Mixed mode capacity.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Just heard about the crash landing at Heathrow. One of those odd pieces of jargon they threw into the report was that Heathrow (as a result of the crash) was working on "mixed mode capacity". Which rather strangely is perhaps an apt description of my running this fine, antipodean summer. I have a whole new fitness regime now, of which running is just one part. And I have to say I'm enjoying it a whole lot more because of that. My only goal now is to finally, definitely, undeniably lose the flab that haunts my belly region, and to improve my upper body strength.

Sorry, my only two goals now are to finally, definitely etc. lose flab, and gain upper body strength. And I should add I guess, to run another half marathon at some stage this year... OK, OK, that's five goals ... (three Sire!) ... three goals, yes. Three goals.

(Deep breath). So, here we go again. Another wonderful Australian summer, and another crack at the old belly fat. I've never really had that much of it, and most people scoff when I even mention it, but it's a reality, and I'm sick of it. I'm not running enough to keep the weight off, but I'm enjoying my current levels of running, so I've added a heap of hill walking and weight training, which is mostly done in front of the telly, where I keep my remote control thumb fit by flicking between the cricket (India currently touring Oz) and the Australian Open tennis (why don't I just get two TVs?)... honestly, I love this time of year. It makes the treadmill seem like my best investment ever. Especially given the weather of late. I've just returned from 4 weeks in Adelaide, where it was hot enough to boil a monkey's bum. At one point we had 5 consecutive days over 40 degrees, including one day of 45 C (113 F). Noodles to say, no running done then, except to the beer fridge of course. I do love the hot weather, but after a few days of those extremes one develops a kind of death wish... anyway I'm back down south now where it's rarely ever really hot, so the running/walking/gym work routine is rather more regular.

That's enough for now. All the best to you Almeria runners ... can't wait (dare I say it?) to see the video.

Despedida mis amigos.

[El Gordo]

Thanks for the update, MLCM. Can't relate to that weather at all at the moment. We seem to have had dismal, grey wet weather for several years without a break.

I'm limping along - often literally, and certainly metaphorically. Lord knows where this will end -- or has it ended already? Hard to tell.

Almeria approaches with another new line-up. No Nigel or Suzie this time, but with some new boys, and girls, to induct, I'm sure it will be fun as always.

We'll send you a postcard.

[Antonio247]

It´s great to hear from you again, MLCM, and it´s wonderful that you do sport and enjoy running. We´ll miss you here in Almería as well as the other forumites who can´t come such as Suzie, Nigel, SP,JohnK, Stillwaddler, etc.

Andy, I hope you get better for Almería half. If you don´t feel very well, you´d better do the 10 km run or you can do the half on my bicycle. I don´t feel very well either since I´ve noticed some discomfort in the back of my knee. I went for a one hour run yesterday and I´m feeling better. Anyway, I´m going to see the phisiotherapist on Monday to have a massage. Therefore, an under two hour half is out of reach for me.

Today it is a wonderful springlike day. It´s very sunny and warm. 20º C but, as usual, next weekend may be very different. Please, don´t bring bad weather again.

Looking forward to meeting all of you in seven days.

Saludos desde Almería

[Sweder]

Good to hear from you Cobber. We'd like a shaving of that sunshine over this way; nothing but steel blue-grey skies and battering winds over Blighty.

Sounds like there are no takers for my sub-2 paced half next weekend which leaves me facing a dilemma. I'd reckoned on a (relatively) leisurely lope and haven't really geared up for a race so a PB for the course is highly unlikely. I'll just have to bloomin' well enjoy it then

[El Gordo]

Sounds like there are no takers for my sub-2 paced half next weekend which leaves me facing a dilemma. I'd reckoned on a (relatively) leisurely lope and haven't really geared up for a race so a PB for the course is highly unlikely. I'll just have to bloomin' well enjoy it then

Hold on, I could be up for a sub-2 hour effort.

We are talking about the 10K here, I hope?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Been feeling good of late, as the benefit of sustained running etc kicks in. And I no longer feel a pang of guilt as I pass the early morning keep fit group (with its weird assortment of odd-shaped and different-sized people) at the local sports ground on my way to work. Actually this morning was like a scene from a movie as I passed a quite extraordinary number of runners (as if there was a race on, albeit at 6 am on a Tuesday morning!) and the keep fit group at the sports ground had swelled in number to over a hundred. Quite bizarre - I can only think that with the simultaneous completion of the Australian Open tennis and the test series cricket against the touring Indians, people suddenly feel inspired to partake of some vigorous early morning activity...

Certainly the efforts of The Joker (ie Djokovich) and the exciting Tsonga have brought back a gloss of interest to the tennis world, with Federer and Nadal now looking perfectly beatable. In fact they took one hell of a beating, and in the process made mens' tennis suddenly much more interesting. Great stuff.

Meanwhile, the efforts of the Indians in stopping the Aussies in their tracks (just one match short of the world record winning streak) and the shock retirement of Adam Gilchrist likewise made the cricket world suddenly far less predictable. The talk here now is that the Australians have some serious work to do if they are to stand any chance of beating England in England next year. This is based on the fact that the Indians beat us hands down in the reverse swing department, and that the reverse swinging Duke ball is going to be our nemesis unless some counter-punching bowlers can be found in a hurry. And while nearly all our bowlers spend our winter playing County cricket, hardly any of them have mastered the art of swinging the Duke ball to anywhere near the degree that the English bowlers do*.

One other thing is for sure - we badly missed Warne and McGrath. Lee was excellent (named man of the series), but Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clarke were disappointing and Brad Hogg largely useless in the spin department. So interesting times ahead for the depleted Aussies.

But to get back to running for a bit - this morning's crowds and the Almeria epic on the weekend made me hanker for some training partners, as I'm largely a solitary runner. I'd join a running club but the nature of my work (rotating shifts etc) make such things difficult and ultimately frustrating. I am going to the gym this evening with a couple of work mates, so maybe something will develop. Anyway, despite that I continue to run, and have even built up some respectable mileage of late. Am keen to knock off another 20 km beach run sometime soon...

The old injuries that have plagued me over the years have largely been fixed by the orthotics I use - the left knee still lets me know it's there, but shin splints are a thing of the past (three lusty cheers), as are achilles and plantar fascia problems (touch wood). Glucosamine is keeping the knee cartilege in good order and my arthritic toes only hurt at the start of a run - so it's all looking pretty good.

One thing that has been especially helpful of late is simply slowing down. By running slower I run further, burn more calories (and thus shed more weight) and maintain my enthusiasm. I no longer pay any attention to time or pace, and only log the approximate number of kilometres run to ensure I don't slacken off too much. More fun all round - wish I'd thoguht of it years ago.

Enough. More later.

MLC Man.


*[SIZE="1"]Apparently the English Duke cricket ball maintains its hardness longer and thus facilitates reverse swing better than the Australian Kookaburra ball, which goes soft due to the harder pitches here. Sounds like a poor excuse to me however - all our senior cricketers play Country cricket and should be perfectly familiar with it![/SIZE]