Another strangely blank run this lunchtime. Yesterday’s disturbing trend is continuing. What else isn’t happening? What’s not going on around here?
Six miles today.
Six miles. I felt tired and heavy. I’ve lost weight this week, but this was a different kind of heaviness. It was a lack of enthusiasm; no interest. It was a spiritual ponderousness. Why?
It struck me after a couple of these long, lethargic miles that I’d had no liquid for 15 hours, apart from a cup of coffee. That was it, I’m sure.
Talked about holidays this evening. We seem to be specialising in international pariahs, past and present. In October it was the USA, the current monster on the international stage. This year it looks like Russia in July and Cuba in November. Erstwhile enemies, now cuddly pets.
We normally keep package holidays at the other end of a bargepole, but we’ve found a deal that will give us a few days in Moscow and another few in St Petersburg, for significantly less than it would cost us if we booked everything separately.
Cuba will be an independent jaunt. November’s a good month to stock up on sunshine,and we can get return flights for less than £400. We plan to stay in private houses, which you can do for around $20 a day, or less. Best of all, the day after we plan to arrive in Havana, it’s the Marabana, the annual festival of running, with a trio of races: marathon, half marathon and 10K. I should be up for the half. It sounds like a lot of fun.
Last year, it seems, there was a torrential rain storm during the marathon. So bad that the electronic clocks all stopped working after 2 hours and 21 minutes. Consequently, every marathoner was awarded an official time of 2:21, regardless of where they finished. Another story I heard was that they provided every runner with a champion chip timer, but omitted to lay any sensor mats at the start of the race.
Yet another story was that the aid stations were dispensing green oranges and bags (yes, bags) of water. The rain got so heavy that all the officials deserted their posts to seek shelter and the oranges spilled over the road, leading to hundreds of runners falling over.
Don’t tell me these things aren’t true. I need to believe them.
