January 2011

[Sweder]

Planning an outing at the marina first thing where I hope to meet up with this year's Jog Shop Joggers for a gentle lope up the Snake. The weather's been apocalyptic so far this weekend, howling wind, lashing rain. Let's see what tomorrow brings ...

I dragged myself for another early Sunday outing with Ladyrunner, joined by fellow Almeria Armadians Moylebird and Simon plus two others. I'd unstrapped an unfeasibly large aircraft from my ample bottom some 18 hours before. Studying the array of lycra-clad racing flesh around me I felt horribly underprepared for a slog up to Ditchling Beacon. I needn't have worried. My under-prepared legs managed to drag me around the course without holding the others up. The freshly watered, yielding turf felt soft and welcoming under my heavy stride as we ascended through Stanmer Park and the flint-strewn fields above Falmer.

Simon looks like a runner. Tall, gangly, loping stride as easy and untroubled as his affable countenance, I suspect he'll go well in Almeria. He's a triathlete, preferring endurance to speed, yet judging by the ease with which he kept pace with me and Jules I can see him clocking a decent time though the gently undulating Spanish streets.

I was feeling it by the end, legs tight, back strained and lungs sucking hard. We banked around 17.5 kilometers in just under two hours. I'm happy enough and so out of form I really don't need to worry about my expectations for the first half of the year in two week's time.