“Your circumstances don’t define you, your decisions do. So keep your head up and keep climbing.” (Tavi Castro) - Day 36

It’s been very wet week and a wash out weekend. It was also a massive 50 km plus running week with increasing amounts of elevation (fancy words for hills).

This week’s big runs included a major chunk of the City2Surf and the Bondi to Coogee Costal Walk.

City2Surf has big, long climbs including Heart Break Hill whilst the Coastal Walk undulates with short sharp up and downs including stairs.

Whilst hills are difficult, they present a great work out and massive bang for the buck. I’d forgotten how great they are to increase distance and time on legs and to build strength whilst minimising the risk of getting injured.

Sunday was also a big test regarding alcohol: lunch at the Dog in Randwick.

Walking into the pub, starving on the back of a decent run to earlier in the morning, I was met by the cooking smells of a good roast lunch and pints of Guinness and bottles of reasonable wine on tables. It was tough!

That little voice resurfaced and got quite insistent: “one cold beer won’t make a difference… Guiness is low alcohol… you can sit on it whilst you wait for lunch….no one will know….the polyphenols in a glass of red wine are actually quite good for you” .

I settled for a Heap Normal XPA. It’s not too bad and it has grown on me as a substitute. I'm starting to wish that pubs held a decent Zero Beer on tap.

Whilst I was waiting to be served, my thoughts turned to the advice of a friend who stopped drinking a couple of years ago.

 “Stopping drinking is like stopping smoking. You used to smoke once and now you don’t. You stopped and you don’t want to start again.  The big and ongoing challenge won’t be you, but the people around you suggesting that, unlike a cigarette, a beer or a glass of wine isn’t a big deal".

I have to say, I am still at the “bargaining stage” of the challenge, but then I recalled his parting words of advice: “there is nothing worse than starting something only to give up!"

True, but I still have a way to climb to get to the acceptance stage.

North Bondi - 6/5/2024