A Dog Just Back From Holiday

Straight back to work for MD and to a dog show at Catton Hall. Cough cough cough. I’m ok, at least until I run. It’s also very muddy, which is worrying as about 500 shows will be held here before our own show in July.

MD’s first run is clear, although very scrappy. Which apparently is not bad for a dog just back from 'holiday'. It is the peak of a not very impressive day as his tunnel aversion seems to resurface in all four runs after that. This is something I thought I’d worked on all winter and had just about eradicated the problem. Wrong.

(Sunday 5^th April)

How The 'Mighty' Have Fallen

Can I manage ‘Not The Roman XI’? Are my knees are up to 12k? There’s only one way to find out I suppose. L reassures me that she'll pick me up as she goes past.

We head to Stratford Upon Avon for the 11am start, which is a long walk from the race HQ. I remember it well from when we were here a few years back.

It’s hillier than I remember. Cough cough wheeze wheeze. I walk several sections, partly as a precaution when my knee/calves come under too much strain but also out of necessity when my lungs are ready to burst. How did I become this unfit?

The upshot is that I cover the 12kms in 1:07:11 at a rate of 5:36 per km and finish 468^th. In 2012, I completed it in 53:21 at 4:27 per km and came 148^th. Compare and contrast. How the 'mighty' have fallen.

We are meeting Son at around 3:30 in Leamington for lunch and it’s now only around 1pm, so we hole up in a pub called the Lord Nelson in Stratford for a while with the Sunday papers. A pleasantly odd pub with one random local real ale.

When we head over to Son and go for lunch in The Duke. A sort of modern craft ale bar without the craft ale and only one real ale - Bass, which is rancid. Son sorts me out with something else as he knows the staff, being part of the management of another bar in the same group.

The beer may be naff but the Sunday lunch was pretty good.

(Sunday 18^th January)

A Health and Safety Breach

At work, half of our floor has lost power, so we have strung cables across from the working side to get us functioning again. Which is a bit of a Health and Safety breach I would imagine. An electrician is on his way apparently.

This is clearly the week for things being off. Tonight’s squash is also off. My opponent’s back is playing him up. At least postponing the court until next week can now be done without a murmur of opposition now that the council are no longer running the centre.

As compensation I force myself into a lunch time run. I go out and run-walk 5k. Cough cough wheeze wheeze. Not good.

The electrician puts on his serious face and tells us he has to come back at the weekend because he needs to rip the floor up.

(Thursday 15^th January)

Year-End Figures

Christmas is over and I’m back at work today. It’s a bit too cold and icy to bike, so I take the car to work. This takes a mere fifteen minutes rather than the usual one hour plus.

It’s nicely quiet at work, around half a dozen of us in but it’s well cold after being empty for four days. Even I turn my heat on.

L’s in work too, on her own. Her boss was put off joining her the moment she cough, cough, splutter, spluttered down the phone to him.

It’s so quiet at work I can take an extended lunch break to sort out my tax return. L also does her year-end figures e.g. weight, overdraft, alcohol units, books read...

My jaw hit the table at one of the numbers she quoted at me. 54 books! That’s more than one a week and more than I’ve probably read in my entire lifetime (slight exaggeration perhaps).

I swim after work, although I’m half convinced the pool won’t be open. L points out that I should have took my gym stuff, just in case but I haven’t. Unless they’ll let me workout in my speedos.

However the pool is open and it's so quiet. Even my Russian rival isn't there. If it was this quiet all the time I’d go every day. I meet L afterwards, whose been in the gym and I let her scrounge a lift home.

(Monday 29^th December)