2007 - May

[Sweder]

It's definitely a dog's head
I've said before (some time ago, long before some artful dodger relieved me of SPs' Garmin) there's mileage in these run-maps as an art form. I fully intend to saddle up to a Garmin 305 in the near future - GBP 160 seems to be the best online rate at the moment - and I'll post the results occasionally in gallery form.

As to the longer piece (today), it's funny how we echo one another’s' thoughts sometimes. I've had an introspective time of things since my return from Cape Town, pondering whether or not I'd reached a pinnacle or in fact just turned a corner. I think it's the latter, but in order to progress I have to get a little honest with myself - as you have patently done. I like to talk about hard graft - 'hard yards' is a phrase that I use a lot - but as far as sustained effort goes there's a lot of foundation work to be done.

There's also more to running than mere PBs.
They're a great measure of personal progress and reward for the blood, sweat and tears, yet the thought of pacing some fellow forumites to PBs in Almería has really got my juices flowing. It'll be a challenge - I don't see running a half marathon in precisely 1:59:00 and at a steady, measured pace as being particularly easy - but one I'm really keen to take on.

I’d wish you good luck, Andy, but there’s a steely resolve in your recent posts that suggests luck will have very much a bit part in the next act.
Go for it.