Same mind, same challenges, but battling it from a different perspective.

 
So it will soon be spring 2019 and as the years pass, so does my youth, my middle age and my ability to run lots and lots for charity, leisure or for my sanity and mental health (mostly the later).

During 2018 I ran less due to my knees slowly but surely not being able to do all the training I really should of been doing in order to satisfy my lust for bigger and better running challenges, and fund raising challenges suited to my abilities.

My biggest challenge in 2018 as many of my friends, family and various blog followers will know was the final realisation of my dream to finally get to, and complete a 50 mile ultra marathon. I had tried to get to the start line of one several times, but knee issues or other injury held me back time after time.

I've never been one to attempt something under prepared or under trained, so after less training and less events overall I enabled my body to recover enough to get me to the start line of the GB Ultras Mount Snowdon 50 mile ultra in Sept 2018.

In order to help get there I undertook a weeks running, hiking and walking up mountains in Snowdonia in Wales in June 2018 whilst on holiday with my Dad. We were there to remember my Mum who had died sadly a year earlier, and we had spread her ashes on the hillside overlooking Llyn Padarn,, Llanberis and Snowdon earlier that year.

On this week of training I undertook a run, walk or hike up a mountain or various mountains almost every day as training for the Snowdon ultra that would be in that area. I took on all the sections of the route in order to familiarize myself with the route visually, as opposed to just on a piece of paper i.e. a big map.

One thing I discovered or rediscovered was my love for the mountains, and their ability to free the mind and soul of all it's troubles, the freedom once up there was amazing and the views helped reinforce my belief that the natural world isn't our enemy, it's ourselves, our lifestyle at times, our often misguided priorities of career, wealth and ownership of shiny new things.

None of which are things we can take with us. The mountains will be there a lot longer than you and me, and I was just a speck on that landscape, albeit hopefully a welcome one.

I have struggled with Anxiety in some form most of my life, but never truly recognized it or understood it or been really crippled by it until the last 3-4 years or so. Running has helped me escape for a short while while the run itself is on and for some hours afterward or if I'm lucky a few days, hence why my blog 'Running for my health'  will continue.

My escapes on a run in my nearby seaside landscapes will still be my quick escape locally when I can, but they are no match for being up a mountain.

I have managed to get some grasp on the illness by recognising it's signs and it's demand on my daily strength and or happiness, and have managed to some extent to keep it's power over me fairly minimal. This was done mostly by recognising it's triggers and getting away from them, i.e. my previous job and years of constant pressure, be it from work or from personal expectations at work.

Changing jobs helped me refocus my efforts in life and affect change by personally making a change for the better by removing my aggressors ability to attack me daily with pressure, self doubt and feelings of worthlessness, whether intended or not.

Now in a new job at a gym around health orientated, friendly and chilled people I was able to focus on my personal daily happiness and concentrate on my overall personal goals, mainly raising money for good charity causes with my physical abilities,with an ability to run like most people, but also to suffer slightly tougher terrain, longer mileage and longer time wise than your typical flat half or full marathon etc.

As I said earlier I managed to achieve my ultimate running goal in Snowdonia, but I don't believe my knees really have the ability to let me do 50 miles or more very often, and certainly not without a price. It has taken from Sept 2018 to March 2019 for me to feel my knees are OK to carry on with challenges, albeit in a new form.....

Therefore the new blog 'Mountains for my mind!'. It reflects the up and down challenges that my mind can often put in my way, but also reflects my ability to tackle and conquer the challenges and the effort required to top them.

If I can do it, then we can all do it and the rewards are great if we try. If we can do it once, we can do it again and must remind ourselves when possible.

I have seen recently a new project from Trail Magazine and Mind the mental health charity and a few other businesses involved called 'Mountains for the Mind'. 

That project is an active encouragement to get people to recognize the benefits of getting out in the fresh air and up hills, mountains and just the general outdoors to find some inner peace, or peace of  mind, especially one that has or is suffering any kind of mental illness or trouble.

I for one after being up lots of mountains last June daily for a week, felt a new found love and appreciation for life and just wanted to get straight back up them the next day. I only planned on a few days up them, but ended up doing 92 miles and 21,600ft of climb over the week.

By the end my knees were a little sore and myself a little tired to say the least, but I was buzzing, and look back regularly at the 500+ photo's I took while up there.

But the big take home for me was despite the sadness of the reason I was there, I re found my love for the mountains, but most important the ability to escape my troubles, and to be able to recharge my soul and mind for the daily battles ahead.

Just like going out running, you get the escape, the feeling of freedom, the rush of endorphins if you are lucky, and a realization that you are truly capable of more than you think.

Being able to push on through your troubles, the tiredness and the effort to get through the dark clouds and reach the peak or the summit, and to look around to see the wonders around you that have been shielded from your view for as long as you can remember is a great blessing, and one you can relive it as often as you manage to get out there.

Just try to remember that when you get through one of your bad days or when you manage to get up that hill or mountain with all the struggle it entails, that you did get through it, you did get to the top, you did manage to stick your head through that dark cloud and say 'I did it!, I did it'. But mostly remember it was not a one off, if you have done it once, you can do it again!

Make that change, join a fell walking club or get a group of friends together with a car or two and see if you can all go together for the day, enjoy the social time in an open but not oppressive social setting with no pressures. If needs be start with a walking or rambling club to build strength and fitness or endurance for mountain climbs, they aren't all as drastic as Snowdon, Ben Nevis or Scafell after all.

Go to the Mountains for the Mind Facebook group and join that for inspiration, look up the Mountains for the Mind website for inspiration from the organizers/promoters of the new initiative.

Click here for the Mountains for the Mind official website.

Purchase one of their new 'Mountains for the Mind' t-shirts just released to promote the initiative (all profits go Mind).

I for one at some point am going to join my local fell walking club subject to being off when they go obviously.

I have also given myself a new fundraising challenge for the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team by trying to climb Snowdon 7 times in 7 days when I return to Wales again in June 2019 with my Dad, to remember and honor my Mum once more. This as always will give me life purpose and drive me on daily to help others.

I hope you can follow me on my personal journey through this fairly infrequent blog, as I face the mountains for my mind, and strive to get out there hopefully with regular doses of mountains as a new way to help deal with my Anxieties, and I hope you can also get out there and feel some of the benefits.