June 2013

[Sweder]

It seems churlish to launch a new thread when so little has happened.
Well, quite a lot has happened in my world lately, it's just that so little relates to running. Currently on the tail-end of a mild chest infection I plan to return to the trails this week. Gentle outings over sun-stroked hills, chasing pink-tinged clouds into the west, appeals more than I can say after a month defined by the words may-be, may-day and may-hem.

P2P looms large, my Mount Doom spinning inexorably closer, albeit at glacial pace.
There is time enough to train, but a start must be made.
Here it is.

On, on.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Gentle outings over sun-stroked hills, chasing pink-tinged clouds into the west

This sounds very promising... I think we've all missed you!

[Sweder]

How cruel the running gods can be!

Seems like days ago I was cavorting towards the Brighton Marathon on a wave of optimism and legs of coiled spring. Today's modest outing, a four mile wobble under a bright morning sun, laid the hard truth bare. Gravity sucked at my heavy bones, dragging me earthward with every weary step. The dial barely brushed eight minute mile pace, even on the wind-assisted downhills. Lumbering through the shaded woodland I came upon the fallen tree. I made as if to leap the stricken bough, only to catch myself on top before teetering forward. I stumbled on, shocked at the failure of my lifeless pins.

My last mile felt like the end of the Stinger. I heaved in, eyes rolling, bathed in sweat, gasping for air.
That mountain seems more than half a world away.

Track du jour (in my head): Eory Gallagher, Million Miles Away

[marathondan]

You know the drill, mate. A couple of weeks of base work and you'll be ready for the hard stuff. Some of that Brighton strength will still be there. Maybe we should learn to embrace these restarts - yes it's a blank page, but you know that you've already written many chapters, and that there will be more to come. How will this one turn out?

(Shame we couldn't have had a video of you trying to jump that tree, though )

By the way, I assume the Brighton-scuppering injury sorted itself out OK?

[Sweder]

By the way, I assume the Brighton-scuppering injury sorted itself out OK?

Three weeks of almost total rest (from running) have put paid to that. No flare-ups so far this week. Sunday may offer a sterner test, but more on that anon.

[glaconman]

These restarts can be difficult physically and psychologically.

But you have 2 different bases. One is the endurance stuff you've completed in the last month or two. But the other is all the running you've done over the last 10 years that has made your body stronger and more responsive to the training to come.

So just be methodical and enjoy the upward curve because it could be a swift and enjoyable one.

(Actually I've just para-phrased Dan. In fact I've even reused some of his key words. Good job this isn't an exam.)

[marathondan]

Good job this isn't an exam.

No, but Sweder's coursework has to be in in 5 months time

(Actually Sweder, that's a long time - don't peak too early!)

(As if, I hear you say)

[Sweder]

(Actually Sweder, that's a long time - don't peak too early!)

Very droll

[Sweder]

Jogged round in 2:04:46 (chip time & watch time)
Report to follow.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Rory Gallagher ... what a talent! Thanks, Sweder, not seen that clip before.

Good to see you out there running again too. Looking forward to the Seaford report.

[Sweder]

My lungs. Goodness me, they're like over-used tea-bags, dried out, chucked in the bin and retrieved by the cat for mouse-shredding practice. Shocking. I barked like a dog all night and again at 6 this morning as I stirred my porridge.

Then there's the legs. Tired, though recently rested, spared a Brighton Marathon battering by an untimely haematoma. Yet undeniably undercooked. Expectations very much on the low side in the pre-race gloom.

Running newbie and fellow Rooks fan Rob Read was looking forward to his first Seaford Half. This would be my sixth - or seventh, I'm not really sure. The idea was for me to pace Rob round and generally offer advice on course management. For three out of the first four miles the only way is up. Then there's a bit of a rollercoaster, a flash through Alfriston and a gentle meander along the banks of the Cuckmere. This is where you recover, recharge and prepare for the final assault, a brutal climb up the back of Seaford Head before a helter-skelter plummet back to the seafront. It's no P2P but it's still one of the toughest halfs I've run.

Just under two miles in we were standing still. The usual congestion at one of the styles had ground into rush-hour stasis. With a record turn-out the slurry of eager humans was too much for the early narrows. People muttered and tutted, checked and re-checked their watches. Rob's post-race Running App splits showed we lost a good three minutes thanks to Gategate. Agitation filled the cool morning air but it didn't hang around long. A beastly nor'easterly raced in to cool us, whipping into our panting faces as we quick-stepped up onto the South Downs Way.

We took the drop into Alfriston at full gallop, clocking 6'45" pace as we hurtled down the cinder track into town. At the switchback I spied Tom Roper, sadly spectating this year thanks to a badly inflated knee. We hailed one another and then I was gone, thrown into a sharp left-hander and on, on to the heavily rutted riverbank trail. Nettles and dock-leaves grew like Jurassic flora, at times smothering the path so that those with bare legs felt as if we were part of a science project. See the runners get stung! See the dock-leaves ease their pain! Styles and bridges came and went as we closed in on the Golden Galleon and the last hurrah.

I felt OK. My breathing settled down - after I'd expelled a fair amount of lung-butter - and my legs behaved, right up to the final haul when both calves, equally, expressed disgruntlement with the workload. My time of 2:04:46 was five minutes quicker than I'd hoped for. Rob was barely two minutes behind, a fine debut on a challenging course. Now I'm popping Ibuprofen to ward off the inevitable and trying to keep the alien in my chest under control.

   
Medals! Rob & Sweder

[marathondan]

Sounds like a good way to get back into the swing of things. Well done for deciding to go for it. And of course congratulations on a none too shabby achievement, with no preparation. I guess you'll need to get over the Bob Fleming impressions before you can really get to work. Which will allow you to rest those legs for a few days.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

You look pretty schmicko* for a a bloke who left his lungs behind. Good effort as ever, Sweder. Was that the official start of P2P training?

Congrats to new boy Rob, too.


*Strine (Australian) term for excellent; not to be confused in this instance with the Kalgoorlie Laundry Service of the same name.

[Antonio247]

Well done, S.! It must be really tough and with discomfort in your lungs and legs, it must be a real challenge.

Congratulations to Rob on his first Seaford half as well!

[Sweder]

Legs are Ok, a little soreness aside, but the chest is far from gruntled.
No matter, it's a start. In a few days I'm headed west for a mod-cons-free* week of rest and recuperation with Lady S. Looking forward to some leisurely seafront plods, a good deal of reading and evening walks to the Smugglers Inn.

*no telly, no interweb and barely a phone signal

[glaconman]

Glad you got this one done and put the miles in your legs. The week off the grid sounds fantastic.