2010, January: the road to Molly Malone's

[Sweder]

actually, I´m a nearly complete teetotaler although when you all come here, I drink nealy all the alcohol I have in one year.

Oh, we have so much to answer for!

[El Gordo]

actually, I´m a nearly complete teetotaler although when you all come here, I drink nealy all the alcohol I have in one year.

Oh, we have so much to answer for!

Crikey, a year's supply of alcohol in one weekend. That's very impressive.

[marathondan]

EG, I just viewed your tweetpic. I see the gym work is going well.

   

[El Gordo]

EG, I just viewed your tweetpic. I see the gym work is going well.

The gym work would be fine I'm sure -- if I could get there!

Today was a complete write-off which was fine as it was down as a rest day. I'll see how things look tomorrow. I might be able to get out for some sort of Frankenstein's monster-type totter. Depends on whether there's ice underneath the snow, which has been very heavy down here -- and presumably in Maidenhead?

[Sweder]

Don't know about Maidenhead but Lewes is a chocolate box scene this morning. Thick blanket of snow, minus 5 Celcius, blue skies and strong sunshine. Perfect running weather provided I can work out the lesser of two evils: lethal ice on the pavements througth the town or booby-trapped rabbit holes on the downs. I have a feeling the downs might win this one ...

I spent much of yesterday driving Mrs Cap'n Tom around Lewes (she's a District Nurse) to administer insulin to house-bound, elderly diabetics. The NHS didn't have access to 4WD vehicles for the purpose, as sad an indictment on our general state of readiness in this country as it is on our much-maligned health service.

[marathondan]

East Berks not as bad as West - we got about 4-5 inches here, with promises of more so far unfulfilled. Managed 2.5 miles on Weds night on crunchy pavements and passable main roads; distinctly nippy. Won't be a successful week running-wise I fear.

[glaconman]

Don't want to sound smug or a smart-arse (me?!) but I've had an amazing week of off-road running and cycling.

Mon and tues was a run-train-run-work-run-train-run commute.
Thur and Fri was a cycle-train-cycle-work-cycle-train-cycle commute.

I haven't had the worry of whether I'll get home or if I'll have a prang. The snow has been crisp and cold; perfect for running with good treads or nobbly tires. It's been both beautiful and exhilerating. Particularly at night.

Having said that, I am somewhat knackered. Looking forward to doing nowt at the weekend Cross-country has been cancelled. Hurrah!

[El Gordo]

Don't want to sound smug or a smart-arse (me?!) but I've had an amazing week of off-road running and cycling.

Mon and tues was a run-train-run-work-run-train-run commute.
Thur and Fri was a cycle-train-cycle-work-cycle-train-cycle commute.

I haven't had the worry of whether I'll get home or if I'll have a prang. The snow has been crisp and cold; perfect for running with good treads or nobbly tires. It's been both beautiful and exhilerating. Particularly at night.

Having said that, I am somewhat knackered. Looking forward to doing nowt at the weekend Cross-country has been cancelled. Hurrah!

You forget one crucial detail, GM: we are arty-farty southern jessies.

[marathondan]

Mon and tues was a run-train-run-work-run-train-run commute.
Thur and Fri was a cycle-train-cycle-work-cycle-train-cycle commute.

Sounds great, well done for making the effort. Mebbe I should invest in some off-road shoes in time for next year.

[glaconman]

El G: well yes, there is that to be factored in. Do you still run wearing a cravat in your old school colours?

Dan: would recommend some off-roaders to have year-round. The choice these days is enormous. And the benefits of getting off-road are of equal magnitude. I know you've got many comittments; but do try and give it a go.

[Sweder]

I'm on a quest for new offies myself; tried like-for-like replacement but Mizuno Wave Harriers have evolved (WH2) & they're rare as hen's teeth just now. Most upsetting as I love my Mizzies but they are actually coming apart at the seams now. EG's policy of hoarding several pairs of a favorite shoe - the Marcos theory - is shown to be a masterstroke.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

EG's policy of hoarding several pairs of a favorite shoe - the Marcos theory - is shown to be a masterstroke.

According to a Runner's World article I once read, this actually backfires, as the compounds shoe manufacturers use for cushioning start breaking down after about 12 months whether the shoe is used or not.

I've no idea how true this is of course. Where's Riazor Blue when you need him - he would know, wouldn't he? BB, do you still see him at all?

Have you noticed any problem with hoarding shoes, EG?

[El Gordo]

EG's policy of hoarding several pairs of a favorite shoe - the Marcos theory - is shown to be a masterstroke.

According to a Runner's World article I once read, this actually backfires, as the compounds shoe manufacturers use for cushioning start breaking down after about 12 months whether the shoe is used or not.

I've no idea how true this is of course. Where's Riazor Blue when you need him - he would know, wouldn't he? BB, do you still see him at all?

Have you noticed any problem with hoarding shoes, EG?

Hard to say. Since reading the same thing -- that EVA in shoes has a shelf life -- I've sort of believed stored shoes to be not as good as newly-bought ones, but this may well be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The perception that they've deteriorated is the same as the actual. Still sounds a bit ludicrous to me though, and I can report that there's no very obvious manifestation of the problem. If it was true that shoes started deteriorating within a short period (a year, apparently), wouldn't they be stamped with a date of manufacture and a 'use by' date?

I suspect, like a lot of things, there might be a grain of truth in it, but that it's been encouraged to turn into a bigger truth by the marketing people who don't want people hoarding shoes bought on cheap deals.

In other words, I've no idea.

[Sweder]

Bollocks. Time to hit the wine stocks before working out next course of action.
Be kind to yourself for a bit.

[El Gordo]

Bollocks. Time to hit the wine stocks before working out next course of action.
Be kind to yourself for a bit.

Thanks, but I've been 'kind' to myself for a few weeks now, which may have contributed to the problem. Not sure how kind it is!

Will see what Phil the sports torturer, er, therapist, says tomorrow.

[El Gordo]

Just re-uploaded current entry. I had added changed it and added a bit, but managed to put up the wrong one.

[stillwaddler]

Oh Bu***r El G, what rotten luck, I hope you can get your calf sorted soon. Have you got a bullet you can bite on while the nasty physio does his worst?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The calf gone again, EG? Bugger. Have you tried a podiatrist? A good one will find the underlying problem. Geniuses.

[El Gordo]

Oh Bu***r El G, what rotten luck, I hope you can get your calf sorted soon. Have you got a bullet you can bite on while the nasty physio does his worst?

If I had a bullet, I would put myself down.....

[El Gordo]

The calf gone again, EG? Bugger. Have you tried a podiatrist? A good one will find the underlying problem. Geniuses.

Thanks - might be worth trying. I'll have a chat with the sports therapist tomorrow and see what he says. I did see a podiatrist a few years back (hang on... July 11 2002 -- wow, some coincidence: the entry when I last mentioned David Coleman's remark about Juantorena opening his legs and showing his class. How about that? And it contains a joke I'm proud of - about the cows being so old they were still in black and white - ha! Er, but I digress....).... and came away with a recommendation to buy some New Balance 854s, a brand of shoes I wore happily for several years without any calf trouble, so who knows...? Might be a good idea. At the very least I should get some gait analysis done I reckon. Will report back after tomorrow.

Must say, the calf is nothing like as painful as last year. It only hurts sharply when I bend my toes -- or stand on tiptoes, if that helps to explain it. I can walk around OK, but I can't run on it as I have to push off on my front foot. I have wondered if wearing my neoprene calf strap, as I have done for the last year, helped to prevent it being worse. Even though it 'went' again, having that support straight away was probably a good thing.

I will definitely recover, I've no doubt, but just don't want to miss too much preparation for the spring races.