties Cross Country Champs

A run along the coast path at St Davids with Dad

The forest tracks in Mid Wales are perfect for 
mountain running training

Buttermere 10 Mile Trail Race

British Athletics Mountain Running Training Camp
in Betws-y-Coed

My last ever Mini London Marathon and with it my highest ever placing: 4th

Luke hitching a ride on a deer

UK Inter-Counties Fell Running Champs

British One Mile Road Championships

Ullswater

A perfect day for a long run

GB Trial for Euro Mountain Running Champs

Natural Swimming Pools at Porto Moniz, Madeira

The Team GB team at the Euro Mountain Running Champs

Junior Girls at Euro Mountain Running Champs, Madeira

On the top of Pen-y-Fan

The view from the summit of Pen-y-Fan

1500m 

A Welsh sunset

A damp hill session in the trees

A speed session

A post-run cool down in the sea

Fish and Chips at the seaside

Another Welsh sunset

GB World Mountain Running Championships trial race

Toby examining my Walsh fell shoes

Team GB at the World Mountain Running Champs

A jog along the sea front in Llandudno

Start line at WMRC

Feeling very tired after finishing 5th at the WMRC in beautiful 
Betws-y-Coed

Team GB junior girls post race at WMRC

Earning team silver at WMRC

One of the best things about mountain running is the amazing people you meet along the way

A very sleepy Toby

A bike ride around the lanes of Mid Wales

Touch-down in Italy

The Walsh PB Elites on tour in Italy

A stone in my shoe, resulting in a very painful and disappointing race

The British Girls at Trofeo Vanoni

The finishers of Trofeo Vanoni in Morbegno

A fab high terrain trail running weekend in the Keswick area

My Dad and I enjoying a long run around the area of Keswick

Fantastic scenery for trail running

Running to the summit through the snow and ice covered bogs during a long run at the trail running weekend

Racing at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool

A windy long run around the hills of Mid Wales

A long cycle ride around the Elan Valley Dams

2015 has been a year to remember. A year of many ups and a year of some downs as every path in life should have. A year where many precious memories have been made and a year where I have learnt more about myself and life on this amazing planet that we live. The ups have allowed me to appreciate life through the wonderful experiences that I have had the privilege of being a part of, whilst the downs have also allowed me to fully appreciate the good times when they come along and made me more determined to reach success and whilst being happy along the path that life takes me. 
As always I would like to thank, Norman Walsh UK, The Metropole Hotel and The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund for the support this year.  Without the support, I am sure that 2015 would not have been as rewarding and meaningful.
Furthermore, I would like to give thanks to my family and friends that have made the year memorable by being with me every step of the way. Without you, I would no doubt not be where I am today.

Finally I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas and wish you all a Happy New Year.

2016...

~The best way to predict your future is to create it~ Abraham Lincoln

See you in 2016,
Heidi x

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