October 2006

[marathondan]

8th October 2006 - Not the Henley Half Marathon

With the start line little more than a 10K from home, the family set off about 9.20 for a 10.00 start. The support team would drop me off at the start, then make use of the local coffee shops and playgrounds before cheering me home to a glorious sub-1.45 finish. (On next to no training. While dodging flying pigs.)

Our last experience of Henley was an aborted meal at a restaurant, when we inadvertently tried to get into town in Regatta week, and ended up stuck in an inpenetrable traffic jam. This morning, as we recognised the bend where we got stuck before, I quipped that apparently 1,500 lumbering amateurs plodding round the town for two hours doesn't have quite the same draw as the world-famous Henley Regatta.

Not so.

Half a mile later and we were in a solid queue of traffic. 9.30 on a Sunday morning, and a country road is in gridlock. I think that the offender is the town bridge, and we should have taken a longer route and approached from north of the river. Anyway, we stewed for about 5 minutes, and then faced the options:

(1) Turn round and try and approach from a different direction.
(2) Me get out and walk the estimated couple of miles to the start, family go home.
(3) Give it all up as a bad job.

We doubted we had time for (1). (2) was a possibility, but with No. 1 son already expressing his frustration and boredom, and No. 1 daughter communicating an unknown complaint in the only way that a four-month-old can, the missus was already climbing the car walls at the prospect of me exiting in this unplanned and stress-increasing manner. The only reasonable course of action: abort mission.

GRRR.

I don't ask for much in life. I accept that I don't have much time to train. (The best I managed was 7 miles a couple of weeks ago.) I just wanted the chance to inflict pain on my under-trained body for a couple of hours. But even this masochistic pleasure was denied me.

So I was pretty pissed off for a couple of hours, like a child who's been promised a day out, and then, er, the family gets stuck in a traffic jam and they have to go home. OK, so I was like a child. But in the end I had a nice relaxed day with the family. I was knackered enough in the afternoon just from normal life; with 13.1 miles on the clock I would have been a zombie. Worse things happen at sea. Just disappointed to have pulled out of a race for the first time ever.

Marlow half is next month. My normal route into Marlow involves the town bridge, and I shall not be going that way.

Cross-training of the 5-a-side kind resumes tonight, so look forward to more reports of not running soon.

[Bierzo Baggie]

8th October 2006 - Not the Henley Half Marathon
Cross-training of the 5-a-side kind resumes tonight, so look forward to more reports of not running soon.

Glad to hear it. If you can avoid injuries the football may well be good for improving speed. I’m increasingly convinced of this. Enjoy it while you can!

Hope you make the next half... what you describe above sounds disturbingly familiar:o

[marathondan]

If you can avoid injuries the football may well be good for improving speed. I’m increasingly convinced of this. Enjoy it while you can!

Hmm, we'll see whether I take that advice or not. Last Tuesday saw a depressing 14-7 reverse for the A-team against fairly average opposition. I was slow and creaky, and made little contribution except passing to the opposing keeper many times when I should have been shooting or crossing.

Then Saturday night I went out for a medium run, with a hamstring and groin still complaining from the football. For the first time since post-marathon blues, I gave up and walked (I was also distracted by the MP3 player - never again!) and got home resolving to give up the football for good -- the main arguments being my lack of ball skills, and that while I could maybe see off some of my opponents over 10 miles, over 10 yards I'm generally a poor second.

Then, bumping into a few team-mates, positive comments from Mr B. Baggie, and the fact that today my legs are completely fresh (I wanted to walk up the five flights of stairs at work), might make me reconsider. But Saturday night was so crap that I'm not sure.

Anyway, cheers BB - good luck in your next venture! (What's the distance? Looks hilly!)

Less than 3 weeks to Marlow half. Might try a run tonight.