Run Guinea Pig Run

My colleague at work retires today after something like 35 years at the company. Which is scary but what is scarier is that I’m not that far behind on length of service. Even more importantly, who will I go for 2-for-1 pizzas with now?

They shut the company for an hour and a half over lunch, order in an excellent buffet and several bottles of champagne. After three glasses, I’ll be a bit crap on my run tonight.

Also after around three glasses my boss mentioned that the company would sponsor me if I did the London Marathon as a charity place. So that’s food for thought, although it wouldn’t cover all the fund raising I’d need to do it would be a good start. That said, it looks as if getting a charity place isn’t easy as most of them seem to be saying they are full and have waiting lists.

It was suggested, bizarrely, by someone that I do it for Guinea Pig Rescue and run it dressed as a guinea pig. L seems horrified at the thought. I guess that means she wouldn’t be up for snogging a sweaty guinea pig at the finish line. She also confirms that she wouldn’t be up for the training runs with a guinea pig either. I wonder what the Lad’s view would be. Would he still run with me? Or would he try and chase me up a tree?

After work I run nine miles fuelled by champagne and king prawn vol au vents. I also, heroically, even cycle to work the next day. My first ride in three weeks.

We don’t parkrun on Saturday as L is too injured, so we get a very welcome lie-in instead. She vows to throw herself into the gym later. Not that any throwing is allowed, she needs to ease herself gently into the gym.

There’s a match on Saturday afternoon and then in the evening we visit a new pub and one we haven’t been to for about a decade. First we go to the Herbert Kilpin which hides down an alleyway called Bridlesmith Walk off Fletcher Street. Kilpin was a footballer from Nottingham who went on to form A.C. Milan in Italy. Then we revisit the Bunkers Hill Inn.

(Saturday 23^rd November)

Good For Age

May Day Bank Holiday Monday.

This morning we both enter the London Marathon ballot, not that this means very much. Last year 247,000 people applied for one of the 17,000 places, which is a success rate of around 7%. Of course you could stump up for one of the 15,000 charity places or run fast enough to qualify for one of the 6,000 ‘Good For Age’ places, where you have to hit a particular age specific qualifying time in another marathon. This is my long term goal e.g. perhaps when I’m 70 to still be fit enough to break 5 hours, which is the qualifying time for that age. Of course they will have probably revised it downwards by then. The qualifying time for a 50 year old man is 3:20, of which I have no chance.

Tonight my parents, my brother and his family, L’s parents and Daughter join me for my birthday celebration meal at Mr Man’s Chinese in Wollaton, which is our local restaurant. It all goes well and I get a few more presents including the traditional birthday balloon. Oh no.

(Monday 1^st May)

A Shambolic Process

On the bike today and slightly damp as it rains on me for the first time in a while.

We have one entry into the new London Landmarks Half Marathon which was a shambolic process but I think these races like it this way as it gets them talked about. In the end preregistering was pointless, as entries were open to anyone whether they’d preregistered or not, and you could only do one entry at a time. It was easy enough to get myself a place but by the time I’d done that and started over again entering L’s details the race was full. So the internet is now awash with people who are in but their partner isn’t. Like us.

The website also said it would hold your place for 15 minutes once you were on, to give you time to enter you details but this turned out to be untrue. Cue meltdown on Facebook.

There were actually only half of the 10000 places available, the rest are now being offered as charity places and cost about eight times the standard place. If the race was a concert, this would be referred to ticket touting.

Squash tonight, to which L walks with MD. Then afterwards we do two pubs in a night as we go to both the Navigation and the Dispensary at the request of my (usually non drinking) opponent.

(Thursday 20^th April)