Six weeks to Zurich, and things are ropey. Bumping along on your arse like this is painful, but it must be about as bad as it gets. I fell asleep back there, and missed my stop. Now I’m just waiting for the bus to slow down long enough for me to jump off, and begin the long trek back. Another lesson learned the uncomfortable way.… READ MORE.... …
Blog Posts
“Ooooh, what a grey day”. Another week, another aimless plod through rural England. The Bramley 20 is a bigger undertaking than last week’s half marathon, but the tale is a simpler one. The running landscape was much the same as last weekend. Workaday agricultural land, patches of dense wood, humourless farmers, mazey lanes, rutted farm tracks. Grey skies. Foggy and cold.… READ MORE.... …
No wonder I felt knackered after the Wokingham Half. The results show that I did the race twice. Someone with my name, race number and club finished in 1:50, then apparently went back and did it again, this time trailing home in 2:18. I feel better about my performance now. I’ve been wondering about my falling energy levels. Is it a hideous portent of my nightmarish appointment with the Grim Reaper….?… READ MORE.... …
Almeria was a grand weekend, and life hasn’t quite returned to normal. Perhaps the apres-race took it out of me. Whatever it was, I seem to have taken my eye off the ball. Last Saturday I had a difficult 18 miler. The first 12 or 14 were OK, but the rest was cold and dark and slow. For the first time in a long time, I began to wonder about the wisdom of marathons, and these long preparatory runs.… READ MORE.... …
Picture the scene… Lying on my deathbed, a solemn, distant, whispering face…will be slowly lowered into my grey, fading world…. and will tell me… my time is almost up. Peering out weakly, a waning stamen amid a bonnet of withering petals, I’ll smile the best I can… and call loudly for a bottle of Taylor’s 77. Admit it, port is the greatest of all drinks, and fittingly, it generates the greatest of all hangovers.… READ MORE.... …
One of life’s mysteries – waking up a few minutes in advance of the alarm clock, regardless of how early it’s due to cry out in the darkness. It happened as usual this morning, despite it being set for 03:55. Half an hour later I was tip-toeing down the stairs of my in-laws’ place, and off out into the icy pre-dawn.… READ MORE.... …
Is there a dog? I’m not a dogmatic type, so I say no…. [pause] How did I get into this cul-de-sac? And how do I get out? Regarding the first question, I was about to say “Thank god for Excel”, but I hesitated. As a shrink-wrapped atheist, I hate mentioning the word. Not because I find it distasteful, but because I worry that people might suspect that I’m a closet theist.… READ MORE.... …
Today — as disturbing a run as I ever had. So many avoidable errors. Here are a few random, snatched examples: 1) Too anal about my training schedule. Don’t I frequently remind people new to marathon training plans that they mustn’t be a slave to the schedule? Today folks, I was that slave. The plan said 18 miles. Following a couple of hard running weeks I should have laughed at it and spat in its eye.… READ MORE.... …
If Haile Gebrselassie was to take a job at the Co-op in the village, I bet he wouldn’t have to take an extended lunch break to run 10K. As observant readers will know, I’m not Haile Gebrselassie, I didn’t run a half marathon in a new world record of 58 minutes on Sunday, so I did have to take an extended lunch break to run today’s 10K It was unscheduled.… READ MORE.... …
I’ve not been using my GPS watch recently, but the club run this evening was estimated as 4½ to 5 miles. The faster pace, and the two hills (or rather, one hill and two halfs), were a struggle for me. But that’s exactly what I wanted — a struggle. It’s not a new or original observation. In fact, it’s something of a cliché.… READ MORE.... …