Where to start.....my entries had been sporadic this year but so much has happened that I am now trying to dissect it all into manageable and interesting pieces. That is my problem, once things are done and over, they are history and it is on to new things.
Let's start with the sad news, the Swans on the canal died, Pon and his mate are no more and the World is certainly less of a place without them. I do miss them on my morning runs.
The CEO of the company I work for came to the UK a month back. He is a keen runner and around 20 years senior on me. He runs longer distances and has a strict training regime but we agreed on a 5 mile morning run. It was only a day or so before he landed in the UK that he mentioned that it would be a tempo run, he had to run it in 41-45 minutes. Now I hadn't run in a few weeks as I had hurt myself laying a floor, so at 5.30 one week day morning, I picked him up and we drove to Willen Lake in Milton Keynes. He suggested I lead. I did OK, I managed to keep a decent pace for 4 miles and then turned to him and told him to go ahead as I was flagging. I finished around 20-30 seconds after him in around 42.46 minutes, pretty much a personal best for me.
In the meantime I signed up for the Blenheim Palace 1/2 Marathon on Oct 2nd. My lead up to it was not great, not enough practise and a weather forecast that didn't bode well....extreme heat.
I'm jumping ahead of myself, photography. Summer has been dismal this year and my photography has suffered because of the lethargy and lack of time I had over the Summer. I did, however, pick my Dad up a few weeks back and take him to Puzzlewood and Tintern Abbey. The issue started a few miles into the journey, the weather was warm and sunny, I had forgotten a coat, a jumper and infact anything with long sleeves, I was sitting in the car in jeans and a T-shirt and that was all I had. My Dad was in a light summer shirt and jeans and my youngest daughter was in jeans and a jumper, none of us were dressed for Autumn or for the downpour that occurred as we reached Wales, the downpour that was in full flow as we reached Puzzlewood at 10 and stopped at 12 when we left.
I had never seen the wood in rain and whilst it was muddy and the going was treacherous, it was truly magical, an absolutely stunning place to see. My Dad was amazed at it, it could be tropical, old World or simply Lord of the Rings brought to life, it was the Land of Froud made real.
Tintern was the centre of tranquility, it is amazing how a building can be imbued with the peace of its long departed inhabitants. I didn't get any good pictures of Tintern Abbey which is a testament to my laziness as it is a place that is impossible not to get a good shot of. Anyway, a great and tiring day.
On to Blenheim.....I am a confirmed and dedicated smoker but I always vowed that I would quit when I started to train for a marathon. My direct boss, a good friend of many years, has been trying to lose weight and over dinner with the CEO, proposed that I quite smoking and the 2 of us train for a marathon in a years time. I agreed, although I suggested that as there was some weight loss needed and from 0-26 miles with dieting could take more than a year, we plumped on 18 months. So, Blenheim on 2nd, quit smoking on 3rd. Blenheim came and it was truly horrible, they ran out of St John's folks as people were passing out and/or puking from the heat and several people were taken to hospital. Stupidly I ran the first 5 miles at a personal best pace (a fraction over 41 minutes) and then ran out of steam. The heat slowly took its toll on me and I was seeing double, running slower than walking pace in a very unsteady line but did eventually finish in around 2 1/2 hours. I had slight heatstroke and felt ill for a few days. Roll on next year!
As per the deal, I am now 8 days in without a cigarette. I discovered Vape-ing. Some people take their Nicotine via patches, gum or inhalers as they quit, I bought a rechargeable e-cigarette. It even gives off "smoke" so you can tell yourself that you're still smoking. It is water vapour, and those that use these things are called vapers. There is no smell and it apparently legal everywhere but I don't think I'll be testing that out.
I have been running over the last week but this morning I finished the run and could actually breathe, it could be a coincidence or psychological but I felt the best I'd ever felt this morning and if I can get that feeling again after the 5 miler planned for tomorrow, I have every motivation to carry on. My love of running is renewed.
No comments:
Post a Comment