Shoes are not just shoes

My training had become a regular routine, and I kept it up. But I had developed a problem with my feet. I had bought my first running shoes with no idea as to what I should buy and got no real guidance at the shop where I bought them. As a result, I got sore feet, which is rather inhibiting on a long-distance race! On someone’s recommendation, I went to a running shop in Copenhagen, where I was videoed on a running machine. Unfortunately, though, these shoes were also a problem. In January 2000, I paid another visit to the shop in Copenhagen. Here they established that I’d been sold a pair of shoes which in no way matched my requirements. They didn’t accept the consequences of this, though, nor gave me a brand-new pair of shoes! Instead, they sold me a new pair and recommended I used special inserts adapted to my feet. That is just what I did and since then I have had no foot problems caused by footwear.

Daily routines change

That which had been on the cards for almost 18 months became a reality in January 2000. Hanne moved out, and divorce proceedings began. I stayed in our house together with our two boys, while Hanne moved into a flat.

Being alone with everything presented a few challenges. Now I was the only one to drop-off and pick up the kids at the kindergarten, do the shopping, cooking, gardening and all the other household chores. At the same time, I really wanted to keep up my training. The afternoons and evenings were very stressful. After work I had to pick up Emil from kindergarten, the dog should be walked, and there was an evening meal to make. Of course, the main focus was on the children, but often I also had work to do in the evenings. So it wasn’t easy to find the time to run. I had to lay another strategy. Besides a slightly longer run at weekends, I also ran three mornings a week. I got up at 4.30 a.m. and was ready to run half an hour later. The boys were still asleep, as was the dog. So it was with a clear conscience and peace of mind that I could set out in my running shoes. The boys knew that I ran in the mornings, and I always had my mobile on me so that they could get hold of me – though there was never any need for it. They were always sleeping like angels when I got back to the house. After a good hour’s run, I took the dog for a walk and had a shower. Then the time had come to wake up the boys, and a new day had begun.

I kept on running in the mornings for seven years, and I ran all year round, whatever the weather; hail, rain snow or shine. On very few occasions, I got up, looked out of the window and went back to bed again. But when I did, I was nagged by a bad conscience for several days, so in the end I resisted the temptation.

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