Oktoba

[Sweder]

Here we are, then; autumn.
What a fabulous month to get back into running.

Started off on Sunday with a Twitten Run followed by coffee and the short drive to the start of the Moyleman to join Team Baz for the Lewes Downland 5. This is pretty much my old training run to Black Cap, so familiar territory. The Twittens was as ghastly as twelve consecutive hill sprints can be. Duncan and Rob were my companions. They are as far from me in terms of fitness as Lewes FC are from the Premier League. This disparity resulted in them getting a breather at the top of each climb as I chugged in like a late Southern Rail train. Plus ca change. 

The LD5 was a fun affair. Baz The Haff, the Lewes FC Club Shop proprietor and all-round good egg, had set himself the challenge of running a 10k before Christmas. Baz, like a few of us, could lose a few pounds. Unlike most of us though, Baz suffers from crippling arthritis, so this is a proper challenge.

His goal this day was to break 60 minutes. Our aim was to keep him moving, keep his spirits up and not have to work too hard after the bastard Twittens. Tom Roper of this Parrish was along for the Big One, the Lewes Downland 10. The race forms part of the local AC Season, and Tom was out to bag points for his beloved Seaford Striders. The tale of Baz's journey is well told here by Charliecat. All I have to add is, yes, we did serenade him at key moments, including a fine rendition of When The Baz Goes Marching In (BtH is a Spurs fan), and a cracking blast of Rawhide as we entered the last field. 

   

This morning I took off for another visit to the Cap, this time accompanied by the furry Velociraptors. It was painfully slow, of course, which matters not a jot. Time on the feet, regulated breathing and placing one foot in front of the other is all this was about. 8.4 kilometres in a shade under the hour. Good work on the long road back.

[Sweder]

Que Pasa? as they are wont to say down Mexico way.
Pasa Nada, Amigos.

Almost two weeks in the Yucatan peninsular and not a single step on the road to Almeria.
This is partly due to intense pressure of work, partly concerns about fitness/ injury/ general health. I've not felt terribly well of late. There are a number of seasonal ailments doing the rounds, the common cold seemingly behind most of the them. CharlieCat mentioned this a while back. It's not earth-shattering, yet one's will to run is well and truly sapped.

I hit the Lewes Twittens this past Sunday, marking the 48th edition, alongside Tom Roper and That Coach Nick. Nick had been out for a plod and found himself arriving at our departure point on the stroke of nine. We invited him along and set off, we three, in search of hill sprints. It went well enough, despite a wee niggle in my right hamstring that felt more like a trapped nerve than muscle damage. I felt good about getting round, but remain less than certain about my current fitness.

Home now for a week or two, I plan to get out for some medium distances in the hills. Cooler, damper weather usually plays into my hands, though I'm looking forward to the clocks 'falling' back next weekend. I'm also planning to work in a daily nap. I know SP swears by them, though he seems to have been on one now for a year or more.

   

[Sweder]

Update. Plenty of short outings, nothing spectacular, or catastrophic, to report. Circuits of the Chalk Pits with a nod to the Moyleman start, consecutive Twitten runs and a (slow) return to Bevendean ParkRun. Averaging a run every two days, about maximum for me. Nothing over 5k though.

A niggle here and there but of greatest concern is my poor recovery time, especially on the hill sprints. I feel I've lost lung capacity, as if a section of the bellows has been restricted in some way. This might be lingering lurghie - there's a lot of seasonal coughs & sneezles about, marked by a continuous, unsociable need to clear one's pipes. Or it could be my dormant asthma making a come-back. If it persists I'll see the Doc. Can't be too careful in the middling years.
On, on ...

Meanwhile, my good friend Charlicat has disappeared over the autumnal horizon, kicking up a golden-brown trail I'm in no shape to follow. He is 'going well', I am assured by Radar, Mary-Louise of this Parrish. She has assumed my mantle as Cat Chaser, herself recovering from the same op, abdominal hernia, that laid me low. We caught up at Ground Coffee this past Saturday, where M-L interviewed me for a piece she's writing on Chris and the origins of the Moyleman.

[glaconman]

Good work Sweder. It's a magnificent time of year.

I've also been laid-low of late by a virus. So I'm stepping-off the conveyor belt of training and racing. In it's place I'm going to enjoy longer, slower runs where I can drink-in the cold, musky air of Autumn and just enjoy being healthy again and outside. It feels right somehow to change-down.

Have patience, listen to your body and enjoy whatever running feels right.

[Sweder]

Have patience, listen to your body and enjoy whatever running feels right.

Aye, I'm doing a lot more of that of late. Mortality; it's a right sod.