Feeling More Human

It’s been a while but the boys and I are at a dog show today. Our performance is a bit of a mixed bag. First we have an elimination, then on the next course we were clear right up until we had the last jump down, then we do get a clear round where we came 3^rd and finally we clock up ten faults for two poles down on run four. That was just the morning. Our only run in the afternoon was simply a disaster. So just the one rosette today.

Meanwhile L sneakily skips Pilates and goes for a gym session. After which she says she’s now feels far more human but she doesn’t say if that’s an injured or an uninjured human. Then, with Daughter, she heads off for a free curry provided by Robin Hood Energy and John Carroll Leisure Centre. I enjoy my flask of lukewarm soup.

We stay in tonight, for sort of obvious reasons.

(Saturday 14^th October)

Just Not Our Day

I drop L in Leamington from where she is heads off to their parkrun (where else) and then to meet Son for breakfast. I then carry on to the Southam dog show.

There are no clear rounds today as we have a few poles down and miss a few contact points but it was not too bad a performance overall. I think it was just not our day today. Although I wasn’t too happy with his contacts so I take him in the practice ring where they suddenly become brilliant again before reverting to ‘not great’ in our next run.

In the parkrun L is defeated by a beagle but it was probably on drugs. Breakfast went well apparently and she gets a bus over to join us at the show.

We stay in tonight ahead of tomorrow’s 10k.

(Saturday 12^th September)

A Cold Run Home

It’s cold, -2, so I don’t fancy the bike instead I decide to bus and run... Must do something after my dreadful performance on Sunday.

I offer L the chance of jogging up to meet me in Bramcote and running home with me. She declines. I’m now even too slow for her.

It’s predicted to be a cold run home. The local paper forecasts pretty much 24 hours of constant snow, saying we’ll be buried under 8cm of the stuff by tomorrow. Will look forward to that. The BBC forecast disagrees totally, so it must be true. It’s due at 4pm.

4:30... still no snow... Not even any snowy looking clouds. 

5:00... still nothing. I jog to Chaddesden, then get the bus to Stapleford and run home from there. It goes relatively well, albeit very slowly. I don’t wheeze too much but then it is practically pan flat. The knee seems to hold up, at least it doesn’t get any worse.

(Tuesday 20^th January)

Basking In The Glory

L asks if I’m basking in the glory after our performance yesterday or do we not talk about dogging at work. It is true that some folk take an interest in my weekend hobbies but I haven’t spoken to any of them today.

It is a different matter at training later and we take the traditional celebratory cakes to training with us. Savour them guys, it could be a while until our next one.

(Monday 30^th June)

Starting To Feel Injured Again

I bike into work again and leave a bit too much out on the road, judging by my lame performance at squash tonight.

Post squash we end up back at Navigation as L is meeting us there, after her run. The pub singer doesn’t seem quite so loud this week but I still think we’re likely to be elsewhere next week.

The Play Off dates have been confirmed and, assuming Derby finish 3^rd, we will have the away leg on the evening of Thursday May 8 and the home leg on Sunday 11th May with a 5.15pm kick off.

This is a relief as I was worried it was going to have to do a very fast triathlon to make a lunchtime start. A 5.15pm kick off gives me a bit more time for me to finish my warm-up event, particularly as it’s in Peterborough, and get back in time for a snooze at the match.

Unfortunately I think I may have pulled something, either on my bike or at squash. Starting to feel injured again...

(Thursday 24^th April)

Reconnaissance Mission

After an awful performance and a total capitulation to Peterborough in midweek, losing 3-0, erratic old Derby bounce back and win 4-1 against an admittedly very poor and Ian Holloway-less Blackpool. They shouldn't even have had the '1', it was very dubious penalty decision.

We need to supply some beer for a beer tasting on Friday, so we head out on a reconnaissance mission. I would like to take something local, so we head to an old haunt of ours. The Fox and Crown, the brewery tap for the Alcazar Brewery.

It’s not a great experience. The warning signs were there when we walked in, most people drinking lager and London Pride on the bar for those that aren't. Still we were here for one of the six or so beers of their own, so we took the plunge. Ideally this would have been the legendary award winning Maple Magic but this hasn't been seen for around five years, unless we're just unlucky to keep missing it.

The old standby, known as Brush Ale was very flat, thin and too sweet. L's New Dawn was very similar. We tried two more but The Vixens Vice and Windjammer are no better. Clearly something has gone amiss with Alcazar.

So we move on down the road to the Horse and Groom. This is slightly better but there's still nothing dark and for October that's terrible. We end up drinking Old Intentional from the Derby Brewery, which is actually very good.

(Saturday 3rd November)

Nil By Mouth

Straight after his performance over the weekend Doggo is booked in for an op this morning. So it’s nil by mouth for him this morning. He’s going to have a small lump removed off his rear thigh. It could be a large zit or it could be something more sinister but we thought we best find out. As we have insurance on him, that we’ve never used, we’re having the works. Pre-op blood tests, post-op histology and one of those hilarious lampshade collars, amongst other things. We’ve even probably paid extra for tea and biscuits for when he comes round from his anaesthetic. Custard creams are his favourite, so my mother tells me. He gets no such luxuries here, not to my knowledge anyway.

L ‘volunteers’ (phew) to escort the patient to what he will see as a fate worse than death while I sit at work and chew my nails with stress. By the way, no punctures on the bike today.

Then there’s the resident drama queen to cope with. MD will be so jealous that Doggo gets to go ‘out’ and he doesn’t... if only he knew. When L comes back without Doggo, MD transforms into himself into Mr Pitiful Creature, moping by the front door, waiting for Doggo to return. He’s such a lost dog. First Son goes missing, then Daughter and now Doggo.

So L takes the day off to console him, walk him (a lopsided walk with only one dog) and plays endless games of football with him. Which is better than having him sobbing on her knee all day long.

The patient is home before I get back from work, with everything having gone well, although he still looks a bit woozy from the anaesthetic. Now I have to explain to him that’s he’s really not up to attending training tonight and has to stay home to convalesce. Then I head off with MD, who is equally unkeen to be parted from his buddy but he soon forgets when he meets up with all his pals at training.

(Monday 3rd October)