Since we last met, I’ve chalked up 3 more runs and another gym session. I’ve avoided detailing the trips to the gym. On a superficial level at least, they’re not interesting, and nor should they be. The aims of this concentrated 60 minutes of cardio-vascular cross-training are to take some strain off my knee, to help build up under-used leg muscles, and to accelerate the delarding process.… READ MORE.... …
Blog Posts
A couple of weeks ago, I received a small parcel, postmarked Ireland. I didn’t recognise the handwriting, but assumed it was from my sister, who lives in Tipperary. I don’t know anyone else over there who’s likely to send me anything. I made a cup of tea and retreated to my small office to open the package. Inside was a book of Leonard Cohen poetry, and a card.… READ MORE.... …
It was clear some weeks ago that autumn was here, but today still came as a surprise. It was a blustery, empty afternoon. The sky was deep grey. I don’t mind running in the rain; indeed I enjoy it, as a sort of expression of defiance. But I still used the threat of its arrival as a spur to get out there.… READ MORE.... …
Another small step for man late yesterday afternoon, as I chased the remains of the sunshine up the canal towpath for 4 unbroken miles. A trivial distance for most runners, and indeed for me in the past, but this is now. It’s a new world. A tabula rasa. The run went pretty smoothly, though at the precise moment I realised I wasn’t struggling, with a half mile to go, it went and got all uncomfortable on me, and I had to fight a little to keep going.… READ MORE.... …
So, 17 days into the new regime, and it’s 9 gym sessions and 3 runs under the slightly loosening belt. Good progress: I’m pleased and excited again. The third 3 mile run was yesterday lunchtime, a relaxed but unbroken trot along the towpath. Maybe I’ve been too hard on the canal in recent times. The only dull aspect is that runs here are normally out-and-back.… READ MORE.... …
Are we there yet? No one knows for certain, but it’s sure beginning to smell like Armageddon. Forgive the typos; it’s dark in this bunker. So the much-predicted, much-derided day of financial meltdown may, we think, have finally appeared. It’s like the ghastly fiend whose threat invisibly haunts the first two thirds of a horror film. We don’t want the ghoul to appear, but we know it’s there, and when it does finally step from the shadows, darting a deathly hand towards the jugular, it’s almost a relief.… READ MORE.... …
The party to celebrate my neighbour’s fortieth birthday went on late. I drank so much wine that I was persuaded to totter round the dance floor waving my arms in the air to Dancing Queen. Yep, that bad. I went to bed drunk, at 3:30 a.m., regaining consciousness around 4 hours later to be reminded that we had a long drive down to East Sussex ahead of us.… READ MORE.... …
Bah! On second thoughts, I’ll spare the world. Is anyone here really that interested in my new, signed Dylan prints? My tear-splashed review of the Cohen gig in Manchester? Our knee-knocking visits to the gorgeously preserved childhood homes of Lennon and McCartney? Nah. Just a word on the ‘Pool though. It would seem to be overstating the case to say it’s a place I love: I’ve been there only half a dozen times — not including the Anfield experiences (another five).… READ MORE.... …
Another bloody crossroads. It’s been an interesting week. But first, I’d better plug a gap or two. It was all going so well. The first three weeks of the marathon plan had gone as planned, with no missed runs that weren’t compensated for. Then 8th June arrived. The schedule called for a step-back week, with a long run of only 6 or 7 miles.… READ MORE.... …
Here’s an unmissable deal, available at Boots in Nottingham. “Listerine mouthwash: £2.45 per bottle, or 2 for £5.00” It caught my eye while I was glumly traversing the fluorescent aisles this evening, buying a complete set of toiletries to replace the ones in the bag that I’d managed to leave at home. After the pharmacy, it was on to the underpants emporium (though I think it had a snappier name than that) next door, to fill my boots with smalls.… READ MORE.... …