October 2011

[Sweder]

Well that, ladies and gentleman, was what I call a PARTY!

No gory details; suffice to say that puppy swung like a pendulum do and some. A surprise visit from the Big (Swiss) Cheese and the Devine Miss M added to a fabulous evening, as did the unquantifiable amount of Harveys I managed to pour down my neck with the help of friends and family, not least the Brighton Running community who turned out in force; Stevio, Simon Ho, Tom Roper, Gillybean, Jen and Ladyrunner (who despite her catalogue of injuries looked fitter than ever). The band was simply fantastic, their rendition of Pinball Wizard arguably better than the original. The joint was jumping and even my 83 year old Mother-in-Law got caught up in the free-flying endorphin rush, leaping on stage to conduct the wild gyrations. Belissimo!

Now, in the cold light of day, a cruel wind has arrived, driven across the oceans by those spiteful Norse outriders to shrivel the skin and raise the goosebumps. A timely cooling off as the serious business of P2P looms large, my own Mount Doom black and hunched on the horizon.

I scraped a paltry plod yesterday, all puff and bluster over an embarassingly modest distance. I repeated the exercise this morning under a generous strip of broken mackerel cloud. Last night's rain hung heavy in the tall grass adding weight to my mud-caked runners. I welcomed the chill wind like an old friend, its' icy embrace stirring my corpuscles in a way that the recent balmy weather simply can't. I felt stronger by the minute and whilst 5.7 kilometres may seem like small beer to many it filled my heart with hope for the weeks ahead.

Onwards then, and ever upwards.