SLOW DOWN AND RESTORE YOUR RUNNING MOJO IN THE CANARY ISLANDS
As I landed in Gran Canaria, I felt a slight sense of relief – after months of running goals being defeated by injuries (including an agonising mystery knee problem, a twingy piriformis and a twisted ankle), I could at least throw my legs a massive pity party in a sunny location. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that being injured doesn’t mean the exercise has to stop – even if I can’t run I’ll still log miles and miles on the bike, or sweat to exhaustion at one of London’s many High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) classes. But arriving for a four-day stay at the Bohemia Suites and Spa hotel, I realised my attitude wouldn’t last long – with plenty of rehab and far more laid-back training, I was in excellent hands.
Each morning kicked off with a sunrise yoga session on the dreamlike Maspalomas sand dunes. It’s no secret that yoga is good for runners, but the added instability of sand underfoot tested my proprioception – exactly what my unsteady ankle needed. But it wasn’t just the physical challenge that shook me out of my rut – being surrounded by the enormous rolling dunes in fresh morning air helped me reconnect with the joy of being outdoors, something I had become estranged from, thanks to a central London cycle commute and weeks at a time off running.
With sunrise yoga followed by hikes in the island’s mountains, the slower pace of training rebuilt my confidence in my body – and allowed it to heal. Back at Bohemia, my injury woes were sounded out with resident sports physiotherapist Jose Maria Sanchez, while my muscles were further soothed with a full-body Thai massage in their Siam Spa – the ultimate sanctuary away from city life.
On leaving, I felt utterly zen, but the lasting lessons from my stay didn’t become clear until I was back to day-to-day life in London. Taking a step back from heavy cross-training and focusing on the basics – balance, stability and control – had helped me tune in to what I truly needed. When I began to run again, a few weeks later, my new-found understanding of my body made me feel stronger and more confident than ever before.