Atalanta

3 days to go till the Trafford 10K. Yesterday I did some interval training on the treadmill - 2km easy and then 20 minutes combining 1 minute fast sprinting with a minute of easy jogging. Wow that was a good workout.

So far, I've been drinking lots of water, trying to get more sleep just taking it easy during these last few days. Then I thought about what else I could do to help me for race day. Then it came to me - make a sacrificial offering to  the god/goddess of running, and, is there such a thing? Please do not get alarmed, my tongue is firmly in my cheek. I am not  thinking of sacrificing my children. I was sorting out my sports drawer and had my eye on a pair of old, threadbare running socks.

So I turned to Google for help with sporting deities and discovered Atalanta. I thought she was the Greek goddess of running, but no, she is only a mythical character. The "only" doesn't really sound right either because Atalanta was a totally awesome Greek superwoman. 

A beautiful and athletic young woman she was the swiftest runner of her time and faster than any man. She could also defeat any man at wrestling AND she got to have cool adventures. She even had a place on the voyage with Jason and the Argonauts.

Of course because she was a lovely looking woman, it was natural that she had a fair few suitors chasing after her. But oh no, Atalanta was not having any of the romance nonsense in her life! Confident of her athletic ability she vowed that she would only marry a man who could outrun her. I guess it was a brave chap who would take her on because if she outran him she would kill him. Poor guys. I wonder how many victims there were before the goddess of love, Aphrodite got involved in her story..

The sacrifice : (No) More Mile socks