Glimpsing the key to infinite power

As I reach almost 1,000 miles and my fitness grows, I'm beginning to tap into a new running zone

The Western Way in County Mayo.

The road has been long and empty this past week. After a few days of being swept up and looked after by my extended family in Galway, last Monday I set out again, heading north. The first day I had the company of Brian, a slightly intimidating 6ft 4in geophysicist who worked half the year on ships, and who loped along easily beside me in his singlet and wrap-around shades. He was constantly on the look-out for places to swim, but as we edged away from the city and into the outskirts of Connemara, it was slim pickings and he had to content himself with folding his giant frame into a few pools in the streams that crossed the trail. I didn’t follow suit because my injured arm felt too weak and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to haul myself out again.

All week the arm ached, the bruise growing bigger and badder until it looked like some sort of purple and yellow psychedelic tattoo. The pain was inhibiting my arm swing, which was leading to tension in my back. But what could I do? One night I lay awake thinking I should skip a week, drive around in the van, let my arm recover, and then come back to Ireland early next year to run the sections I’d missed. The idea became so compelling that I was all set to do it, until I woke up, realised I could still run, had my breakfast, put on my shoes, and motored on.