New Plodder Greets Warrior Runners

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hello fellow runners,

Having lurked for some time, I thought it was time to reveal myself... I began running some three months ago after my 42nd birthday, having not run since high school. I still remember vividly that first run - I was nervous and apprehensive and the 1100 metres I covered (2/3rds of a mile) left me so sore it was another 5 days before I could run again! Yes, I had read all the "run 90 seconds, walk 3 minutes"-type web pages etc., but for an impatient guy like me that all seemed so fiddly.

Anyway, despite ignoring the run/walk advocates, I took it slowly and carefully, and am stunned beyond belief that I am now regularly running 5 - 7 kms and enjoying it to boot!

I found Andy's web site early in the piece (think I did a Google search on "running" and "beer") and loved it and also this forum. It's full of pragmatic, real people that I can relate to, unlike the "pro" sites, which are excellent in their own way, but hard to believe sometimes. After all, when a guy who has run a marathon in 2:15 says I can run one too, I just wonder how he can possibly know that. But I know I can drink as much beer as Andy, so if he can, maybe I CAN run a marathon as well?? At least I know the training will be fun.

Speaking of beer, I live in Adelaide, South Australia, home of the world's best beer... Coopers! And I'm not being parochial, I knew about Coopers long before I moved to South Australia (I was born and bred in Tasmania). And yes, I have tried all the world's beer, so I know what I'm talking about. Sorry, that's a lie... I don't _really_ know what I'm talking about...

Anyway, in the best traditions of newbie runners, I have of course developed my own philosophy about running:

1) Start each run slowly. If you must go out fast, don't whinge about the excruciating agony afterwards.
2) Learn to love hills. Hills are like women - daunting, but worth the effort.
3) Never sprint. Sprinting hurts. Sprinting is for quadrapeds - bipeds jog.
4) When it's hot, don't run.
5) When it's cold, don't run.
6) When it's wet, windy or humid, don't run.
7) Ignore the above 3 points or you'll never run.
8) Compensating for a lack of running with beer and pizza is stupid, stupid, stupid.
9) Track work is OK... but only if you love excruciating boredom.
10) 4,000 calories is 4 hour's running. So unless you want to run a marathon after dinner...

I don't know if I really want to run a marathon or not, but there is one half-marathon that I would dearly love to do. In my home town of Hobart there is a half marathon that is run from sea level to the top of Mt.Wellington (1400m). I guess that is my goal, and also my qualifying entry to the League of Masochists. But if I could do that, I would be well satisfied.

Enough already. My legs are cramping with all this inactivity.

MLC Man.

[glaconman]

What about Tasmanian beer?

I would have thought Boags and Tooheys would have taken some beating.

[El Gordo]

Another alcohoic weirdo? Welcome, MLCM, you're going to fit in very well around here.

And remember everyone, don't mention the rugby World Cup.

Oooops!

Andy

(Thanks for the mail. I've replied separately, but I can't send it from this machine, so it'll go later, when I'm home again.)

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Greetings Glaconman, good to have you round again. Are you still running?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hey there glaconman,

Clearly you have exquisite taste. It is true that Tasmania make some excellent beers - Cascade premium lager, Cascade pale ale, and Boags premium lager are beers I drink frequently. However, Coopers make some of the best bottle-fermented ales you'll find anywhere. Their strong vintage ale (8%) is a particuarly good training drop, and their sparkling ale I use in place of Gatorade - a tip I picked up from Hal Higdon. Well, at least, that's what I think he meant to say in his training tips page. It's how I interpreted it anyway. I figure by following the Coopers training regime, i should be able to pull in a good marathon time of somewhere around 5 weeks... traffic permitting.

Of course, if you are having trouble finding Coopers in your neck of the woods, you can substitute Guiness.

Better go - I have some serious training to do.

MCL Man.

[glaconman]

MLC;

I just remember coming away from my month in Oz thinking that the cream of Aussie beer was produced in Tasmania ... but that's clearly a generalisation disproved by Coopers.

I haven't made much effort to find these beers here, but they're probably available in the more civilised corners of the UK.

Tasmania is certainly up there with Czech Republic and India as one of my favorite beer producing nations.

Andy;

Not exactly. I'm hauling myself out about once a week to keep things ticking over, but that's never enough. As you well know. So I'd say I'm slowly going backwards.

Entering another race would probably do the trick.

Luke.

[El Gordo]

Hal Higdon and beer? Well actually....

When I met Hal, he did mention doing a hot marathon in rural Greece that had insufficient water stations where, on "two or three" occasions, the field stopped off at roadside tavernas for a bottle of chilled beer.

I've always taken that as an endorsement from the top, MLCM....

Andy

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Ah, always knew you could rely on the Greeks to be pragmatic about marathon running. I wonder how many tavernas will be on the marathon course?

Anyone going? After the mind-blowing Sydney Olympics we said we would definitely do Athens, but it hasn't worked out this year (sob).

Hmm, I wonder how retsina would sit during a run?

MLC Man.

[El Gordo]

Probably as it bad as it runs during a sit, if I remember rightly. Pretty ghastly stuff. Though like most wine, it probably tastes much better in situ.

[Liz]

Originally posted by andy
Though like most wine, it probably tastes much better in situ.

Quite amazing that. I really liked the stuff whilst on holiday on Spetse and brought some home. My brother looked at me aghast when he tried it on my recommendation. I don't believe I've brought wine home since...