Challenge yourself... to truly feel alive
This was not the summer we dreamed of when we kicked off the year. But I’m coming out of it a different woman after the best – and worst – holiday of my life.
I’ve been in Chamonix in the French Alps, where I’ve been coming for 20 years. But I’m used to a gentle kind of escape.
Yes, I went on walks, but I left all that extreme outdoorsy stuff and zipwires for other people, especially as I have a fear of heights. Those sorts of adventures were not for me, I thought, and I stayed within the boundaries I’d artificially created for myself.
But since turning 50 in lockdown, I’ve got a new lease of life. I have more energy now than ever before, even though I’m going through the menopause.
And I am very aware that we need to do things that make us feel alive and appreciate our time on the planet. Now more than ever.
So this holiday, I signed up with a personal trainer, Quentin, for a 10- day Spartan training programme, which is pretty much the polar opposite of lazing on a beach. I did things that not only exhausted me, they frightened me.
It was an hour of training every day, waking up for 6am, carrying 50lb on my shoulders and running up a steep hill and wading through ice-cold glacial waters, plus cardio sessions where I wanted to be sick. Pull-ups, weights, climb climbing walls,
monkey bars – it was gruelling. I hated every minute and just when I thought I’d finished, he made me sprint for 10 more minutes. But you know what? I never stopped.
I gritted my teeth, fought the tears and found my inner strength.
And when it did finally finish and I was released for the day, I had the biggest sense of pride. I never knew I had such willpower and that my body possessed so much strength. Not bad for 50.
But in Chamonix I have seen other 50- year- olds taking on ultra- marathons, 60- year- olds climbing peaks that make you shudder, and 70-year-olds, men and women, trekking for miles.
This valley shatters the stereotype of putting your feet up as you get older. Knowing what I was capable of, mentally and physically, led me to have a completely pletely different holiday with my kids as well.
I went to the he waterparks with them and nd jumped in from dizzying ing heights. Instead of thinking, inking, “Nope, you daft idiot, you can’t do that”, I was saying, aying, “you can do it!” And nd I went on to conquer r my fear of heights.
With my 12-year2-yearold son, I climbed imbed 50ft up into the he treetops and did id an obstacle course ourse where I had d to balance on a thin wire. My heart rt was in my mouth, it was the most horrible rrible experience of f my life, but I did it. . And then zip-wired d over a beautiful lake ke – I ‘d always thought ht I could never be one of those ose people.
So many of us are stuck in our comfort mfort zones and give ve up as we get older. r.
You don’t have ave to go on an expensive nsive holiday, but you can challenge yourself to do new things, no matter atter your age.
And you should hould
– to truly feel alive.
I fought through pain and fear to prove my worth
Jawahir Roble is the first black, female, Muslim, hijab-wearing referee in the UK. A Somalian refugee, she hopes that one day she will be running around the pitch in the Premier League.
JJ, as her friends call her, wants to inspire more women to get into refereeing and hopes England ladies will be the best football players in the world.
Her parents were not happy with the idea of her playing football at first because she’s a girl and she had to hide her muddy boots when she came home. But their attitude changed when they saw her passion. Only a few tens of thousands of white male minds to change now, JJ.
But I reckon she’s the girl for the job and there will soon be a seat for her on Match of the Day.