Well done M. I usually moan at her for wasting time entering competitions (“It’s just a marketing scam”), but occasionally I’m glad she ignores my advice. She’s managed to nab a 2-night stay in a suite at Ragdale Hall, a ‘health hydro’ in Leicestershire. Melton Mowbray in fact, so if the weight of healthy living becomes too burdensome, I can escape to the local town and seek solace in one of their famous pork pies.… READ MORE.... …
Month: November 2009
Nothing wrong with a spot of mild iconoclasm. From time to time, we need to take our prejudices off the shelf, blow the dust off them, and give them a good examination. Are they still fit for purpose? Or are they just being kept for sentimental reasons? Recently, I’ve been ambushed by two long-standing prejudices. One delivered an unexpected kiss; the other, a painful bruise.… READ MORE.... …
It seems to have been quite a lucky day. How does this happen? I set off after lunch, intending to zip round the block for 4 miles, but ended up banking 10.25 of the slippery buggers. The day was a beaut; mid-November, but it was actually warm out there this afternoon. Perhaps this persuaded me to eke out another mile. Then another.… READ MORE.... …
Running is hard work. So why make it even harder for myself? This was my line of questioning as I entered the 3rd kilometre of the Brighton 10K. It was the point where I found myself struggling, or even floundering, at the realisation that I’d started too quickly. Pre-race saw the usual eye-bulging dash from the in-laws in Crawley to Brighton, followed by the Bullitt-style driving round the town, trying to find a parking place.… READ MORE.... …
With the Brighton 10K just 2 days away, the inevitable doubts have been descending along with the grey clouds that are traditional at this event. We are in for an almighty maelstrom if the Met men are to be believed. The radio reports that the plucky population of Haywards Heath are being evacuated by boat at this very moment. One imagines a ruddy-faced Sir Bufton Tufton invoking the spirit of wartime Britain as he notionally directs operations from the saloon bar of the Dog and Duck.… READ MORE.... …
(Originally posted on the forum) I’m in another disappointing hotel in Nottingham, without the ability to upload a proper entry, but I wanted to mention today’s run. Just 4.5 miles, but apart from that ever-nasty first half mile, this was an outing that felt good at last. Last week’s 8 miler made me happy after I’d got home; this one managed to offer pleasure as it happened.… READ MORE.... …
It’s been said before, but bears repeating: that we run only because we so quickly forget how horrible it really is. Today’s parkrun is a case in point. Here I am, peering at my spreadsheet, noting my likely future opportunities to do this weekly 5K, when barely an hour ago, floundering in the mud, panting like a runaway pig, I was resolving never to put myself through this pain and indignity ever again.… READ MORE.... …
The plan was for a sinewy, grunting hour in the gym this evening but I’ve been under the weather all day. I even sloped off to bed for a while at 6pm, nursing my incipient man-flu. The Grim Reaper has shown me mercy. I will give thanks by having an early night, and hope that I’ll still be alive when I wake in the morning.… READ MORE.... …
Into November, and feeling even more optimistic about the running winter ahead. I was going to post this entry on Tuesday evening, and had started with these paragraphs: Speed of progress has been frustratingly slow, but I’m staying rational. If advancement was instant and easy, without constant self-doubt, it wouldn’t amount to the prize it remains, and I’d still be snuggled up on the sofa.… READ MORE.... …