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[glaconman]

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[Sweder]

Is this an indication of your state of mind/ recent training/ general outlook on life? And I though I was down in the dumps . . .

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Pendleton was the P.M. Office dude in "Edge Of Darkness" (best TV series ever made IMHO) ... otherwise have never heard the name before or since. What a coincidence

[El Gordo]

Was Edge of Darkness the one about... oh, what was it about? The guy whose daughter was killed? She was some kind of political activist? He was some sort of civil servant? He discovers/suspects she's been bumped off by the government? Bob Peck?

I know I could find out more on the web but prefer the suspense of not knowing whether I'm talking rubbish or not. I think this is the one, and that's all I can remember about it, apart from it being a great thriller.

It was indeed good, though my own personal favourite TV drama series was "The Singing Detective". Not as overtly serious, but just sumptuous - very funny and moving, and brilliantly written (by the late lamented Denis Potter).

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Yes, you've got it. Starred Bob Peck as a Yorkshire detective, whose daughter (the very cute Joanne Whalley) is bumped off, and which all turns out to be a rather intriguing nuclear thriller. Very good stuff. Pendleton (Charles Kay) was one of the especially interesting key characters. Also of interest was the now rarely-seen David Jackson (Gan in Blakes 7) in an important minor role.

It was written by Troy Kennedy-Martin, of "Z Cars", "The Sweeney" and "Reilly Ace of Spies" fame.

Apart from being one of Bob Peck's finest small screen performances, the series is also remembered for Eric Clapton & Michael Kamen's haunting theme music.

It's finally now available on BBC DVD. Brilliant!

[El Gordo]

The gorgeous Joanne Whalley? Aha! I see a common thread here. She also had a lead role in The Singing Detective.

[Sweder]

This would be Joanne Whalley aka Joanne Whalley-Kilmer (via marriage to Jim Morrison impersonator, Val), who rose to prominence as the infamous seductress Christine Keeler (opposite John Hurt) in Scandal. I remember the poster for that movie – Mmmm! It wasn’t her first Biopic though – she popped up in Dance With a Stranger, the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be hanged by The State. Cheery stuff, n’est pas?

She was in the Singing Detective, wasn’t she. Was she the nurse?
The first time I saw her on either sized screen was as a groupie in The Wall. A bit obscure I know, but I had (have) this habit of checking the credits to find out who the hot chicks are in movies.

OK, I’ll get my (rain)coat.

Or should that be Anorak?

[Sweder]

. . . lovely

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm sure none of this is what glaconman had in mind... erm, what exactly was behind the Pendleton photo glaco??

[glaconman]

I'm abandoning ship. Metaphorically. My running schedule has sunk. If only there were 28hrs in the day bla bla bla etc. etc.

Serves me right for being such a self-righteous git in my first post.

But that shouldn't put you off discussing something far more interesting.

[El Gordo]

Hang on old chap, if self-righteousness was an offence we'd all have been banged up for life years ago.

One man's self-righteousness is another's positive thinking.

So anyway, no Liverpool this year. What's it to be then...?

Check out the autumn half marathons under EVENTS on runnersworld.co.uk, and I'll do one with you.

Incidentally, there's a good article about the Mumbai marathon in this month's RW magazine.....

[glaconman]

Thanks for that friendly slap around the face Andy.

You're right. Another race is the answer, and Mumbai is still a long-term goal. I just need to bridge that gap and find the right way to incorporate running in my daily schedule.

I'll let you know what plan B is.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Andy will be especially pleased to know that (according to her bio) she was even in at least one episode of Coronation Street, c. 1974, playing the role of one "Pamela Graham" ... she would have been all of ten years old at the time, so presumably she played a minor role ... hehe.

OK, I'll stop now.

[glaconman]

She was actually in 2 episodes. She played a shop customer 2 years later. A year later she was in her only episode of Emmerdale Farm.

...if my memory serves me. Hahem!

[Sweder]

. . . although J W-K is a fabulous topic!
I had the opposite problem to yours, Glaconman. That is, trying to find time to fit my life in around my running. For good or bad a series of illnesses/ injuries has restored natural order and I can start to think about this objectively.

Try assigning one or two evenings (or early mornings, if that's your bag) per week for 30/ 40 minute sessions. It can be daunting staring at a RW training schedule, wondering how the hell you're going to manage 'all that' each week. Establishing a 'lesser' routine will help you set up your own, more realistic schedule. Last year, training for London, the only 'regular' run I did was on a Sunday morning. Some weeks I managed only 2 mid-week jaunts of 40 minutes to an hour, and when I had to travel abroad for work, not even that.

I still managed to attain a level that allowed me to complete the Marathon. OK, I was far from at my optimum, but this is the real world. We can't all get 40 miles per week under our feet, and certainly not every week.

[glaconman]

Thanks for that Sweder ... it's a recurring problem of mine. I never get hung-up on schedules; in fact, I don't use them at all. But I suffer from long periods when I just don't run at all.

I think incorporating it into my commute may be the best option. And I should probably lower my expectations and targets, like you say, so at least I'm treading water, or not going backwards too quickly.

I should get used to this pattern of getting up off the floor and reassessing my options. It looks like that's the way it's going to be. For a while at least.