A fairly tough, hilly ten-and-a-bit kilometres with #1 son Chris this morning shifted a few nagging anti-run molecules still floating in this ageing body of mine. It was a hard run - just what I needed really, and whilst somewhat slower than my previous outing, this was rather more difficult. A goodish pace, even so.
We discussed race tactics for the P2P, exactly two weeks hence. Whilst we're confident of finishing, we're both decidedly under-prepared and very unsure of what we might be capable of. Probably not very much in my case, unless the next two weeks see some remarkable turnaround in form. Unlikely, I suspect.
My mood has been tempered somewhat by the unexpected death of a work colleague. A very well-liked jolly Greek gentleman, his role as a trouble-shooter - a sort of 'Red Adair' of our industry ensured that everyone thought he was the kind of person constantly aware of trouble and knowledgable in the best way to avoid it. Thus, when he died of heart attack on Friday morning, it came as a shock to all of us. He was my age.
Remarkable, considering he was never flustered - always calm and in control and never stressed. But apparently unaware of his own heart problem.
As I keep saying, make sure you know your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Have them checked and have a heart scan if there's anything abnormal. My BP is 110/70 and cholestrol is 4.6 (177 in the American standard) and my heart scan was perfect. At the very least, know the warning signs and don't ignore them. If my work mate had done any of that, he'd almost certainly be alive today.
Now it's too late, and he's missed out on probably decades of life he could have had if only he'd had a simple check-up.
Uncle MLCM.
10.33km 1:01:32
YTD: 1218.5km
Nooooooooovember
