Deadcember?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Nineteen seventy eight. Thirty five long years ago. I was a gangly youth back then suffering through my first job with a major bank, learning (rapidly) that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was; that the world didn’t seem to want to offer me any favours; and that it wasn’t a good idea to make enemies of people who had power over me. All this meant that life was somewhat miserable, and I found myself living for the weekends, and also realising that this was no way to enjoy, or get ahead in life.

One of my solaces was cricket, but even that was a wretched affair back then...Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket had robbed the Australian official test team of its best players, and what was effectively our second XI was being summarily slaughtered by the West Indies, and then again by England. That England side of the summer of 1978/79 was one of the greatest. The top six were Boycott, Gooch, Randall, Brearley, Gower and Botham, and as well as Botham the bowling attack included the likes of Bob Willis and Peter Lever. In response, Australia could muster only a second-rate side. With our best players – the Chappell brothers, Lillee, Thompson, Rod Marsh etc. all contracted to Kerry Packer and therefore banned from representing Australia, we had very few class players to choose from. Of the side that took on England that year only Kim Hughes and Rodney Hogg are still household cricketing names today.

The second test of the Ashes series was played in Perth just prior to Christmas, and England had no trouble then accounting for the Aussies, winning by 166 runs. My Christmas was ruined. The cricketing depths of despair then were as keenly felt by me as the wretchedness of my job at the bank.

I wasn’t to know it then of course, but that was to be the very last time England would win a test match in Perth. Followers of cricket will now understand the relevance of this post - England go to the third test on Friday in Perth two-nil down in the current series and needing to win to keep the series alive. And they do so without a Geoffrey Boycott or an Ian Botham in the team, and with 35 years of history against them. To add to their torment, each day of the five-day match is forecast to be 38C or higher. For this, and a variety of other cricketing reasons, it will be decidedly unpleasant for the visitors.

I mention all this only to make me feel better, because since recovering from the Achilles/calf strain, I’ve been laid low with hay fever that has given me swollen, painful joints, a constantly bleeding nose (for four days!) and annoyingly clogged, waxy ears. This morning I did feel well enough to climb into the running shoes again, but after only half an hour of very careful jogging my left calf was once more very sore and left me in some doubt as to what the hell is going on with my legs.

The only solution I can see is to rest and treat it still further, and to take some solace in the cricket. With 123 days to go until the Canberra marathon I at least have the luxury of time on my side. Even so, it’s annoying to be waylaid by calf soreness which has no apparent raison d’etre.

So, for the moment, I’ll sit back and enjoy the current resurgence of Australian cricket. Hopefully normal MLCMM running service will resume in the near future... stay tuned, especially you cricket fans.

[marathondan]

When you see a thread title like that, 10 days into the month, you know it's not going to be good news. Hang in there - as you know, there's nothing much you can do except wait it out. At least the hay fever is forcing you to rest the calf a bit longer. Strange that the calf issue should pop out of nowhere, but I guess it's P2P post-traumatic stress.

[Sweder]

Perhaps you made some subconscious Faustian agreement back there in Hobart?
Traded in your running soul for the Greater National Sporting Good? What else can explain this outrageous reversal of fortunes?

I know. You see, England really aren't very good. They haven't been for some time, in fact. We have for some time been greatly flattered by the dependable Cook, the redoubtable Bell and the enigmatic Petersen. Cook is off the boil, Pietersen has drowned in his own hubris and Bell stands alone, bereft of support. That and Mitchell Johnson's Mo, have done for the Old Country.

Andy Flower is 'not frightened' to ring the changes for Perth. I understand Botham and Boycott are both on hand, but that Willis has a side strain. We can but hope. It is amazing what confidence can do in sport. If you've run 26.2 miles and not keeled over in the process you know you can do it. That certain knowledge allows us to broaden our horizons, think about times, about 'winning'. Australia, like Arsenal and Liverpool in the EPL this season, have hauled themselves out of the pit. They've backed themselves, played their own, in your case aggressive, brand of the game and asked questions of the opposition. Fortune favours the brave, and it will favour the Aussies, as I sincerely hope it does Arsenal.

Excuse my facetious remarks vis a vis your condition, mate. I have nothing but sympathy, having suffered a most cruel bout of calf cramps in recent days. The old adage about resting fully after a tough race applies doubly so to P2P, it seems. By our own admission well under done, we asked a lot of our ageing legs that day. No surprise then that they are now in revolt. Rest well. Starting your Canberra campaign healthy is vital. I face ugly time pressures with my own Spring challenge. Accutely aware of the long road ahead there are no short cuts. I'd love to bash out 12 hilly miles this Sunday. My schedule, albeit only in my head for now, demands it. But it ain't gonna happen, and neither should it. Rest. Rest. Eat well, drink responsibly, and rest.

May the road rise to meet you, all in good time.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I trust everyone has had/is having a brilliant Christmas. Down here we've had mixed weather for the festive period, with Christmas Day itself wet and dreary here in Sydney, though it was of course put into perspective with the news of the wild weather in Europe... I hope and trust that all Euro RCers survived intact?

But now onto the serious stuff. After a couple of weeks of rest and recuperation my legs feel pretty much back to normal, so tomorrow morning I begin (restart) my Canberra marathon training campaign in earnest, with a short test run to see how the legs are. With sixteen weeks to race day it's important to get started as soon as poss, and I'll be starting in a post-Christmas full paunch ... I'm at my heaviest and probably flabbiest in over three years, so I'm really starting from scratch, although in some ways this makes it all the more exciting. The prospect of getting back into some serious fitness is quite exhilarating, and I'm genuinely looking forward to it.

Today however (Boxing Day) I'm feeling "lethargic" after yesterday's festivities, and there's another family bash to attend in a little over an hour's time. Whilst I'll have a drink or two, I'm mindful of the run tomorrow morning and will start toning things down from here on.

Looking around me though, with the Christmas left overs still plentiful in terms of both quantity and calories, it will need to be a gradual transition from over-indulgence to healthy living again. It could be interesting.

Meantime, there's also the not-so-small matter of the Boxing Day Ashes test match that requires watching. Life's not so bad here!

All the best to everyone, and I'll report back tomorrow on the first run of the campaign.

[Antonio247]

Gracias, MlCMM. I also wish you all the best for Christmas season and the next year.

Best of luck with your marathon training! Although you may feel not fit enough now, I'm sure you'll do all you can to be very fit for Camberra marathon.

Best wishes

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Thanks Antonio! Am actually pleased to be able to report a satisfactory run today. Just half an hour at a gentle pace, but no problems with the calf, so it's all green lights from here.

More soon!

[Sweder]

This is good news indeed. Nice to see your fortunes inextricably linked to those of the England team *counts chickens way too early*