It's no small matter to give up the booze for an extended period - I salute you sir. And thanks for writing about it in such an honest and elegant manner.
Your observations struck a reverberating chord. I've had similar thoughts over the past few months; not that I'd ever let anything as wretched as Stella touch my lips, mind But aside from the sociable melee that is a post-MGS night out (and even then I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary to sink double-digit pints) I've radically changed my attitude to beer.
Oh we're still madly in love, Ale and I. It's just that, as with my running, I've found 'less is more' to be a pretty good mantra. Yesterday I sloped off for a crafty round in the glorious sunshine with Captain Tom. Three and a half hours struggling with a rusty golf swing and foolish expectations in welcome warm conditions. We agreed to nip into the clubhouse for a swift pint - both driving so no imminent danger of a slippery slope. The club served up London Pride, a most agreeable summer ale. I really enjoyed the pint in the way that one does after toiling in the heat; it was very much a reward.
The main difference yesterday was I didn't want another. On Monday I opened a bottle of Timothy Taylor's as I wove my magic over the first barbie of the season. Again I relished the beer, enjoying every perfectly prepared, slightly chilled golden mouthful. It dawned on me this was my first pint in over a week. I've driven to the last two MGS golf days (voluntarily) and as a result restricted myself to a solitary beer with the meal. There's a lot to be said for making 'having a beer' a treat; you certainly appreciate those moments when they are fewer and further between.
Sure, that's all fine so long as you can manage the 'side-affects' - peanuts and inappropriate late-night sandwich-making are my own post-ale peccadillos. But if you can, and can also block out those Sirens of the Second and Third Pint it's a fine alternative to abstainance. I understand, admire and respect EGs decision, particularly as I know he appreciates a decent ale. Good luck mate. After four weeks you'll have earned a beer, and in all probability learned to love it again.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Aye. It gets bigger when you look at the first week in June on your calender and see lying there, all vagrant-like and unshaven: 'Girlschool 30th Anniversary Reunion, Bournmouth'
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
So, Nottingham bound...El G I have every faith in you, you will do it , Ever thought of doing a walk/run marathon? Bloke in our office is training for the New York using that method at the moment, (come to think of it, thats exactly what I was doing in the FLM for the last couple of miles).
I have sworn myself off beer until Sunday night, however, Im going with the kids to see Joe Satriani tomorrow night, so might have to have a pint, the Apollo is not the sort of place to ask for a G & T :-)
So QPR have landed Mr Incredible in their bid to turn the football world hooped. I know he's well thought of down Loftus Road way, and with that armour-piercing stare Mr Dowie will no doubt get the most from whatever squad he winds up with come September.
Best of luck.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
If the QPR messageboards are anything to go by, Dowie isn't that well thought of! But there again, too many of my fellow long-sufferers have got way ahead of themselves. For some of the deluded, only Mourinho and above will do.
I seem to recall urging Nigel to embrace the possibility of Dowie becoming West Ham supremo, though he wasn't having it. I've always rather liked the fellow, or at least since the day we lost 5-0 at Preston, when he remonstrated with me about some abuse I was directing towards Gerry Francis. But that's another story... I'm happy about it. Enough of these slinky Italians in exotic suits. Time for a bit of grit...
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
I see ergonomics, Koi and lusty fruit compot on the horizon. Warm?
I do hope so.
Beware the urge to post 'little and often'. Although I confess to cursing and hurling a pen or pencil at my screen when there's no main page update the quality still far outweighs - and outscores - the quantity in this hallowed corner of the site. My case rests comfortably on the flabby pile of regular dull posts festering in my own diary. I once wrote (at the start of, ironically, a rather more interesting piece) 'lazy running, lazy writing'. Whilst I'd offer a robust defence of the first charge I fear I stand head-hung, shoe-scuffing guilty of the second.
I should revisit my own running mantra from time to time; less most certainly can be more
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Sweder Wrote:I see ergonomics, Koi and lusty fruit compot on the horizon. Warm?
I do hope so.
Well, you see right-ish but there's no reason to expect you to guess the trifling tales attached to these items. (Is that a koi? It was supposed to be a shubunkin...)
Sweder Wrote:Beware the urge to post 'little and often'. Although I confess to cursing and hurling a pen or pencil at my screen when there's no main page update the quality still far outweighs - and outscores - the quantity in this hallowed corner of the site. My case rests comfortably on the flabby pile of regular dull posts festering in my own diary. I once wrote (at the start of, ironically, a rather more interesting piece) 'lazy running, lazy writing'. Whilst I'd offer a robust defence of the first charge I fear I stand head-hung, shoe-scuffing guilty of the second.
I should revisit my own running mantra from time to time; less most certainly can be more
As usual you are too kind to me, and too hard on yourself. I look as enviously on your stuff as you claim to look on mine. I think a lot of it is just a difference in style -- we get used to our own, and familiarity breeds contempt... Everyone else seems more interesting than ourselves sometimes. Moyleman for instance, I know doesn't regard himself as a particularly literary type but he gives me an insight into what it is to be (by my standards) a 'good runner', and I find his stuff strangely compelling as a result. It would be unfair to go through people in turn, but suffice to say, I enjoy all of it.
And as for 'good writing', I hope people follow your example and make the occasional visit to http://roadsofstone.com/ where all sorts of fascinating writing can be had, not least of all from the Swede himself who plays an excellent supporting role to the much-missed Man With No Permissible Name.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
I love the diverse nature of the writing here. Not knowing who's posted and what curious subjects they've covered makes the opening of the forum like the opening of a surprise gift.
The lazy writing thing is a bugbear of mine and it was meant to apply solely to me. I think there's something to be said for those who post less frequently; their stuff always seems fresh and interesting. Those of us who post almost daily can easily become repetitive and stale. It's akin to getting fed up with the sound of one's own voice. Oops, there I go again :o
The Man With Many Names has travelled far since setting sail from these humble shores. His work is appreciated globally, and rightly so. The detail in his work and the rich knowledge and appreciation that underpins it is to be admired and enjoyed. Plus some of his subject matter sparks fierce debate which can be great fun, especially when one is tagged 'eco-fascists' as he and I were recently
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Nice work EG - didn't really take that long to regain that endurance fitness did it?
Re the iPlods, I have to say I don't miss them at all in races, despite them - as you say - having a very positive effect on training runs. I think races are such a different world that it seems a shame (not to mention antisocial and downright flippin' dangerous) to cocoon one's self in your little training mode world when you have people all around to interact with.
Fantastic devices for training, but really they have no place in races, and for basically the same reason mp3-device-wearing is banned for cyclists (well, here at least it is) - it reduces your awareness and makes you a hazard.
I'm with you on the race-use Cobber; no place for 'em.
90% of the donuts tripping me up in Brussels were iplod-wearers.
Blame Nike (always a good target) for introducing their Nike+ shoe-linked technology. A lot of people swear by it, my mate Ronan included. I have to say the interface is brilliant, all sorts of wizardry to help plan training schedules, develop music patterns for different training runs and a superbly cross-referenced, user-friendly history program.
Problem is come race day you're so used to running to the beat you need to wear the darned thing to get through the race, spacial awareness goes out the window and old goats like me bleat long and hard about the inequities of encroaching technologies.
Thanks for the lend of your soap box; I'll get me bear skin and cudgel.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
I'd meant to compliment you on laying some serious groundwork.
I see you've pondered the question of music as an aid and, right again, if its absence on race day will prove deflating. I had a similar problem a while back. My calf had been giving me gyp so I'd taken to wearing leggings. The feeling of fairly tight material wrapped around the errant muscle was reassuring. As the weather improved and temperatures rose I faced a dilemma; to go back to shorts and 'risk exposing' my calf? Or battle on with the leggings?
Obviously the latter was the road to madness; running the Seaford half in +20 degrees over a tough hilly course is warm enough in the flimsiest gear. So I took the plunge and unleashed the legs. Turns out it was pretty much all in my head, and after a few outings I'd forgotten about it.
Perhaps the best approach is the one most often suggested; mix things up. One day an elctro-megamix, another an edition of Fighting Talk, then perhaps one without earphones. You may find a drop in performance but it'll help deal with the threat of dependence.
Good on you for having a beer and take-away. See? You didn't turn into a pumpkin overnight; in fact you're going really well. MLCMan has a point; cutting out the ale altogether could be detrimental
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Thanks for the kind words. I didn't mean to suggest that I could become addicted enough to use an iPod in a race -- even if I started using these tracks regularly in training I'm too committed to the anti-MP3-player-in-races standpoint to consider backtracking. I've had several run-ins with RW correspondents on the subject, to the point where I know all my opponents' arguments off by heart and each one can be countered easily. In fact, I've repeated myself so often on this subject that I feel I should write an article about it and just refer people to it.
The point I wanted to make is that I can see how these sorts of long, regular-pace tracks can become so compelling and so effective, and this may explain why people get so emotional when they are faced with the suggestion that they shouldn't use them in races. It's like telling smokers that they can't smoke in pubs. I genuinely think that it's an addiction, and like all addicts they pull out the same old arguments [which I just started to list, but no, I'll keep them for my article if I ever write it].
Anyway, Sweder's right, that the best approach is to mix things up a bit as i can see this stuff could get deadly dull after a while. Unfortunately I've had little success with my portable DAB radio: reception is infuriatingly patchy. I occasionally download radio show MP3s and podcasts for a bit of variety, but it's quick and easy to just rely on the usual formula.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
But aside from the sociable melee that is a post-MGS night out (and even then I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary to sink double-digit pints) I've radically changed my attitude to beer.
