With the Moonwalk over it was time for a bit of rest and recuperation. Of course, not having a long walk each weekend and nothing to work towards, did leave a bit of a void. This was the post Moonwalk slump. It’s perfectly normal to feel a bit blue after a big event you’ve spent months training for. Luckily, I had quite a lot to take my mind off it.
15 May 2013
So the Big Pink Tent has been packed away for another year, the puffy skirt and the bra with a few stars still bravely clinging are sitting on top of my chest of drawers while I think what to do with them and the Friday walks are over for the moment. So what now? For one thing there is going to be a week with no walking whatsoever. Obviously I still have to get out of the chair to go to the loo from time to time and there will be a teeny tiny bit of ambulaton from the house to the bus stop and the bus stop to work but, other than that, there will be a lot of sitting on my bum. There may even be some chocolate.
This is a one week only event though. A small hiatus in my power walking career while I rest the dodgy knee and let the blisters heal. After the elation of finishing something like the Moonwalk there are often mixed feelings. There may be an element of, I could have done it better, I could have done it faster, I could have finished or whatever. It is probably normal to have those feelings but I read something on the Walk The Walk Forum that really puts the achievement into perspective. A Moonwalker, in the back of one of the Bra Cars being taken back to Moonwalk City at about mile 20, unable to finish said “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. I’ve run the London Marathon. I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro. But 26 miles overnight beat me.” So if you did it, or attempted and failed, it’s worth bearing that in mind, especially if anyone ever tells you, “but it was only walking, that’s not hard is it?”
In the days and weeks after the big night there is often a bit of a slump. A kind of post race (although it is NOT a race) depression if you like. This too is normal. For months you have been training and preparing for an event. It fills your life. Actually, with something as long as the Moonwalk, it takes over your life. Suddenly it’s over and there is a big empty void. I think I was feeling a little like that last night.
Luckily there is quite a lot going on to take my mind off feeling down right now. Work is mad busy, with more auditions in London Tomorrow (I’m in danger if getting to know my way around) and lots of preparation for the first of the UK turnarounds (that is cruise speak for the end of one cruise and the beginning of the next) on Tuesday. There’s also the small matter of Philo and Sirona’s wedding at the weekend. I need more hours in each day or more days in each week right now.
This morning I did get a little stroll through the park from the bus stop to the office and the rain even stopped, more or less, which was handy. Sadly someone seems to have turned the heating off in Southampton and the temperature was more like November than May. Despite the grey, damp day, the enchanted park was spectacular. The rhododendrons have made it a riot of colour, deep reds, vibrant pinks, creamy lemons, luscious lilacs and even brilliant, eye popping yellows.
The brightness almost overshadowed the other little details, like the allium just beginning to erupt from their papery buds or the fluttering, creamy bracts of the handkerchief tree, I noticed them though. I also noticed the fading flowers on my favourite little rhododendron. All through the winter it has worked so hard to flower and now its lazy cousins are finally coming into their own it looks exhausted. The trees were playing their part to add to the show with fresh green new leaves everywhere and jolly white candles of flowers on the horse chestnut. Even the evergreens were trying to get in on the act adding frills of vivid new growth to the tips of their branches.
After all this there was the madness of the office. Boxes and boxes of things to prepare for the ship, films that hadn’t been dispatched on time, musicians to organise for the ship visitors, books to catalogue. Then there were the three huge boxes of books delivered to the office when they should have gone straight to the port, not to mention a harp to arrange transport for, a stroppy pianist and the auditions to prepare for tomorrow.
There was a short hiatus when I took advantage of half an hour of sunlight in an otherwise wet day to go to lunch. I didn’t want to spend too long out of the office, especially as the seagulls were wheeling around telling me more rain was on the way, so I gave the funny little coffee shop on the corner a try. I’ve walked past it quite often but I wasn’t sure if they sold takeaway coffee. They do and, not only is it good, it’s cheaper too. Wish I’d gone in there earlier now.
My final job of the day was a call to our IT department to find out about getting my work emails put in my phone and iPad. Arabella found out they could do this last week so I thought I’d see if they could do it for me. It was surprisingly easy and it’s going to make a huge difference, no more worrying about things when I’m not in the office because I can check my emails at home or on the train when I’m on the way to London. Not only that but I can get my calendar and to do list on the phone and the iPad too. Wonderful. The Tuesday morning email mountain could be a thing of the past!