Phew! It’s good to sit down for a breather. I’m pleasantly knackered. Not felt like this since… probably since the marathon, 23 weeks ago. Does gardening count as cardiovascular exercise? If so, I’ve racked up 4½ hours today, including the 2:25 of biking and gymwork this morning. Even without the two hours of mowing and chopping, I’ve attained nine hours of cardio this week, which I have to be pleased with.… READ MORE.... …
Blog Posts
Some men, it is said, pay prostitutes just to have a conversation with them. I have a similar relationship with Phil Chalmers, the sports therapist who tortured my calf into obedience in the lead-up to the Boston Marathon. Like, I suspect, a tart’s recreation room, Phil’s studio is lined with equipment, offering varying degrees of cardiovascular menace: rowing machine, bike, medicine balls, fitballs, weights, and other instruments I don’t dare enquire about in case he invites me to get off my arse and do something with them.… READ MORE.... …
Something very odd has happened. A run. It’s been 5 months since the Boston Marathon, since when I’ve plodded a total of 9 miles. Two miles a month isn’t ideal preparation for the coming campaign. Including the 5 minute walk to warm down, the 3.64 miles this evening took me 48 minutes. That’s not very good. The positive spin is that it’s not quite as bad as it might have been.… READ MORE.... …
Another 65 minutes or so of very sweaty cardiovascular exertion in the gym this evening, bouncing around on the treadmill, fuelled by an unsettling cocktail of upliftingly earnest Sussex folk music (courtesy of SP), and the throb of high velocity, wild electronic dance. I liked the folky stuff, but I may have to concede that its congruity with the gym is limited.… READ MORE.... …
It’s official. After a nervous few days, when I couldn’t be certain of not flunking this revival, I’m happy that the latest in a long chain of personal re-inventions is well underway. I’ve not ventured into the big wide running world yet, but I can report 8 days of exercise out of the last 9, including 7 gym trips, and that’s good prep for the real thing.… READ MORE.... …
Would they ever do it? They did. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers finally won the Premier League, after several seasons of just missing out on the top prize. But that was their only modern moment of glory. The following season they dropped to 7th, and the year after that, to 13th. They never regained the title, and seem unlikely to over the next several years.… READ MORE.... …
Ten weeks ago, I boldly instructed my spreadsheet that this was it. "Starting over". A week later, I tried again, and this time actually put in a good week of easing-back activity: just one leisurely 3½ mile run-walk, but supplemented with a couple of good bike rides, a trip to the gym, and 1½ hours of gardening. A total of five and a half fairly sweaty hours.… READ MORE.... …
It’s said that a man’s shoes will tell you all you need to know about their occupier. I believe that a solitary breakfast sausage is likewise a motif for an entire hotel and its position in the accommodation universe. Even retreating from such grandiose extrapolation, let’s agree that a sausage is the yardstick by which you judge a breakfast, or “the breakfast”, as they say here in Ireland.… READ MORE.... …
Hellifield Gala Fell Race – Saturday 2nd Aug A contemplative start on the first ascent. [url]http://www.photos-dsb.co.uk/hellifield%2009/content/Hellifield_Fell_Race_2009_118_2_large.html[/url] The damage is done. [url]http://www.photos-dsb.co.uk/hellifield%2009/content/Hellifield_Fell_Race_2009_173_2_large.html[/url] Another valuable learning experience. Mainly concerning the fact that fell shoes need to be a really snug fit to deal with the fast and uneven descents. It serves me right for trying out new kit in a race. But descending is also a real skill that will take some time to get half-descent at.… READ MORE.... …
Last week’s scheduled relaunch nearly went to plan. I’d put all the posters up, invited the spectators, got the creaking fuselage in place, drew my map of the stars, lit the blue touchpaper… and phut!. Nothing happened. I didn’t get off the ground. Too many beer invitations, a BBQ, a dinner out, and the new village takeaway pizza place to put through its paces.… READ MORE.... …