2014

[marathondan]

Thanks MLCMM. In fact what I should do make some beer. The last batch of porter went down well. Contrary to what most recipes say, it benefits from a couple of months before drinking. So I should get a little winter warmer underway now. A complex ale it isn't, but it goes some way to hitting the spot. Apart from the head, which tends to resemble a washing machine accident.

On to tonight's run. A busy week meant I was behind, so nipped out for a Saturday night tempo effort around the field. The planned distance was up to 5 miles, so to keep me motivated, I decided it was time to go back to that old indulgence - the tempo playlist. This is one of the few types of run where I really benefit from music (the other being the end of a long slow effort). So I quickly pulled some upbeat tracks onto the player and set off into the night.

Much as we like running, mental games to keep the mind off the discomfort are always useful. And a new one came to me tonight. With the player on shuffle, I would try and create a mental picture (a la Mrs Brown Went to Town, etc) to remember which songs came up. So as I have nothing better to do before Match of the Day, I will share it with you now.

As the family had been reclining in front of Strictly earlier in the evening, it was a Strictly-themed mental picture. A sandman was doing a waltz in a jungle set. Bruno gave his verdict: "Sweet action!" Len was less impressed: "Sling yer hook!"

The next number was highly produced, and involved aliens descending in a flying saucer. Waste paper blew around the floor as a plane was scrambled to intercept.

Then we had exactly the same waltz again. Flipping cheap rubbish mp3 player.

Finally the show is over, and we cut to backstage. Len, bow tie undone, relaxes in a pair of white snake-skin slippers and puffs on a cigar. "Ah, bloody luxury!" he sighs. Resplendent also in leopard-skin dressing gown, he leans back - rock, rock, goes the chair.

Anyway, the game did the trick, taking my mind off my excitable lungs and heart, keeping each of the miles below the 8 minute mark.

Any now here's the exciting part. You, the reader also with too much time on your hands, and with prior knowledge of my taste in music, should be able to recreate my playlist.

Don't worry if you don't want to play, I'll just carry on doing it for my own amusement.

Tracklist:

1.
2. & 8. (same track)
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6.
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9.
10.