Somewhere Exotic

After the exotic Sherwood Pines on Saturday, on Sunday I continue my marathon training with the equally exotic Retford Half Marathon. I’ve done this one before and it’s not that exciting but I need the distance.

L gets the short straw of supporting with the dogs. She doesn’t fancy running exotic Retford but is apparently dreaming of doing a Tough Mudder as we are possibly the only people on the planet who don't yet have a Tough Mudder t-shirt. Personally, I’m not sure I want one either but then I also wouldn’t be keen on paying the £10 charge to spectate. Yes really, I’ve never seen that before.

Aside from Tough Mudder she adds Dublin and Sofia to our Bucket List of must do foreign races. Adding to the likes of Copenhagen, Malmo, Krakow, Berlin, Tallinn, Riga, Amsterdam, Bauhaus and Hitchin.

My time at Retford of exactly 1:45 is four minutes up on my time there three years ago. So perhaps the training is paying off. As an added bonus this year's t-shirt isn't orange like last time and is actually quite nice. 

(Sunday 10^th March)

An Old Acquaintance

On the bike today and in the pub at lunchtime.

Nottingham has landed the British Half Marathon Championship next year which will be ran as part of the Robin Hood Half. That should boost numbers. Just hope they keep the course from this year. Although I have been toying with the idea of doing the marathon.

I’m also toying with the idea of applying for a place in the Great North Run. It’s on the bucket list and I have supported L at it many times. Even she seems keen to rekindle an old acquaintance. Entries are oddly already open via The Sun.

Of course if she gets in and I don’t then I can always run as her. I might even win another prize and get interviewed on TV.

Hang on, just noticed that it’s the same weekend as another bucket list item in Bestival. Maybe 2017 then.

(Wednesday 6^th January)

We Are So Hip

L has recently read a book called Mr Gig by Nige Tassell. It's a tale of the author whose life was once defined by live music until he gave it all up in the name of marriage and children. The book is about him getting back on the gigging horse, albeit with the helpful assistance of being a journalist. L proclaimed it more my sort of thing than hers and she’d be right. The book really talked to me, and not just because it was on audio, particularly when he bemoaned that things aren’t like they used to be because clearly they aren't.

L did say that although she’s not really a gig person she does now want to go to Glastonbury, as well as Rewind, the Isle of Eigg Away Game Festival and she wants to see the Wicker Man film. This is almost a bucket list full.

So this is how I came to be poised with my fingers over the keyboard of our home computer at 8:50am this morning whilst L takes herself off to the Goose Fair Gallop 10k.

Glastonbury isn’t what it was back in the day of course and is now something that is on almost everyone’s bucket list particularly those like me in their 40’s who have never been.

At 9am precisely the website goes live, instantly declaring it is at capacity and I’m not in. As ever in these ticketing skirmishes I remain calm knowing others around me will losing their heads in a blur of keystrokes, mouse clicks, F5 refreshes and swear words.

At 9:20am I am calmly entering in my debit card details and at 9:26am the sold out signs are being hung up. Which despite what the papers may tell you, doesn’t necessarily mean that there are millions more people chasing tickets this year. It just tells you that Seetickets are getting better every year at processing the applications and I thought it was a pretty smooth process myself. Anyhow, we’re going. We are so hip.

I grab the dogs’ leads and we head off to chuck a celebratory ball on the park. Once there we find some folk orienteering. It’s the local NOC club that we used to be members of. I have a chat to the same people who are still organising it seven or so years on. Thankfully they don’t recognise me or Doggo who used to do it with me, usually causing mayhem. We ought to get back into it. I’ve just no idea how we’d find the time.

L has a good run but she doesn’t retain the trophy. Not that she was ever likely to as she didn’t even enter last year but that was what they put on her registration email and to not forget to bring it back with her for the presentation. The perils of cutting and pasting your emails.

In the evening we head up to Leamington and have an evening with Son in a Mexican called Chicos. It’s a very pleasant evening and we get to brag about how hip we are. 

(Sunday 5^th October)

Alcohol Rebalancing

I drag myself out of bed for an opticians appointment. They do work unsavoury hours, 11am on Saturday, I ask you.

This delays the dogs' park session, which they're not happy about. Then after the park, they're still not happy and try to disrupt my hedge cutting by chucking footballs at me.

Do they think I want to be doing this? I'm only doing this today because the council will be cutting our garden waste collection off for the winter soon, so the race is on to cram as much into the garden bin as possible until they do.

We stay in tonight, alcohol rebalancing. Although it's an AF night that’s not strictly necessary for the usual reason of having a race, as I’m too injured for the Coventry Half.

L had someone at the door the other day offering ‘rest and recuperation for people with joint problems’, we live in an area surrounded by old and disabled people. It must have been a tough call but she turned them away this time.

In fact there’s not actually a lot left on my bucket list of half marathond as the Tatton event is now full and I haven’t entered. Probably for the best.

(Saturday 13th October)