January 2014

[Sweder]

Well, yes, and here we are again ...

[Sweder]

After hosing the downs for 24 hours the weather gods gave it a rest this morning. Bright sunshine, underwritten by a gentle breeze, teased me out for my first run of the year. It was, in truth, much like the last of 2013, a slip-sliding affair, more about balance than power.

With hounds in tow I battled through 6.6 miles of sludge. Ox-blood cattle lay in wait in the BlackCap foothills. I gave them a wide berth, thighs pressed together to favour my right groin which, through a series of wild slips, I've managed to wrench over the festive season. A wrenched groin, whilst not to be sniffed at, is not enough to keep me indoors on days like this.

Sartorially I've moved on from a hybrid of Tony Pullis and Max Wall (cap, London Marathon windcheater, leggings) to my favoured winter attire, Lewes Ladies shorts, long socks, Almeria shirt and gloves. I plugged into Planet Rock for the first time in a while, enjoying an ecclectic blend of old and new.

The run for home is still all but impassable so I detoured through the woodland, ducking and diving beneath trees felled by recent storms, effecting a sort of running slalom around the twisting trail of wet leaves and slime. Great fun, though I wish I had a little more puff to give it a real go. That should come as runs increase and the seasonal girth, currently approaching Henry VIII proportions, subsides.

   

Track du jour: Supertramp, Take The Long Way Home.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

6.6 miles of sludge ... with a wrenched groin and wearing ladies shorts...

...that's more like the Sweder we know!

[Antonio247]

It's fantastic that you wear the Almería T-shirt over there, S.

Best of luck with your training!

[Sweder]

Tough going out there this week. The weather hasn't helped, but for the most part seasonal sloth has taken a heavy toll. This morning's gentle four mile outing took far too much effort, leaving me battered and weary. I'm sure this will pass in time but right now it all feels impossibly hard. I wake up feeling like burglars have worked me over with lead pipes.

Worse still is the knowledge that the Almeria Half is a mere four weeks hence. I booked my flight yesterday - still remarkably cheap, plenty of seats available - before sitting down to reflect on my race plan. Frankly, there is none, aside from 'get round'. It feels as if P2P still lurks in my legs, yet that can't be right. Work aside I rested well after the Mountain challenge. Maybe it's old age, perhaps I'm off-colour, harbouring a new year lurghie. I hope it's the latter; at least that would explain the 'empty tank' feeling I get when I try to drop the hammer on the hills.

This week sees a return to midweek workouts, mostly core work. Planking, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, all good honest, sweaty stuff. Add to that a resolve to cut out a few old favourites - bread, beer, pasta - and we have a recipe for improvement. Yet I can't help feeling all I need really do is keep getting out there and, like pure rainwater squeezed out of the Downland mud, my form will ooze through.

On, on.

   
Sunday sunrise over the Lewes floodplains
Photo: @russdacrow

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Nice photo - it maybe a sunrise, but it looks more like the sun setting on the England cricket squad's fortunes.

I've little doubt you'll survive Almeria; you always do; it's more that mad Moyleman mara I'd be concerned about ... get better soon mate, because you're going to need every ounce of willpower and stamina to get through even just the training for it, let alone the monster itself.

Best of luck big fella!

[Antonio247]

I'm sure you'll be fit enough to finish well your 10th consecutive Almería half. How fast time goes by! I think it was nearly yesterday when I went to meet you all in January 2005. It was great to be able to meet in Almería people who had met on the internet, people from different places in the Uk and Canada: Andy RC, Andy SP, Nigel, Suzie and you, Sweder. It's really amazing that every year people from this forum have been able to come but it is even more amazing that you have managed to come every year. Besides, Julie and Cam are also coming. Julie will take part in the half for her sixth consecutive time and for Cam it will be her fourth consecutive time. I'm really glad. We'll organise something special.

Saludos desde Almería Greetings from Almería.

[Sweder]

A short, sharp shock just after sunrise this morning. A muddy clamber up into the sheep field followed by thirty-second sprint (sub 7mm) reps. Add in a couple of hill climbs into a wind tunnel and this falls into the 'useful short session' category.

The headwind was strong enough to cause that ripple effect that skydivers get in freefall. Excellent.

[OutAlongTheRiver]

Thanks to Andy for getting my login back and working! I'm now able once again to make insightful comments. Will let you know when I have any.

I've now switched to Runkeeper App marathon training in prep for the Moyleman.

If you fancy 22k over top of Caburn to Charleston and back this Sunday ...

Pip pip!

[Sweder]

Holy hell! My 10k this morning felt like the Two Oceans : (
Oh, why not? Kill or cure ... need to be back by midday, though.
Rookettes cup match kicks off at 1 ...

[OutAlongTheRiver]

I posted rather blithely that I'd do the 22k, and remarkably I did it. Facing the slog back up Caburn at 16k I began to think better of it. My first time running with a water bottle (with home made juice/salt/sugar solution) made a real difference.

[Sweder]

Good on you. My decision not to join you was vinidicated by another in a series of truncated, lack-lustre affairs, ending in my second muddy fall in the space of a few weeks. Whilst the lurghie lurking at the back of my throat this past week is still not fully manifest, something's a-foot.

The tumble was another mindless moment, day-dreaming about Almeria as I pounded around the edge of the frozen sheep field. Happily, once again, the dogs were my only witnesses. I'm still carrying a full compliment of seasonal timber, so there's work to be done on that front. Despite the pressure of looming races I need to give serious thought to taking a proper break and making a full recovery.

Fruit juice/ home-made concoctions are, in my opinion, as good as any jazzed-up sports drink on the market. They certainly make a difference on the long/ tough runs.

[Antonio247]

I'm sorry you fell off because you were daydreaming about Almería, S. I'm glad it wasn't serious. Hope you get better soon.

Looking forward to meeting all of you.


Saludos desde Almería. Greetings from Almería.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Duh. Any idjit could tell you this is what comes of taking in a football match on the way home from seven lifetimes away from the missus. Kharma, man.

[Sweder]

Move along, nothing to see here.
Having a week off to find my mojo.

[suzieq]

Good luck!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

If you find a spare one Sweder, send it over would you?

[Sweder]

A kill-or-cure ten miler was taken in glorious sunshine this morning. It was a thing of necessity rather than beauty, a heavy haul across heavy ground to see what might be possible in the weeks ahead. The undefined lurghie still lurks, appearing as an excess of ejectum and a tightness in the chest. My bulk also remains, though that particular handicap has never stopped me before. After some thought, and a hearty Sunday lunch, I have come to the following conclusions.

A) a two-hour jog round Almeria is entirely within my (expanded) compass
B) there is no way I can run the Moyleman route this year

The first comes as no surprise amd no great blow. Most of us can bob around 21k without too much training, we know how to get it done. The second is a sad but honest admission. Work is ramping up, training runs will be fewer and further between, even if I wake up tomorrow feeling chipper. I shall shrug off the shroud of disappointment and assume the cloak of Race Director. Someone needs to keep the thing together. With Tom wrangling the marshals and Rob (running) and Duncan (lead bike) in the field my duty will be to start signing runners and to sort things out at the start and the finish.

Rob joined me this morning. He's going like a train, svelt, enthused, making light work of thick mud and slimy puddles. He scorched across an impressive 24k, well on the way to Moyleman readiness. We took the two longdogs with us, a first for Rob who expressed amazement at their turn of speed. Like their owner they were all but done in by the finish, trudging back, heads drooped, dreaming of a drink and a biscuit.

Decisions made I can now relax, work on fitness and diet and look forward to a wonderful weekend in Almeria.
As ever, on, on!

[Antonio247]

It'd be great if I could keep your pace and do Almería half under two hours but I don't feel fit enough to go at that pace for 21 km. I've had some pain in my left adductor recently but it is already over.

Do you know the date of the Moyleman route, S.?

Looking forward to meeting all of you in Almería on 1st February.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

It is indeed a weight off one's shoulders when you make a sensible decision. Here's to more such common sense, and I've no doubt the Moyleman will be a better race for your full attention as race director.

Cheers!