Stoptober 2012

[Sweder]

A cracking five miler through misty hills rounded off a sequence of thirteen running days out of the last sixteen, taking my tally for October over the 100k mark. No great shakes at just over 30k per week, but a step up on the road to consistency and fitness.

Bonfire is upon us and the weather has adopted a suitably eerie countenance, offering rainforest mizzle as a backdrop to soggy lopes across scraggy, wind blown downland. I love this time of year. Mud-slapped slopes and rain-slick flint combine to send me skidding and sliding into clouds of hill-hugging vapour. EG mentioned Chi Running in a recent missive, of which more from the man himself soon. I pondered the principals - balanced foot-striking, focus on a strong core and posture, being in the moment and running with a purpose in mind, maintaining an upright stance, minimising upper body movement. It's surprising how close this brought me to Chris McDougall's Tamahumara style of running: economy of effort, relaxed demeanour and, again, balance. Scary how often I run without thinking about the science of running. I should work harder at running easier, especially in these tricky conditions.

This afternoon I took my place on the Rookettes bench for the county cup match away to Marle. Marle ladies are a relatively new outfit riding high in their league, bagging ten goals in their previous match. They say difficult pitches are a great leveller, and this Jane's Lane track was a proper pudding, but this was women against girls. The plucky Blues found themselves on the end of a brutal shoeing from a ruthless, if under full-strength, Lewes side. I'd been asked by Aggers to ensure the players kept up the workrate but with the score at 0-7 by half-time I felt some sympathy for the home team. We made a couple of changes but as so often happens the incoming players wanted to prove a point, combining to slot another 7 in part two. Cue a change in class next Sunday as I drop back to the press box and Lewes welcome Tottenham Hotspurs LFC to HQ.

Earlier Lewes Under 18s scored 18 without reply in their own first round cup match at the Pan Siro. With the first XI beating Wingate & Finchley 3-1 yesterday the aggregate weekend scoreline ended up Lewes FC 35 Others 1.

In other news, I've done well since returning from the land of Black Gold. No beer, no bread, lean meat, lots of fruit and veg, big breakfasts and modest lunches, no snacking, sweets or processed food. I've completed a daily thirty-minute work out five days out of the last six. My weight is fairly constant but my body shape and energy levels are changing. Most notably I feel a lot more spritely, on the run and in general. This was week three of twelve, so hopefully there's more to come.