The Poisoned Baton

On Saturday we don’t Parkrun as L is still feeling injured although she does go to Pilates. I go to the match in the afternoon.

We stay in later because I have the Notts Christmas multi-looped Half Marathon at Holme Pierrepont on Sunday. Shoot me now. It’s as dull as ditch water but necessary dullness training-wise. L was booked into do it too but she has now passed that particular poisoned baton over to Daughter.

Daughter seems keen (perhaps not quite the right word) to do it, but she says she'll be crap but then she does say that about a lot of things. Instead L runs there, which is a decent stretch. I offered her the Lad’s services but she declined.

The race doesn’t start until 11:30, and I would normally be a fan of such leisurely starts but I’ve got to get a move on afterwards before the dog club’s AGM at 3pm.

The race goes astonishingly well for me in a 'I didn’t know I could do that any more' sort of way. I start off way too fast and then get faster. I start off doing 7:50 miles before accelerating to almost 7:30 miles. This is largely the fault of the two girls who overtake me early on, chatting away as they pass as if it was no effort at all. Naturally I undertake to catch and then pass them again. I am egged on in this venture by my new friend who I shall called ‘Steve’ because that is what it says on the front of his number. This may not be his name because Daughter is running with L's number and therefore under her name. 

‘Steve’ is also trying to catch the girls, most probably for different reasons to me as they are all in their 20s unlike the old codger that is me. Anyhow we pass them and then hope to drop them, well I do but I suspect Steve would like to run with them, but as it turns out dropping them seems impossible anyway as they're just too damn fast.

So aided by a flat course, the novelty of no wind at Holme Pierrepont, lots of nagging from ‘Steve’ and the two ‘passed but not dropped ’ girls constantly breathing down our necks we sprint over the line in 1:41:42. Extraordinary. I ran 1:47:47 here last year. It’s my fastest time since a 1:40:38 at Peterborough in October 2017.

The two girls finish about 30 seconds back and Steve goes off to chat them up while I collapse in an uncivilised heap.

Meanwhile Daughter who got injured the last time she ran at Holme Pierrepont repeats the trick again with her knee stopping her completing it. At least it all means that I’m in plenty of time for my AGM, which goes very well.

L and I head into town later and after four pints in Drafthouse Victoria we go to the Noor Jahan for a curry. We’ve not been here for a while and they’ve done away with the cheap three course menu they used to have. So it’s not as cheap as it was but it’s still a decently priced meal and with an excellent starter’s platter.

(Sunday 1^st December)

Dog Frisbee (A Work In Progress)

This morning we do Mansfield Woodhouse parkrun, continuing L’s grand tour and for a bit of variety. I run with MD again on their three lap course (please shoot me afterwards), so I’ll put the fact that we were 40 seconds slower than last time down to dizziness.

I’ve opted for the 5k parkrun today rather than a 10k tomorrow thinking this will be a better way of ‘ending’ my training for the Nottingham Half. As in less chance of injury over half the distance.

I can now start feeling very guilty for spending the week ahead tapering after this harsh non-training regime I’ve been putting myself through. I do feel that my base fitness is good so, according to what ‘they’ say, my ability to run a long distance should purely be a mental issue...

 

We end the morning with a game of dog Frisbee which goes ok but could have gone better if I actually knew how to throw a Frisbee and if Doggo didn’t keep trying to eat it. MD seemed just as happy to bring it back as he does a ball. I just need to master the throwing of it. He is supposed to pluck it out of the air rather that simply wait for it to stop rolling.

In the evening we meet Daughter on neutral ground in Sheffield. I’m always up for a night in the Sheffield Tap so it sounds a good plan to me. Unfortunately Daughter turns up not having eaten for three weeks and the Tap doesn’t do food, so we wave the exciting range of beers goodbye and look for somewhere else.

We look for and eventually find, after some considerable searching, the Rutland Arms. They also have some exciting beers and an odd food menu but the food turns out to be excellent.

(Saturday 19^th September)

Hat Hanging

Today is the Leicester 10k, two laps of Abbey Park and advertised as (but aren’t they all) fast and flat. Shoot me now.

Actually, it’s not that bad. A bit twisty at first, so certainly not fast but there are some nice straight road sections as well. Although both these sections are up slight but constant inclines, so not flat either. None of it is on grit paths as I expected and I even quite enjoy myself. Nothing twangs, snaps or breaks. I take it easy for the first 2k, saying to myself that any pace will do but what I actually do, 4:45 per km isn’t bad.

Then I try to hang my hat on 4:30 for the rest of the way round and nearly nail it finishing in 46:28. It’s my fastest for a year. Not that I’ve done many. Meanwhile L is again getting all flirtatious with the hour and one day soon they will have an emotional coming together. She comes home today in 62 minutes.

Then we head south to Papworth Hospital where L’s brother is, aiming to get there for visiting time at 2:15. The boys are with us as usual, jet setting around the country. One minute they are weeing up a tree in Leicestershire, the next it’s up the duck pond in Cambridgeshire.

We head into town for Sunday lunch at the Hand and Heart, a first visit to the under new management Borlase (now run by Lincoln Green) before finally a gorgeous Chocolate Gorilla in the Blue Monkey pub.

(Sunday 17^th May)

Still Limping Along

L gives me my birthday present early. Some new cycling shorts which I can now wear in today’s sportive. L doesn't make the start line but comes to support with the boys. Who weren’t going to get to come but now do. Again it’s bloody windy. What is it with the weather and my bike at the moment?

This is the Rutland CiCLE Tour Sportive and I’m doing 57 miles, there are two longer and one shorter options. We start from Normanton on the South Shore of Rutland Water, which is the other side to where the duathlon starts. We still end up parking at Sykes Lane though and I have to bike round. This turns out to be 2.4 miles and I’m knackered before I even start. L points out that this is a good warm up, that I skipped sex for. Not that I recall being offered any.

It takes me 1 hour 33 minutes to reach the one and only feed station at Owston. Shoot me now, as some folk would say. At least they have some decent snacks and real tea, L would approve. I stash some cheesy biscuits in my pocket for later, for the boys.

It’s a tough ride. As well as being windy, the course is hilly. Full of silly little hills that they appear to have gone out of their way to find. At least my new shorts are nice and snug.

I reach the finish, having done 57.58 miles in 3:44. Not exactly quick.

After we get back in the afternoon L heads over to Derby to visit her brother in hospital whilst I listen to the match. After a 4-4 draw with Huddersfield last week, this week’s game finishes 3-3 as free scoring and free conceding Derby draw again, this time at Millwall. Somehow they continue to limp towards the play offs.

I then head into Nottingham and meet L at Peacock for another night on the OP and the Northern Stout.

(Saturday 25^th April)