A Girl Who’s Capable

I wonder if we will be in a Thunder Run team this morning?

L assumes not and is a bit gutted really. She says she always like a target and she has nothing. Excuse me... I thought her target was a Nottingham Half/Leicester Half double header and the Nottingham Grand Prix plus I though we were looking for European half marathons to do. That cheered her up a touch.

Later in the day our team captain posts that team entries are full so she has entered L and I as a pair while everyone else are soloists. Then she tenders her resignation. I suspect she’s finally lost it but I’m deliriously excited to be in a pair, it it's true and if I can find a girl who’s capable.

When L translates PMSL it becomes clear that she’s joking and it seems we are in a five again. If that’s not enough laps for me then L has offered to wrestle me in the mud for one of hers. Jolly good, now just to get the rain ordered.

I’m on the bike today and it’s an eventful ride home. First I stop to help a broken down car off the road in Risley and then I find Derby Road blocked with police cars everywhere as they arrest somebody. 

(Tuesday 10^th October)

We Are Both Rejects

Well they have finally arrived and we both get them on the same day - our London Marathon commiserations emails. We are both rejects. L is relieved, I am gutted but its hardly unexpected.

I have now ordered some new trainers for my Birmingham adventure and they should be here tomorrow. In time for me to injure myself in them at Peterborough this weekend.

Unless I do it tonight of course. I finally do the training run that I had planned to do a month or more ago and I run all the way home. I am then gutted for the second time today when I realise that it is only 21.7km e.g. only a smidge over half marathon distance. I thought it would be further. So I still haven’t run any further than a half marathon.

Daughter (and MD) come to the rescue and we do an extra 5k around the local streets.

L's osteopath told her yesterday that she could swim, so L swims and hopefully doesn’t over do it.

(Wednesday 4^th October)

Something Strange Happens On The Way To Work

Something strange happens on the way in to work. As I’m cycling along the sun comes out and I stop in shock. I even switch my lights off. I reach for my sunglasses but of course they are still in the drawer at home that is marked ‘things for the summer’. All very odd, yesterday it was still dark when I arrived at work.

So it’s a pleasant ride in the unfamiliar brightness although that doesn't stop me feeling totally knackered as it’s been a while since I’ve cycled three times in one week.

Daughter is on her way to interview number three and she isn’t terribly happy about it. I think everyone has told her she must go because it’s really bad when people drop out of interviews at the last minute or worse still just don’t turn up. It’s wasted so much of everyone’s time here.

L enters the Hairy Helmet, which is a relay for teams of four. Apparently I’m in that team and I’ve paid for the whole team as well, so I suppose I better be. Although MD, my running partner, isn't invited. He’ll be gutted.

Tonight we get in the traditional Friday night along with another takeaway from the rather excellent Curry Busters.

(Friday 3^rd February)

Synchronised

Again we manage to synchronise a parkrun and a dog show, this time in Shrewsbury. None of my events are early on at the dog show, so I decide to join L in the run much to her surprise.

It is my fourth parkrun but my first without MD and I run a PB by about two minutes. So obviously he needs to up his game if he wishes to join me next time.

L has already upped her game, so she might be running with me next time instead of MD. She sets a new PB at 30:01, obviously she’s gutted at missing the big 30 by one second, particularly as I watch timed her at about 29:50. This is what you get for starting way back and taking ten seconds or more to get over the start line. I’ve told her so many times to put herself on the front row.

Back at the dog show, MD is still not hitting his contacts so the agility runs are a bit of a washout. In the jumping he is much more consistent and we get two clear rounds but we’re outside the rosettes in both.

Back in Nottingham we head out into town and once we find the Chocolate Gorilla sitting on the bar in the Blue Monkey pub. So naturally we stay there all night.

(Saturday 17^th October)

Magic Dust

For the first time in about three years I'm actually looking forward to the match tonight but what a letdown it is, at least at first. Caretaker Darren Wassall picks the team and picks a side that is very light in central midfield. Ipswich quickly exploit this and Derby’s well known deficiency in dealing with set pieces enabling them to storm in to a 4-1 half time lead. Not good. Not good at all.

However, the second half is totally different. The team put in a performance full of passion and enthusiasm that gets the crowd going to an extent I’ve not seen in years. Derby storm back to clinch a 4-4 draw with the best 45 minutes of football we’ve seen in a long long time. Although I actual left feeling slightly gutted as I was convinced we were going to win.

Afterwards everyone is full of praise for Wassall’s half time team talk and substitutions. The substitutions in particular shocked us because we hadn't made a tactical change before the 70th minute in the last five years.

However Wassall drops his halo in his post-match interview and rather sheepishly admits that well, actually, Steve McClaren came into the dressing room and sprinkled some magic dust. Now that does bode well for the future, which is also known as Leeds on Saturday.

(Tuesday 1^st October)

We Are So Not Speaking

So, our first dog show for four months today at the equestrian centre in the South Staffordshire College. MD has been looking much better in training recently, which was the aim. To take him out of competition for a while and work on various stuff. Completing a course was the main thing...

This is a new venue to us. Three of the six rings are outside. Brrr. Come to think of it the indoor ones are a bit drafty was well and all the loos locked up but for four portaloos = big queue.

Doggo did his agility. A solid clear but it was a very simply course with only one piece of agility equipment in it, the rest being jumps and tunnels. So not really his speciality and not really an agility course either. 11th though.

MD is a bit overexcited on his first run, quivering on the start line, hence two poles down. Otherwise though it wasn't too bad. So all set for the next one.

Ah... Gutted. We are so not speaking. MD puts me in the car in disgrace. He did the most amazing run until I sent him the wrong way. L is supportive and blames last night’s OP.

Though it's not affected her, she's finished her gym based 12 days of Fitmas challenge today. It's been good because it has truly inspired her, although she's aggravated her knee a little in the process. Now she needs to adopt some of those exercises into her routine all year round.

Another clear for the old maestro, 10th place this time. Then one pole down on MD’s third run and then the first pole down on his last. When that hit the ground I thought, sod it, lets go for it and the rest of it was a superb run until we got E’d near the end trying to be too clever but we enjoyed that.

(Sunday 30th December)