Month: October 2004

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.… READ MORE.... …

One of those good weekends unspoiled by obligations of any kind, apart from a faint plan to amble along to the pub to watch yesterday’s big match. Nothing to do but fiddle about with my new laptop and grin to myself. The nearest I got to work was a bit of leisurely cooking and some bread-making. But let’s get the running bit out of the way before the serious business starts.… READ MORE.... …

A day off after a race is mandatory. Two days is a bit naughty, but I’ll let it pass for anything over a 10K. But three days? What d’you take me for, Boy? EH? EH? This is what I said to myself yesterday evening, after getting back to my Dartford hotel. Suitably chastised, I dutifully detogged, changed mode, retogged and decamped.… READ MORE.... …

The smug weekend continues. No PB was going spare today, but the run went better than expected, considering that my main preparation had been to reread Chapter 19 of Russell Taylor’s Looniness of the Long Distance Runner – the one that deals with his experience of this race. Perhaps that’s being uncharitable to my feet, who’ve been manfully slapping the pavements of Dartford all week.… READ MORE.... …

Written before the critical 3pm watershed: In much the same way that soldiers scratch their last will and testament on the back of an envelope before going into battle, I thought I’d better write this before the QPR match. My good fortune must begin crumbling soon, with the West Ham clash an ideal starting point. So I find myself in an internet café on Shepherds Bush Green, gleaming with smug pleasure at my morning’s work.… READ MORE.... …

A flying visit, as I won’t be around for a few days. Another good 3.5 miles this evening in the cold and dark. Not fast, but it felt good to be out, shedding the baggage of work. I’ve entered a 10 mile race next Sunday – the Cabbage Patch 10, and have to decide this week whether I’m up to it.… READ MORE.... …

It’s arrived. Chronicles, the first volume of Bob Dylan’s autobiography – a book that no one seemed to know was even in the pipeline until the book appeared in the shops on Tuesday. I blame and thank Dylan for most directions my life took. Blame for the bad decisions, thanks for the good ones. I took this book out of the Amazon packaging and gazed at the cover for a while.… READ MORE.... …

Chavs. The word is everywhere. In southern England anyway. Here’s a picture of some, in case you’re not sure what it means. These must be extreme chavs, as this picture won the “chav of the month” competition for September. The Scots apparently prefer to call them “neds”, which is said to stand for “non-educated delinquents”. According to the World Wide Words website, a chav is a member of “the burgeoning peasant underclass”.… READ MORE.... …

Five runs in five days. All gentle ones (do I know any other way?) but until this morning, all good ones too. But today the white flag came out. My body was talking to me, and I’d better listen, it said. Not only did I listen, but we had quite a robust discussion on a wide range of topics. Yesterday morning I was up at 5:10 a.m.,… READ MORE.... …

I’ve been rediscovering what it is to run in the dark. To be out in the pitch black, a chill in the air, is to meet yourself coming the other way. You can take the opportunity of a little reconciliation, some patching up, the chance to celebrate yourself; or you can fall into the trap of pining for those long summer evenings.… READ MORE.... …