Always brightest before the dawn
The landscape may look kinda familiar. We’ve been here before.
I’m in that odd position of trying to rally the inner troops, while knowing that the last few battles have been lost. Boston, Dublin, Two Oceans… all had high-decibel fanfares, but all dwindled into ponderous bass horn finales. I sent out all the invitations but didn’t turn up at the party.
But things are different this time. Oh yes.
I may have managed to crank up the determination and enthusiasm again but I’m still reluctant to seem too gung-ho. I’ll offer just a few flakes of information:
I’m keen to run a marathon this year. I’ve entered Nottingham (September 14), largely because I go there a lot with my job, and am developing an affinity with the place. The usual 18-week training begins in two days time. Will I make it? Hard to say: I’m still working on basic fitness and weight loss, and it’s unclear just how much progress I can make over what period, but if necessary I’ll drop down to the Half in Nottingham, and aim instead for a later marathon. There are a couple of British Isles candidates, both of which I consider every year, and occasionally even enter, without (of course) actually getting there: Loch Ness on October 5, and Dublin three weeks later. There are also a variety of European races through October that I’ve previously looked at longingly from a distance: Berlin, Amsterdam, Venice…
So there’s no shortage of possibilities. But at the moment, I’m heading for Nottingham.
It makes sense to sound a gentle note of caution. My head, as they say, is right, but the simple facts are these — that I still can’t run for more than four or five minutes without a walk break, and I’m 24 pounds heavier than I’d like to be when starting a marathon plan. Looking on the positive side, a couple of weeks ago I couldn’t run for more than one minute without stopping, and I was 34 pounds heavier than the initial target. So progress is being made, and would have been made quicker if I hadn’t dropped off the edge last week, and taken four days to climb back.
I squeezed myself back into the running groove two days ago, and have had a couple of outings since. Last night’s run, at nine o’clock, was encouraging. I stuck to a strict pattern of 4 minutes jog, 1 minute walk, but for the first time since my resurrection, I was able to maintain this till the end of my four miles or so. And I even felt quite strong and confident at the end, which hasn’t happened for a while.
More later. Now? Now, I mow the lawn to build up the stash of brownie points required to buy a peaceful few hours in front of the TV this afternoon, and a glut of football. The show begins at noon with one of the Championship play-off games, followed by a mildly interesting Celtic game, and then the main event. Last day of the Premier League season today, with Man Utd and the despicable Chelsea equal on points. At the other end of the table, three clubs struggle to be the one to avoid relegation. My hope is that Manchester United will win the league, and that Reading will be relegated. My fear is that…. but no, let’s not invite disaster. Some may say I’ve done enough of that already in this entry.
