Fabruary 2014

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

OK so I have started a whole new spreadsheet - not just a new page or a new tab, but a completely new one.

Symbolic, it is.

I'm a little disbelieving of it myself, but I actually went for a run this morning. The joy of starting again with a whole new spreadsheet running log is that I don't have to see how long it has been since my last run. Too long is the short answer, and the only one I really need for now.

Of course, it was a very short run - just twenty minutes worth - but it was a run. And it was enjoyable. Fun, even. In another two days I'll run again and stretch it to thirty or more. Before I know, I'll be running half marathons again and will have lost this wobbly stuff that hangs over my belt. Gah, I hate that, I really do.

Two things finally blasted me out of my .... let's call it "lethargy", because that sounds much less hurtful than the more honest "lazy fat bastard" phrase that more immediately springs to mind.

One was the belly bulge which meant none of my clothes fitted any more, and the second was due to a bloke at work - a young, fit bloke who has a young family and is into his sports and a generally very pleasant chap to be around - always friendly and polite etc. The kind of bloke you wish you knew better. He not so long ago had four months off work due to a brain tumour, then slowly came back and worked his way up into a full work load until yesterday when he had to tell us the tumour is back and he has to take another four weeks off work for surgery. Apparently they can't use radiotherapy a second time, and so have to operate instead. Anyway, the point is that bad things seem to happen to really nice people, proving once again that life can be horribly unfair, and reminding me that many times i have promised myself and others that I would never take my generally good health for granted.

And so I'm back in the running gear again. And about bloody time too.

It was more than a little helped too by the fact that once again I'm sleeping quite well. A couple of weeks ago I suddenly, and without obvious reason, had my first really good sleep in nearly six months, and have slept quite well every night since. This has made a huge difference to my energy levels.

Also, my work troubles are reaching resolution. We've commenced legal action against our employer, and whether we win or not, at least we have made our point loud and clear; our boss won't try his shenanigans again without realising he's up for a hell of a fight; and we won't die wondering if we should have fought harder or not. That in itself is a huge relief - the actual outcome seems almost secondary.

Hence the reason for a new spreadsheet running log. A new start, with new aims. Well, just one aim really - to get healthy again and stay that way, with a secondary aim to not fuss nearly so much about pace and times ... in fact I'm just going to run to the clock and to hell with how fast or slow I go.

Let's go.

3.0 km, 20 minutes

Track du jour: Well, duh.