May 2013

[Sweder]

Not much to tell, certainly no running to speak of. Ah well. Life has other things in store for me just at the moment.

I've entered the Seaford Half in early June. That will start a sequence that ends on top of Mount Wellington on 17th November. P2P may only be a half but I'm treating it with all due respect. I plan to train as hard as I would for a marathon, with more hill work thrown in. Even then I won't really be ready for it. I don't think you can be, really.

Anyone not sure what P2P is all about, here you go.
Not for the squeamish.

On the football front both Lewes teams survived the drop. The men on goal difference alone, going down 3-2 to Bury on the last day of the season, with Carshalton winning their last match but coming up four goals short. Simon Wormull, the young, affable Rooks manager, got the bullet two days later.

The ladies have pushed on in some style. Fearing a relegation dog-fight they beat QPR (now relegated), Yeovil and, much to my delight last Wednesday evening, flattened Gillingham 3-0. Naomi Cole, our star midfielder recent signed by WSL side Chelsea, signed off in style, netting on 8 seconds with a remarkable effort from the halfway line. The Rookettes play West Ham at home this Sunday. A win will guarantee finishing above QPR, Colchester, Gillingham and Tottenham Hotspurs in their debut season. Four wins on the spin would also mean first team coach Dave Cole getting his legs waxed. On the pitch, after the game. By the players.
Pray for Dave.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

[Sweder]

Just a short note to say that Mum passed away peacefully, in her sleep, last Thursday.
No cliche, this truly was a blessing. Of all the Endgame scenarios I'd envisaged this was the one we'd all hoped for. Small mercies. Since then, life has resembled the last fifteen minutes of Goodfellas, all rushing about and wild-eyed stares with an ever-growing list of Things That Must Be Done chasing me like a demented beast.

Running has taken a back seat. In fact, it's in the boot, for a while at least. There is light at the end of the tunnel, the traveling comes to a halt this week leaving me a few days for some contemplative hill-time before we say goodbye on last time.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Rest in peace Sweder's mum.
Regards from El Bierzo.

[Antonio247]

I'm sorry about it, S. All my sympathy is with you and your family. Rest in peace.

Regards from Almería.

[glaconman]

Best wishes to you and your family Sweder.

[Sweder]

Thanks all, and to those who sent e-mails or Pms. The epilogue will be a good deal happier than the denouement, with hugs and laughter, tears and shared memories falling like ticker tape over the next few days.

We spent so much time and energy making sure Mum's last weeks were comfortable and pain-free, we'd lost sight of a long and fulfilled life, one that deserves to be celebrated. We'll put that right this weekend at a family barbecue. We've invited some of the astonishing carers and nurses who worked so hard to make Mum's final days more pleasant and stress-free than we could have hoped. You meet some remarkable people in this life.

Just off out with the hounds for a soggy lope, my first for two weeks. It'll be short and a bit sweaty, but it's exactly what I need just now. Running, as ever, is the answer.
On, on.