The great arrow of time delivers us into the middle of July. And so soon.
A few highlights from June to catch-up with.
24th June was the Eldwick Gala Fell race. A down-up-down-up kind of race over 3 miles. As I hit the first climb my breathing became immediately laboured; as though I was at the top already. Not a great feeling. I put this down to excessive alcohol and a bad night's sleep. I suppose the thing to take from this is that as we get older we have to make more binary choices when it comes to alcohol, food, sleep and running.
Eldwick
25th June. A state visit by Our Glorious Leader and His Good Wife. We were all honoured to receive them on their Yorkshire Tour. A trip to some local hostelries and some home-cooked food seemed to hit the mark. Look out for Andy on next year's Tour de Suisse.
29th June was The Murder Mile. One mile. Up a seriously steep road. Time slows down. Pain gradually seeps into every part of your body. The Doubt rears it's ugly head. And early. But a great measure of fitness, nonetheless. The younger kids do the first 100 meters at such a fast pace. Then gradually dissappear behind you on the next 200 as you weave around them. This kind of parcour always delivers a feeling of slight dread prior to the gun. But then you're off and it's all instinct, pride and struggle.
Murder Mile
And so into July.
9th July was the East Morton Gala Fell race. Only two miles. So Junior Glaconman got to show his Dad who The Daddy really is these days when it comes to running. Another down-up-down-up kind of race. Heat and humidity adding to the mix and making for a really uncomfortable last half mile.
East Morton
I guess the last few weeks has seen some challenges in balancing running with social drinking and work. The upside has been some enjoyable races and abit of regular training at the club. I just need to get out and do more long, slow runs instead of relying on short races and fast efforts.
15th July was the Oxenhope Fete Fell race. A route BB might be familiar with. It's a crazy eye-balls-out dash (3+ miles) around the fringes of the village. Tracks, stiles, bridges, fields, snickets, gardens, roads, parks, paths, slabs, heather, cobbles, gorse. You name it. The washing was out this year. Another obstacle in this crazy, police-chase of a race. I came within 30 seconds of my best time but finished well down due to interest amongst local talent.
Oxenhope
July is also Tour de France month. The route map is pinned to the living room door. And the compulsory highlights are being avidly consumed every night. They may be a bunch of cynical, cheating pros. But this race has us captivated every year.
As the peleton sips champagne on it's way into Paris on the 23rd we'll hopefully be driving down through the Champagne region on our way to the Alpes and Jura.
No major targets. Not marathons, that's for sure. I'm running well over 2-6 miles but am struggling with anything around 10 and over. And I have a vague plan to be able to race a 10-miler in a month. We shall see.
We had a ride-up the Grand Columbier and Mont du Chat the other week and I whinced altittle going past the Porte/Martin horror corner. Good climbs though. And a wonderful part of the world.
