Pants and door handles.

The title does not have the eloquence of Bedknobs and Broomsticks or The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (actually that's quite appropriate), but it does accurately describe two important issues that I want to talk about and they are related. I will warn you now; I might ramble on a bit. 

When I say pants I mean underwear, not long trousers, which is the American meaning, nor rubbish, the meaning given to pants by young people.  When I say pants I mean the male equivalent of knickers, an item of clothing that is strangely ignored by the running industry and not talked about by runners. Well one person did mention them the other day, she was talking about her dog's fascination with her knickers and the fact that it wandered around the house with them on its head. That was a little bit more information than I needed, or could handle, at that point in time. But I digress, I told you I would.  

I don't think I need to define what I mean by door handles, as far as I know there is only one meaning. It is those I want to talk about first. 

When I give talks to people just starting out on their journey of discovery into the wonderful world of running, i.e. beginners, I tell them the only technical piece of equipment they need to master is the door handle. They will think of many good reasons why they cannot go out for a run and therefore be unable to use the door handle and get outside. I tell them they need to master the door handle and that the reasons are just excuses. With a little planning you can stop those excuses from preventing you operating the door handle. For example, if you always have some kit ready, rather than soaking wet in the washing machine, that is one excuse you cannot use. Imagine how I felt earlier this week when I discovered I had no kit for a run. My running gear is kept in a wardrobe in my eldest daughter's bedroom since she has been at university. She is back for the Christmas holidays and there was no way I was going to wake her first thing in the morning to get my gear. I'd had a pants few days (young people's meaning) and really fancied an early morning run to cheer me up. Tops weren't a problem, I could use an old t-shirt and my jacket was in the hall downstairs, casual socks would do and my trainers were in the garage. But what to wear on my bottom-half? There was a pair of tracksters in the washing machine, which had been washed and spun, but obviously were still damp. They had to do; after all there are no reasons for not using the door handle, just excuses.  

Now to the pants. As I was running along in damp tracksters and cotton t-shirt feeling cold and uncomfortable in the wind and rain I had to smile at the irony of the fact that the day before I had written a piece for the Ed & Phil newsletter about appropriate clothing for winter weather. (If you want to receive this monthly newsletter with information about races and gear, recipes and news of what is going on in the running world click here. There is a simple unsubscribe button if you find you don't like it). In winter, wicking, layering and avoiding cotton are the key things, and what were my pants made of? Cotton, M & S finest. No wonder my bum is always cold after a winter run. I don't remember seeing loads of specialist pants in the running shops I go to, I don't remember seeing any.  I thought it might just be the shops I visit, so I had a look at the Sweatshop website. There were 308 items of men's clothing and 459 items of women's clothing listed, but they only had one pair of pants. And they were for women; Anita Sports Pant. There were lots of things called pants, but they had the American meaning, as they were trackster type things. I know some people don't wear pants under their shorts, but I find the inner lining has the characteristics of a nutmeg grater, plus I like my bits supported when I run. If you know of any good technical non-cotton pants please let me know about them. No boxers please. By that I mean shorts, suggestions from pugilists are very welcome.

Now back to the wardrobe. Running has given me many Narnia moments. I used to be a boring Chartered Accountant, but running unveiled a more artistic me. The following is an entry from my blog on getultrarunning written in July. 

"Recently I met, quite by accident, an artist and became fascinated by her work. She says "The colour and smell of the paint, the sounds of the charcoal on board or paper, the feel of clay on my hands, music and silence, all these are triggers and every mark is a decision." - Rosemary Goodenough. What a complete load of tosh I would have said, but that night on my run I knew what she meant. 

On my run I went barefoot and could feel the texture of the road under my feet, enjoy the warmth of the tarmac where it had been in the sun and contrast it with the cool where it had been in shade. My feet made a gentle pattering noise and my step was light, I was in tune with my environment. Then suddenly the *** of a small sharp piece of gravel would interrupt my peace and I would be very aware of my feet before eventually reaching a smooth patch of tarmac and returning to peace again.

 Rosemary also says "As an artist I am viscerally aware of the absolute straight line connection between me and the artists who made their marks with such verve on the walls of the Chauvet Caves approximately 35,000 years ago. We don't know their names or motivations but the drive and passion to make marks is a primitive and inescapable human need and this straight line connection between artists across millennia will never be broken. For me, being part of a link in this past and future chain is fundamental to my life as artist." What a complete load of drivel the old me would have said.

On that night as I ran barefoot I was connected to my ancestors who ran freely across the plains of Africa.

 Running is the back of the wardrobe door to another world.