Some good emails this week, including one from a disgruntled Chelsea fan called Rufus who wrote to me from an internet café in Santiago, Chile, to protest about something I wrote about his club on the Runners World website. All I said was that they were corrupting the entire sport, and that there was no honour in buying the Premiership and the Champions League with stolen roubles. Fairly uncontroversial, I’d have thought. I’ve also had a couple of mails which have got me thinking about my race schedule. I don’t recall saying much about it here, so I’ll mention that I’ve entered two races within six days of each other just after Christmas – Cliveden on December 27th and the … …
Blog Posts
Running slow teaches you how to run slow. I read this in the Glover book recently. He may not be great with adverbs, but some of his sentences are like cattle-prods. The sentiment was in my head as I set off on my standard ’round the block’ run yesterday morning. So I tried to run quickly. And by my modest standards, I did. It wouldn’t sound speedy to most runners, but apart from races, this was the fastest pace I’ve run for more than 16 months. More good news on the weight front too, which is probably related to the quicker pace. Six weeks into the new regime, and I’m averaging a loss of just over 1½ pounds a week. … …
I’ve committed adultery. That’s how it feels, anyway. I’ve deserted Hal for Bob. I blame it on my illness. I’m almost never ill. So I find it sort of interesting when I am. It’s only a bad head cold, but enough to keep me away from work for a couple of days. No running of course. So I’ve been using some of my time to read Bob Glover’s Competitive Runner’s Handbook. I’ve been aware of this book for at least three years, but the very title was too off-putting to even pluck from the shelf for a book shop browse. But some correspondence on a running forum recently persuaded me that its bark might be worse than its bite, … …
An eventful couple of days. Yesterday began with a quick run along the canal. As usual, I turned off at the second road crossing and ran the half mile or so up to the main road back to the village. This tiny lane up to the A4 takes me past the hamlet of Ufton Nervet and over an unmanned level crossing. I’ve plodded along this sleepy cut-through a hundred times. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a car or even a person on the lane. How could I have guessed that this track, this level crossing and this ramshackle collection of farmhouses, would become international news just a few hours later? The afternoon was spent at West Ham, watching us … …
Guy Fawkes Night. A slightly surreal war-zone run this evening, surrounded by explosions and flashes and sudden illuminations. Not very fast but no shortage of entertainment. … …
I’ve been reading Runners World magazine, and reflecting on how mad people are. I’m ambivalent towards this magazine. I confess that I devour it, though part of its compelling appeal is that it reminds me that not everyone is like me. Running makes me happy, but others are surprisingly full of anxiety and resentment. One letter-writer bemoans that “the reality of healthy self-propulsion” (I think he means running) through the countryside is being spoiled by the “all-pervading smell of industrial perfume overpowering the sweet autumnal smells”. He’s referring to deodorants. And I’m always shocked by the amount of harrassment that runners say they get from pedestrians and car drivers. I can recall only a couple of minor incidents. A schoolkid … …
Tuesday Lunchtime: An ominous day. Two days. I’m going to merge them, because I don’t know where one will finish and the other start. I hope there’ll be a run or two in here too, not to mention a football match, so hang on in there. A message on the Runners World forum the other day asked plaintively whether people weren’t fed up with all the attention that the US presidential election was getting. “What’s it got to do with us?” they asked. Rather a lot, of course, is the answer. Arguably, we’ve seen more of the campaign than the average American. We get the straight (if it can be called straight) hustings stuff. But we also get a ton … …
Don’t Forget to vote for Member of the Month . This poster appears in the men’s changing room at the hotel gym. Hmmm. You couldn’t make it up. … …
A brief charge around the block on one of those sensational autumnal mornings. Cool, sunny and life-affirming. The run was good, but life without a marathon to peer up at isn’t the same. So I need one. The intention is already there, to run a spring marathon, but at present it’s an empty peg. I need a name to hang on it. I did briefly flirt with the idea of applying for a London place again, but with so many interesting marathons available, and so few opportunities, it seemed a shame to take part in a race that I’d already experienced. It’s a good excuse to travel, so I’m looking at what’s available around the end of April 2005. At … …
It’s been a good running week. Today’s a rest day – the first for 7 days. The light at the end of the Dartford Tunnel, so to speak, keeps flickering on then going off again. I started here in May, my boss assuring me that “It will only be for a couple of weeks”. Blimey, that was nearly six months ago. I don’t mind it, in truth. I get to stop at a nice hotel with a gym and steam room and pool and all that caper. I sampled the steam room for the first time this week. I wasn’t sure of the etiquette, and had to confide in a colleague whose discretion could be relied upon. Yes it’s unisex, … …