April Fuel 2014

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Thanks Suzie ... it is great to be back running and blogging again. It was only a few weeks absence, but boy, does it make a difference these days. Long, long gone are the days where a month or two off the fitness train could be regained in a few days. Now, three decades on, it takes weeks of determined effort and a drastic change to diet that was never an issue in youth. Still it’s always worthwhile, perhaps especially so as we age.

Speaking of determined efforts, I have another very early hill rep run to report.

As more than one early morning runner in these forums has noted over the years, alarm clocks are perhaps the most aptly named torture device in modern domesticity. When the first of mine went off this morning at 03:55 I swear the adrenaline rush nearly ripped my eyeballs out of their sockets and sent my heart rate into the stratosphere. And this was not the adrenaline rush of excitement, gentle viewer, not at all. This was the adrenaline rush of a car crash, and the blood-curdling screams of my mangled and wrecked body were no less abhorrent for being only in my mind. I imagine getting off my bunk on the dawn of my execution (should the fascist revolution happen in my lifetime) will be easier than rising in contemplation of my run this morning. Mind and body screamed in utter revolt at the thought of what I had planned and threw at me every ache, every pain, and every excuse both reasonable and absurd that it could think of to stop this anguish.

Odd, I think, that both mind and body screamed “No!” and yet a powerful third entity somehow shoved me out of bed, into my running togs and out the door. Or maybe it was just Mrs MLCMM fed up with my blathering and wanting to get back to sleep, I'm not sure.

Whatever it is was, I found myself on the street in the dark all alone and feeling like total crap but for some reason loathe to turn around and head back indoors. And so I ran, and as so often happens in these circumstances, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as my mind and body had insisted. I managed four of my difficult hill reps - tough and slow to be sure - but definitely manageable and far less trouble than actually getting out bed proved to be. And of course, the feeling of achievement was almost child-like and euphoric, and all out of proportion for what is a relatively humble 5km outing that would trouble few RC runners. A genuine work-out it is for sure, but hardly that noteworthy.

Oh well, noted is has been, and why not? I feel bloody fantastic and look forward to the next one.

Crikey!