2007 - May

[Sweder]

I drove home wearing nothing but a pair of sodden lycra shorts, and a modest grin.

Whoa! Too much information there pardner!
Sounds like a brilliant plan; you can't worry about a race you don't know about until an hour before the off.
I like it . . .

[Moyleman]

Fantastic spirit and bravado, to enter a race at the drop of a hat.

Good on yer Andy. Keep it up, you'll soon be running well deserved PB's.

Keep the short, fast stuff going for your birthday 10k - and the time will come tumbling.

[Sweder]

Yes, a great shame that Tony's time at the top was blighted by blind allegiance to The Texan Chainsaw Masochist. I well remember the night of Blair’s ascendance. I was in the Richmond Arms pub in Houston; the air was filled with beer-fuelled optimism as the Sultan of Spin took the first of many bows.

Without the bloody stain of Iraq, and in particular the ugly aftermath, Blair's premiership might be considered a triumph. His role (and that of his ministers) in Norn Iron and Palestine and some of the work on climate change and world poverty should not be completely buried under the body bags. If only . . .

. . . there again, if only my Auntie had balls she'd be my Uncle.
And she hasn't. Ultimately my country is a place I recognise less and less. Political correctness has infected every aspect of life in Britain. Taxation, both direct and ninja-style stealth-tax, is squeezing the so-called middle classes until the pips squeak. The rich get richer, the disenfranchised dwell in a sub-class where 'poor' people have mobile phones and more crack-cocaine than you can shake a stick at. We dish out dole money to fund the fags and booze of the unemployed, in turn creating a never-ending source of business for a health service creaking at the seams. We’re a safe haven alright . . . for paedophiles and recidivists. European migrant workers are the least of our worries.

More and more people that I know well have left or have considered leaving these shores to escape what they see as an erosion of 'our way of life'. I can't help but attribute much of this, or at least the acceleration, to Tony and his appeasement policies. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime? You're 'avin' a laff.

The perceived wisdom is we'll miss him when he's gone. They said that about Thatcher; I said if you miss Maggie buy a better gun-sight. But one thing true of Thatcher was the further you travelled from these shores the greater her stature. With the exception of a collection of sycophants on Capitol Hill you can't say the same for Blair. Don't believe me? Just see how many votes the UK gets in tonight's cultural jello-wrestling that is Eurovision. You think the fact that we get Nil Points from our near-neighbours has anything to do with the crapness of our entry? Think again.

Tara Tone, don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.

[El Gordo]

It took me a long time to get pissed off with Blair, but eventually it happened.

I still suspect that he's an essentially decent man, but it's exasperating that he seems to have wasted the golden opportunity of a mandate stretching over ten years. Even the bitter pill of Iraq could have been sweetened a little by striking success at home -- and I just don't see it. Teacher friends tell me of more books in the classroom, and I can see that my local GP's surgery has had money spent on it, but I was hoping for something rather more radical than this.

In particular, public transport was an area that I had great hopes for but I see no progress here whatsoever. I was in London yesterday, and my colleague mentioned it had cost her £130 to get there from Bristol on the train. Staggering to have to pay that much for a journey of what -- 100 miles or so?

Anyway, no doubt we'll all pitch in with more analysis overe the coming weeks but that's a summary of my overwhelming conclusion: a missed opportunity, and one that I'm not at all sure we'll get again in my lifetime.

[El Gordo]

Another race in the rain (Woodley 10K), but not all the news is bad. It was another 3 minutes off last weekend's 10K, which in turn was 5 minutes quicker than Brighton, so I seem to be moving in the right direction.

Anyway, I'd just started to write up the race report when I thought: "Hmm, last day of the football season, and I haven't been to the pub for a while...."

So when I get round to finishing the report, chances are it won't be too coherent.

A couple of snaps:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningcomm...209740697/

[Antonio247]

Congratulations, Andy! You are just about to reach the under one hour barrier in ten kilometres. I think that you can do it for your birthday.

By the way, I´d love to be with you all on 30th June but I won´t be able to go. Anyway, I´ll do a 10 km run here at the same time on that Saturday as if I were there with all of you and in your honour.

Saludos desde Almería

Antonio

[Sweder]

If you really want a rain-free race come join us for the Seaford Half in June.
There's no way I can be lucky enough to get a deluge that day, which is just what I'd like for that particular race. For me, heat, not precipitation, is the enemy. There'll be quite an RC contingent, too - Moyleman, Rog and myself - the unholy trinity from TOM - and some of our JSJ associates including Paul the Goat and Steve Scott, Sue, Remy, Jill and Terry to name a few.

I appreciate that given your recent penchant for last-minute-dot-run this may be way too much of a head's up. The good news is you can enter (for around a tenner) on the day. There's a commemorative medal.
Oh yes, and we end up in a pub.




[SIZE="1"]There is a possibility that some hilly terrain may be encountered during this race. However a good chunk of the circuit meanders along side the Cuckmere river - unto Cuckmere Haven, no less - and is, therefore, flat.[/SIZE]

[El Gordo]

If you really want a rain-free race come join us for the Seaford Half in June.
There's no way I can be lucky enough to get a deluge that day, which is just what I'd like for that particular race. For me, heat, not precipitation, is the enemy. There'll be quite an RC contingent, too - Moyleman, Rog and myself - the unholy trinity from TOM - and some of our JSJ associates including Paul the Goat and Steve Scott, Sue, Remy, Jill and Terry to name a few.

I appreciate that given your recent penchant for last-minute-dot-run this may be way too much of a head's up. The good news is you can enter (for around a tenner) on the day. There's a commemorative medal.
Oh yes, and we end up in a pub.

Hmm, I won't rule it out, though a half is just a little more than I was planning on by that stage. I'd earmarked a 10 miler in Dorking as a possibility that weekend.

Let me sleep on it. I'm enjoying a glass (or 2) of decent Meursault at the moment, and this has skewed my judgement.

But thanks for the suggestion, old chap. I may well take you up on it. Gimme a day or two to ponder.

[Bierzo Baggie]

By the way, I´d love to be with you all on 30th June but I won´t be able to go. Anyway, I´ll do a 10 km run here at the same time on that Saturday as if I were there with all of you and in your honour.
Antonio

I'd do the same but I'll be at a wedding on the 30th so my own little homage will take a rather different form... it'll be close to home though!

Lots of movement on the forum recently.. it's all getting very inspirational

[Nick]

Another race in the rain (Woodley 10K), but not all the news is bad. It was another 3 minutes off last weekend's 10K, which in turn was 5 minutes quicker than Brighton, so I seem to be moving in the right direction.

Good racing Andy.A sizeable step in the right direction, and in grotty weather.

Onwards and upwards!

[marathondan]

Andy, what's the deal with entry to Boston? I thought it had some pretty stringent qualifying times? Then again, with you moving up to a new veteran class...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Andy, what's the deal with entry to Boston? I thought it had some pretty stringent qualifying times? Then again, with you moving up to a new veteran class...

Yeah, qualifying time for 50-54 yo males is 3:35 ... piece of cake! I knew Andy would get his confidence up after breaking 5 hrs.

[El Gordo]

Yes, Boston has very strict qualifying times but they also reserve some places (about 10% I think) for residents of the 8 towns the race goes through, emergency services and charities. These don't have to hit the qualifying time.

I have a charity place with the JDRF. There's a link on the front page to the JDRF 'Marathon Majors' scheme.

Edit:

Here it is: http://www.jdrf.org.uk/events.asp?section=0001000100030002&itemid=234&itemTitle=Boston+Marathon+%2D+World+Marathon+Majors

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I made up a word recently. You know that rather embarrassing and annoying situation when you go through a door, and there's someone following behind, and they are just at that distance from you where it seems rude not to hold the door open, but just a bit too far to be comfortable for either party?

Dawkwardness.

This mangulation of the English language has gotta be stopped.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Thought you might find this interesting, in the wake of Andy's comments re the dangers of iPods in race conditions. Saw this in the entry details for a nearby 10k event... it kind of suggests race organisers are beginning to agree?

[Ana]

Dear Andy
(sorry for the delay). I have just read the report about the 10K oxford race. Congratulations. Not only the tale, photos makes me feel jalouse of your good wheather (here is always raining now )and the nice ambience that you had
I love the trainings method of Mark. The idea of 364 1miles training is very interesting. Try however taht he changes it into 363 days + 10 oxford Kms and 10 Andys birthday's Kilometers

[Ana]

Dear Great Andy,
(sorry for the delay). I have just read the report about the 10K oxford race. Congratulations. Not only the tale, photos makes me feel jalouse of your good wheather (here is always raining now )and the nice ambience that you had
I love the Mark's training method. The idea of 364 days 1miles training is very interesting. Try however that he changes it into 363 days + 10 oxford Kms and 10 Andys birthday's Kilometers