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RE: Jumpin' Januaries!
The antepenultimate week.
The week before the week before the week of the Almeria half marathon has concluded well, with another good run rounding out a 60km week for this would-be running Energiser bunny. That sort of distance covered over seven days a year or two ago would have raised eyebrows for anyone in the MLCMM training camp, should such an enclave of coaching professionals exist (it does not). However - and this is the last time I shall bang on about it - the Maffetone method has breathed new life into this ageing bod and revitalised all the aims and goals that had evaporated, disappearing over the last couple of seasons like that half dozen bottles of Clare Valley cabernet we thought we'd put down for 20 years, but which have now vanished. That, and circumstance neatly coinciding with the opportunities that have recently presented themselves has breathed new life and enthusiasm into me, and gratefully I am embracing it.
I'm a firm believer that you make your own luck*, and that with the right attitude, good fortune will surely follow, at least at a certain everyday level. A positive mental attitude won't stop you being hit by a truck necessarily, but it will help you spot an open door when you most need one, whereas a black, befogged mindset will blind you to any silver lining. When the noggin is right, even the inauguration of Donald Trump throws up some positive possibilities**.
So, how do I feel after my biggest running week in a very long time? To be honest, I feel fantastic! Being able to run long distances comfortably is a very liberating experience, even if those distances are covered only at slow pace. I'm not aiming to win anything here except the hugest challenge of all, the big battle with my own mortality. The time taken to cover a set distance therefore is not nearly so important as the simple fact of being able to do so. That I should cover 60km in a week with barely a niggle really does say something in favour of the tortoise and the hare fable. Slowing down works well on so many levels that it really is a revelation. Super simple it may be, but it seems to work. Run slow, run further. Too easy.
Tonight, I work another night shift. Then tomorrow the forecast maximum temperature is 38C, and I have another hill session scheduled at the height of it. And you know what? I'm actually looking forward to it...
Somebody pinch me.
*Note, this does not translate well to gambling luck and you should not take this as advice to gamble away your earnings. I am talking here about circumstantial fortune, not doubling up on Noble Nag in the 7th at Randwick.
** Although admittedly, in the case of Trump, not that many.
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Jumpin' Januaries!
