I find myself in Sussex, for probably the last run of 2001. It’s another bad experience. My diet in the last 2 days has been dreadful. Left alone in the house for a day or two, I slip into naughty schoolboy mode, hoovering up crisps and chocolate and polishing off a bottle and a half of wine on Friday evening. Yesterday I went to the match and feasted on a hot dog and later on, celebratory fish and chips.… READ MORE.... …
Month: December 2001
The chest pains return, which would seem to blow my alcohol theory. However, they reappear after a two-day Christmas binge, so it remains likely that there’s some connection between the aching ribs and over-indulgence. Today was mild. I went running in the twilight: perfect running conditions. I felt strong and capable and confident, until 8 or 9 minutes in, when the pain began its familiar, slow spiral upwards from beneath my lowest rib.… READ MORE.... …
No run today. After yesterday’s splendid Christmas luncheon and mince pie tragedy, I find that I’m 3lbs heavier this morning. No point in being depresssed about such trivialities. I deserved a day off yesterday, and I reassure myself that weight so easily added, will be just as easily shed again. [Distant sounds of barely-suppressed mirth.]… READ MORE.... …
4 miles before breakfast on Christmas morning. What’s the world coming to? I’m knackered. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. Weighed myself, as normal, when I got up. I’m now 211lbs, precisely 25lbs less than when I started, on September 23rd. This is a very welcome seasonal gift to myself. Happy Christmas!… READ MORE.... …
This week calls for a reshuffle of runs. The plan I’m following calls for a rest day today, then 3 miles, 4 and 3 for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is going to be busy so I run today and tomorrow, then rest Wednesday, then run as scheduled on Thursday. It means running 4 miles on Christmas Day – that is certainly a first.… READ MORE.... …
Today I ran 7.06 miles without stopping. 91 minutes of continuous running. Blimey. They are two near-unbelievable facts. I need to say this: that if someone like me can do this on his 28th run, just 62 days after starting running, then anyone can. When I began the pre-marathon schedule, I couldn’t run for 3 minutes without bashing my head on the Grim Reaper’s sickle.… READ MORE.... …
Supposed to be a rest day, but after missing 2 days following the calf problem, I needed to try it out today, and get back on track. Ran 3 miles. The calf ached, but not seriously enough to stop.… READ MORE.... …
Only a week into my programme, and already I find myself in a trough. After last week’s fate-tempting sense of triumph, it was perhaps inevitable that on Sunday’s long run I’d get the chest pains again; that on Monday I’d unexpectedly go down with crisps-and-chocolate-fever, and that just a mile into this morning’s run, I’d suddenly get a sharp stab of pain in my left calf, and have to limp back home.… READ MORE.... …
My first ‘long run’ day of the marathon programme calls for 6 miles. (Everything is relative. For a novice runner, 6 miles is a long run.) It’s not a good experience. I have a recurring problem with chest pains, and have to keep stopping to walk. “Chest pains?! My God! You’re mad!” is the usual sort of reaction I get when I mention this to people.… READ MORE.... …
I’m following Hal Higdon’s marathon training guide which specifies that Friday and Monday are always rest days. So no run today, and I behave naughtily, deciding to celebrate my day-pass with a brief trip to the local pub, followed by a glass or two of Chablis when I return home. Well OK, a bottle of Chablis. Let’s face it, it won’t keep more than a day or so, and I had to drink it all to remove the temptation of drinking more of it tomorrow.… READ MORE.... …
How very presumptuous, but I seem already to have started formulating some Laws of Running. One such seems to be that the enjoyment of a run is generally in inverse proportion to the level of expectation. The day was filled with sudden patches of excitement when I remembered I was to run this evening. True to form, it was a disappointment.… READ MORE.... …