This article is dedicated to all those brave souls who have fallen victim to the unexpected hailstorms and also to the hail for giving us something un-superficial to complain about, so here it is; Hailstones- An appreciation.
Hailstones are an anomaly in the world of weather. Rain is a given, especially living in Manchester, snow and ice are an inconvenience but seasonal and quite rare most of the time. Hail is a different matter all together, probably the most finite weather condition you can get and also the only one that causes true physical pain. It drifts in and out of your life at irregular intervals, like an absent old foe who you don't see for eight years but, then one day they see you at some traffic lights and direct a 'wanker' sign your way.....true story.
I was sixteen when I had my first real run in with hailstones; during the Moel Eilio race. Stranded on the ridge between Foel Goch and Moel Cynghorian, I was subject to an almighty battering by nature's ball bearings. The icy little bundles of misery pelted down for a good 3 miles whilst, 60 mile an hour winds buffeted my emaciated frame and mind. I ambled along like the kid in Limbo, just hoping for end to the meteorological madness. Battered and bruised, especially after chasing a few hundred metres off-course to grab my over trousers which had been carried off by said wind, I eventually finished and thus began my relationship with hail and gales. Much like Bilbo Baggins' attitude towards adventures, at this time, I felt that hailstones were "nasty disturbing uncomfortable things" and I didn't want anything to do with them.
Well over five years had passed before my next run in with hailstones. Maybe it was the three years of drinking, partying and essay writing and this felt somewhat cathartic, maybe it was an adherence to the velominati's fifth rule or maybe I had just lost the plot. A left-field possibility is that 9 months of Moyes and the subsequent fall-out numbed my sense and desire for security and comfort, after all what can be more painful than watching homegrown Danny depart to our historical rivals who had Champions League football, maybe I now needed the chaos. Regardless of the cause, for some reason, I loved it.
A gusty and dark November night, the runner about two stones heavier than those years ago and drifting through tarmacked paradise, grimace already broad and legs feeling wrecked. The initial outpouring of hail annoyed me, flashing back to being on that ridge, a form of weather induced post-traumatic stress is now weighing on my mind; "Great, I have four miles to go and I'm going to be running in this shit, get me home". The leg cadence started rising, the heart-rate with it, the hail at this point battering my legs, just get me home. I'm in constant pain....both internal and external, cars are driving past and I see the passengers looking and pitying me so I run faster, after all why do we run if not to look hardcore? Three minutes into this storm I'm grinning from ear to ear and probably running better than I have for years. I'm drawing positives from a tough situation, adding to my experiences. Bad weather makes faster and hardier runners all by virtue of just being awful and unappealing. Similarly any challenging situation with an independent fact like the weather, however apparently unenjoyable can be ultimately very rewarding. Like the unknown person at a get-togethers who you don't know or understand but if you put in a little hard work and persevere getting to know them then you may make a friend for life. 'All hail hail', I chuckle to myself at the word play, my legs are moving faster than ever, my mind is a blur just going over variations of word play, 'hail the king' and so on. I have found a new source of enjoyment, and I must seek it out more often.
Last winter was a particularly good year for the hail. Perhaps it was the three and a half years without running that made it seem that way, hailstones aren't that bad if you're all wrapped up but in a vest and shorts they really come out to play. On the four or five subsequent occasions that hailstones got involved in my training I thoroughly enjoyed them all. A couple of times were out on the road bike, I genuinely don't think I've ever felt as strong as climbing up to Standedge Cutting, hail smashing into my face, being driven by those strange Pennine winds that always seem to be cross-headwinds. I embrace it nowadays, the redness of my legs, the pain on my forearms, even the sound, like one of those rainmaker instruments we used to use at primary school....the hailstones talk to you, skittling up and down as they hit the road- "We're coming for you". I started to get into a mental state whereby on those occasions that the hail came out to play, so did I. It was character building and probably the closest I was coming to doing some interval training over the winter. In a winter training schedule devoid of any true challenges or races, this was my struggle, my obstacle to overcome, my test of fitness and mental hardiness.
I think it says a lot about development and attitude to training and the things that we love when we derive pleasure from what is on the face of it a very uncomfortable phenomenon. I'm talking about the people who don't actively enjoy exercise but have that feeling of fulfillment after doing it that actively boosts their mood, those who are scared of performing but do so anyway. Exams, gym classes, live performances, job interviews....they are all to different people what the hailstones are to me; sources of positive discomfort. We redefine this discomfort as a positive. I say, it's not that any of these individual acts or events are inherently uncomfortable, we just haven't opened our eyes to it, defined it as anything that we can interact with, until it is quantified for us by some experience.....all those women who reading after Fifty Shades of Grey, how many of them clamour after a 'Christian Grey' when they once would have baulked at the idea? Yes it's crude and a bit strange to consider from an outsiders standpoint, as is the idea that getting your legs cut open by the weather is, or for me, that someone can stand on a stage in front of thousands of people and perform a song. I'd say it's an issue of open mindedness allowing us to reassess struggle or unconventional ideas as success, self-improvement or even just simple joy. Hailstones over the winter represent this change in attitude in my own life. They're a microcosmic representation of the shift in my priorities in life and attitude towards running post-injury. Previously when the tough got going, so would I. An intended ten mile tempo run would become six, I would avoid the hard hill at the end and just take the quick path home, I would shelter from the physical and metaphorical hail.....now I bask in it.
Anyway, I'm just going to leave this here for now....maybe you got something from it, you probably didn't. I think this attitude perhaps comes across a little overly masochistic, but then again it also represents an interaction with nature which is about as primitive as we can get in this area of internet security, pre-foraged food and excess. It may not be hail, but unless you do something which brings out that kind of feeling of actively enjoying overcoming a struggle I'd say your life would be less rich in it's experiences.
I look forward to the next read Tom.
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