Month: January 2006

One of life’s mysteries – waking up a few minutes in advance of the alarm clock, regardless of how early it’s due to cry out in the darkness. It happened as usual this morning, despite it being set for 03:55. Half an hour later I was tip-toeing down the stairs of my in-laws’ place, and off out into the icy pre-dawn.… READ MORE.... …

Is there a dog? I’m not a dogmatic type, so I say no…. [pause] How did I get into this cul-de-sac? And how do I get out? Regarding the first question, I was about to say “Thank god for Excel”, but I hesitated. As a shrink-wrapped atheist, I hate mentioning the word. Not because I find it distasteful, but because I worry that people might suspect that I’m a closet theist.… READ MORE.... …

Today — as disturbing a run as I ever had. So many avoidable errors. Here are a few random, snatched examples: 1) Too anal about my training schedule. Don’t I frequently remind people new to marathon training plans that they mustn’t be a slave to the schedule? Today folks, I was that slave. The plan said 18 miles. Following a couple of hard running weeks I should have laughed at it and spat in its eye.… READ MORE.... …

If Haile Gebrselassie was to take a job at the Co-op in the village, I bet he wouldn’t have to take an extended lunch break to run 10K. As observant readers will know, I’m not Haile Gebrselassie, I didn’t run a half marathon in a new world record of 58 minutes on Sunday, so I did have to take an extended lunch break to run today’s 10K It was unscheduled.… READ MORE.... …

I’ve not been using my GPS watch recently, but the club run this evening was estimated as 4½ to 5 miles. The faster pace, and the two hills (or rather, one hill and two halfs), were a struggle for me. But that’s exactly what I wanted — a struggle. It’s not a new or original observation. In fact, it’s something of a cliché.… READ MORE.... …

It’s a curious thing. You’d think that the longer the run, the more there would be to write about, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. A 15 mile slog up the canal today, but I’m struggling to find anything interesting to say about it. The most notable aspect was probably the debut of my new portable DAB radio. I’ve tried running and radio-listening a couple of times, but the hissy signal is frustrating.… READ MORE.... …

“Walcott is a virgin, Walcott is a virgin, L’la la la, L’la la la” Not the wittiest effort I’ve heard from the Loftus Road faithful, but it will stick in my memory if Theo Walcott really does fulfill the potential that Arsenal, apparently, value at £15 million. I saw the 16 year old play today in what might have been his last match for Southampton.… READ MORE.... …

When the subject of early morning running crops up, I enthuse. Best time of the day, I say. Makes you feel great. Sets you up for the day. Gets it out of the way. All this is true, but the shameful fact is that I don’t drink my own Kool-Aid, as our American cousins like to say. It’s months since I slid out of bed before 7:30 to trot around the block.… READ MORE.... …

The forum comes and goes. Just recently there’s been a buzz around the place. After a few lean months, several of us are now gearing up for races and/or midway through a marathon campaign. By contrast, one of our most loyal parishioners, Seafront Plodder, has just renounced marathons. Understandable. As I said in my reply, it’s all about motivation. When that sense of marathon wonder seeps away, the motivation soon follows it, and when that’s gone, it becomes a very tough obstacle.… READ MORE.... …

14 miles today, on a dismal, rain-swept afternoon. To add an extra layer of featurelessness, I chose to do 4 laps of my usual round-the-block-route. The prospect was so uninviting that I did a rare thing — took a radio with me. Here are some words I never thought I’d hear myself say: Thank god for TalkSport. This radio station annoys the hell out of me, but today they just about kept me sane.… READ MORE.... …