The clock radio clicked on and I was acosted by the sound of some Bach-like string quartet thing. Screaming with the realisation that it was still dark, frightfully cold and that I had only three hours broken, fitful sleep, and what's more, that I did not need to be at work for another two and half hours, I drifted off back to sleep, only to have the sharp stabbing pain of conscience sting me awake a few minutes later.
...oh yes, the small matter of the scheduled run.
Let me state categorically the implication here; I am NOT a morning person...
there has to be a darned good reason before I'll get out of bed in the pre-dawn cold and gloom...
...excuse me, did you say scheduled run?
Scheduled run, yes.
...as in like, a training program of some kind?
Yes, you could say that.
...but it's a long way til November?
Erm, yes, but I seem to have entered a couple of other races in the meantime.
Oh, such as?
Er, well there's an 8km fundraiser in a couple of weeks, an 11km fun run the week after, and erm, a mumble mumble half mumble mumble on Sunday week.
Pardon? Did you say "half"?
Er, yes.
As in "half marathon"?
Um, yeah.
On Sunday week??
Er, yes, I suppose it is.
You're totally bloody insane!
That must be true - we seem to be developing multiple personality disorder.
We do, yes.
Well look, what could I/we do? It just so happens that next week I'm back in Adelaide for a few days, and it just happens to coincide with the weekend of the Adelaide Half, a race I've wanted to run for ages - a gorgeous half marathon entirely along the banks of the River Torrens; very flat, very beautiful and only a few hundred runners, so not too congested.
But it does rather mean taking these mid week runs a little more seriously. So it was up early (too darn early), turn right out of the driveway, past the tennis courts and the golf course to the zinc smelter, round the roundabout and back again, keep going past my house, down to the canal, across the bridge, down past the rowing club to the end of the bay, take a breather, do a few stretches, back past the rowing club to the bridge, across the sports field, along the beach, up the bush track at the end to the cemetery, a big loop past the Jewish and C of E sections opposite the fuel depots, back to the bridge and home again for a tad over 8 kms.
I'd do it at night but much of it is off track or at least not illuminated, so it needs to be in daylight. And apart from the zinc smelter and the fuel depots, it's really quite pretty, too.
Anyway, after a dreadful night of little sleep, this run started out pretty disastrously, but after 6 km or so, suddenly the cobwebs lifted and I felt great - really quite strong and enjoying it. Now I feel full bottle ready for a day of w#rk... sort of*.
Indeed. I've been smelling mediocrity and I don't like it. Time to kick some goals.
Don't get me started on the zinc smelter. Here's the only reasonable photo I have of it, taken from the other side of the river - I live to the left of picture, about 1.5 km down the road from there. The other picture is of the massive wild oysters that live in the bay at the bottom of my garden - at low tide there are thousands of huge fist-sized oysters that you can't eat because of the huge concentration of mercury and cadmium in them, thanks largely to the zinc works. You can't eat the fish either. At least things are improving - 20 years ago virtually nothing at all lived in the river because of the pollution.
El Gordo Wrote:You're like my gunnera manicata. Er, actually, no you're not. Forget I said that. No really, please.
You call me a piece of giant rhubarb and expect me to just forget it?
Quote:Wow! Where did this optimism come from?
Er, I know I've been a bit quiet of late, but I've been keeping my fitness up and have been generally optimistic about things for some time now. And when I fired in that more or less successful 22km last weekend it kind of made me realise I should have a crack at a few races while things are looking good for me.
I think apart from getting the exercise/diet/medication juggling routine under control, I've discovered that running slow is far less traumatic for my knees, so I can still cover some distance as long as I'm prepared to sacrifice some pace. Or so it seems, anyway. So I'll have a crack.
Quote:So the chocolate factory marathon isn't a sweet enough prospect?
That's an impressive list of races you've got there MLCM. I expect the marathon will be the toughest but the Point To Pinnacle is the one I'm most looking forward to reading about
Bierzo Baggie Wrote:That's an impressive list of races you've got there MLCM. I expect the marathon will be the toughest but the Point To Pinnacle is the one I'm most looking forward to reading about
Me too BB
In truth I am hopelessly under-prepared for this weekend's half. No excuses (lest EG give me another infraction), and I will get through it, but it won't be pretty. Still, I am genuinely looking forward to it. And it will be a good launching pad for a serious assault on an August marathon and the November P-to-P, which is the race I really want to run.
There are a few things to deal with in the meantime however, not the least of which is the small matter of training.
I'll be thinking of you whilst out on my own ascent-riddled half this weekend.
I can't say I'm under prepared and yet . . . I remember the Stinger last year, and what sublime form I was in going into that slog.
Enjoy it, don't flog yourself to the point that you have to take a month out to recover.
It's just a stepping stone to greater glory.
[SIZE="1"](Hmm, I may some back and read this to myself on Sunday morning :o) [/SIZE]
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
April Bloody April, Nothing Rhymes With April.
(Definitely a 
