This week I was visited by my former self in the shape of a tweet from an old friend. It all began on Wednesday when I was invited onto a radio show to talk about how I got into running and about the book I wrote.
It was a strange experience being on the radio but Sue the presenter is a keen runner too so it was just like having a chat with a clubmate – just with quite a few people listening in. If you’ve ever wondered what I sound like (I can tell you it’s pretty much the same as a 10 year old girl) you can listen to the show online. I think I start about 12 minutes in.
After the interview I had a tweet from someone that I was at university with and who I haven’t seen since 2004 when we graduated. He’s written several books since then on his escapades which largely involve climbing up things and cycling along things.
This didn’t surprise me about him at all, I remember him being a very active guy. When we were at university he organised several people from our course into running the Paris marathon (I wasn’t one of them) and had already cycled the length of the UK. This was all very strange behavior to me back then.
Getting that tweet made me think about the person that I was back in 2004. My classmates probably wouldn’t recognise me now. Back then I went out A LOT. Got drunk A LOT. And generally didn’t look after myself. I also wasn’t very happy. Several things happened 2003-2004 that made it the worst year of my life so when I look back on that time and who I was then it’s almost like remembering someone I once knew.
It wasn’t until I saw my life now through the eyes of someone that I knew back then that I realised quite how much has changed. It hadn’t been a conscious decision, but over the past eight years I’ve changed quite a bit.
I suppose the moral of this blog post is that is there’s something you’re not happy with, it’s possible to change it.
Really interesting post – I’ve been thinking a lot about similar things lately, though I haven’t been running long. I’ve just been reading your book during my lunch break and I’m really enjoying it so far 🙂
Very nice interview, Laura. I must say, I was expecting a deeper voice with a bit of a cockney accent. Not even close! Such a sweet, mild mannered tone! 🙂 Last time you were in the states, you got hooked on Clif bars…are you still eating them and are they in the UK? Hope to meet in person sometime soon.
Happy running!
Susan