2015 January is Go

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

January 1st, 2015. 4 a.m.
 
I live across the road from a busy train station, and the trains have been running all night at fifteen minute intervals to bring the New Year’s revelers home from the city. Now however, as I break into an uneasy run it is relatively quiet.
 
After  two weeks of (it must be said) slothful  but joyous carousing in the MLCMM household, it is time to shake off the traps of gluttony and return to a life of fitness and regular running. The 4 a.m. start is not due to some harsh self-flagellating training scheme but rather a 6 a.m. start at work. Working in the glamour industry of media and broadcasting is all well and good when rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous in the corridors of the broadcast centre, but at this hour of the morning, trying to get a run completed before another insanely early start, it all seems a little tres ordinaire.
 
Never mind that, I’m here to run, and run I did. It was actually a delightful morning for a plod, mild in temperature and with no wind or rain to concern me.  Despite my recent festive excesses, the run presented few problems, and for the most part was an enjoyable 5km jog around my local streets. I’m not saying if there was a choice I’d actually choose to run at this early hour, but when forced to do so by circumstance I’m always impressed by how much more enjoyable running in the middle of night actually is. Or at least appears to be. Perhaps I’m just trying to make the most of a difficult situation, but I rarely have a bad run at this time of ... day.
 
With dawn still a long way off, I happily complete my run, with the only unusual thing of note being two groups of young girls I passed obviously returning home from the night’s festivities. I wasn’t sure whether to be alarmed at the sight of girls roaming the streets at four in the morning or to be impressed that they thought it safe to do so.
 
I returned home to a large drink of cold water, a hot shower and the satisfaction of having started the year in good form with a clear head and five gentle kilometres already in the 2015 running log.
 
Happy new year to you all.

[marathondan]

What a fantastic start to the year! 4AM! Here's to 2015, MLCMM!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

My second run of the year wasn't nearly as much fun as the first. The sun was already well up at 6:30 a.m. when I headed out, and whilst it wasn't hot (24C), the wretched 98% humidity made this a very torrid affair, so much so that I cut the run short, completing only 4km, but returning home red as the proverbial beetroot and with enough heat pouring off me to power a small foundry and enough sweat to fill a toddler's wading pool. Unpleasant ... especially for the poor toddler.

It was pleasing however to actually complete a run of some sort. It has been too long since I was regularly running and I'm feeling fat, flabby and generally underdone in all departments. I've been missing that empowering feel-goodness you get when properly fit and want to get there again, and soon. And that is probably my only real running goal for the moment. I dare say that will involve being at a half-marathon-ready state of fitness, which is of course very handy, and seems to be about the right amount of running to balance personal fitness, family life and work necessities. So perhaps there's be a race or two later in the year, but for now fitness is my only true goal. So I'll run hopefully 3-4 times per week and just slowly ramp up the mileage to the point where I can do a decent weekly long run again.

So here's to another year of running; wherever that may lead.

[Sweder]

Well done for kick starting the year in fine fashion.

I'm so full of meds I've been up most nights. One advantage was I got to watch David Warner dismantle a lack-lustre Indian bowling attack in brutal fashion at the SCG. Pugnatious, powerful and, at 63 not out at lunch, poignant. Aussie have bred a very special opening bat.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Well done for kick starting the year in fine fashion.

I'm so full of meds I've been up most nights. One advantage was I got to watch David Warner dismantle a lack-lustre Indian bowling attack in brutal fashion at the SCG. Pugnatious, powerful and, at 63 not out at lunch, poignant. Aussie have bred a very special opening bat.

Yes there has been some fine cricket down this part of the world in recent days. I was thrilled to be able to see most of Sangakarra's 203 in and against New Zealand, which was rather special - he has more test double tons (11 of them!) than anyone other than Bradman. A phenomenal player. The series in South Africa against the West Indies has also not been without some entertainment and of course the Australian series against India has been chockers with great cricketing moments. And with the World Cup about to get under way we are more than unusually well catered for with cricket. Loving it!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Dang! After a promising start to the year I have been gazumped by stinking hot weather. Heat and humidity (oftentimes sitting at or near 100%) have made running near impossible in recent days, so I've had to content myself with sweaty bouts of television viewing: test cricket, T20 cricket, and numerous tennis tournaments which are now underway ahead of the Australian Open which begins soon.

Nevermind, these things happen. I've had a request from a former running partner (Next Door Andy, who sadly no longer lives next door) to re-visit some of our shared long runs of a couple of years ago, so I'll just have to get out there somehow and bank some mileage in order to take up the offer.

I also want to try out those new off-road shoes I bought at the post-Christmas sales.

Keen. Very keen, but need some slightly less humid weather.

I guess I'm just being a wimp. I blame society.

[stillwaddler]

Oh poor you - hot weather must be awful ;-) not that I'm jealous or anything. Have you got an nicely air conditioned gym so that you can hit the treddy for a few miles?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Oh poor you - hot weather must be awful ;-) not that I'm jealous or anything.  Have you got an nicely air conditioned gym so that you can hit the treddy for a few miles?

Oddly, we've been hit with cold, wintry weather in the last week or two. So much for global warming.

The short answer to your question is no, I have no gym membership and no treadmill access at all, so it's the highway or the couch way. Lately it's been too much of the latter. Well, i mean, with the cricket and tennis going full bottle, what's a man to do? Well, I've not been entirely couch-bound but I need to lift my game, pull my socks up and stop resorting to endless cliches.

In short, I need to run more.

Here we go.

Watch me.

[stillwaddler]

I'm watching :-)