Forgetfulness and determination (stubbornness!)...

A big part of the learning curve for me when I first got into this Triathloning lark a few months ago was the realisation that there's actually quite a lot of kit you can end up buying! Without turning it into a money pit there are some essential pieces of kit you can't really do without... like a good pair of running shoes. I was fortunate enough to have a pair already (gathering dust at my parents) from a previous (failed) attempt to get into running several years before. Best £70 I ever spent. And that's a lot for me for any item of clothing/footwear. Ask anyone. I'm from Yorkshire after all (turtlely amazing as it is). The difference having the right footwear makes is amazing. I recently went to an aquathon, ten miles drive from my house, and realised once I was there that I had managed to forget my running trainers. Being a stubborn so-and-so, I decided I hadn't come all that way for nothing, and proceeded to run 3 miles in my pumas, which are not made for running, or actual sport of any kind actually. They are more the 'looking pretty' kind of trainer. The upshot was I could really feel my feet impacting on the pavement (having received no coaching on running style ever and thinking it might be a good time to start!). The next day my back was not my friend at all, and after a pitiful limpy run on the Monday evening, I gave up even thinking about exercise for the rest of the week. It's still a bit twingey now, over a week later, and I keep kicking myself for being daft enough to take the risk running in the wrong shoes, but then we all have to learn somehow, and this was a pretty big lesson. I hate the idea of having a debilitating physical complaint later in life which I can only put down to my own utter stupidity.

Anyway, back to the title, so there I am having a massive "D'OH" moment, thinking 'how can I possibly have come for something involving a run, and managed to forget my running shoes?'. You wouldn't think it was actually possible would you? I didin't think I could really get any dafter than that, until I went for a swim the other night... and managed to forget my towel! So what did I do? Did I learn from my running experience? Or did I get my determined/stubborn (depending on your point of view!) head on and go for a swim anyway? I think you can guess... Never mind the risk of hypothermia, cold, fungal infection etc. I swam, I dripped dry and then drove home. Prat. What next? Forgetting my bike next time I go for a bike ride?