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)

A Bit Of Quibbling

There’s quite a bit of quibbling going on over our Thunder Run team for next year. We were quite a happy five last year, aside from the biblical weather, but now the squad appears to have ballooned to seven or even eight.

A larger team would be a retrograde step in our eyes, personally I want more laps not less, so we offer to stand down. Then some others offer to stand down which probably makes the team captain want to stand down. Entry day is tomorrow and we’ve no idea what the plan is or even if there is one.

L is out in Derby tonight at Le Bistrot Pierre with the rest of the Hairy Helmet team but not me obviously. I’m off dogging. 

(Monday 9^th October)

Great Eastern Flirt

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Today I’m in Peterborough for the Great Eastern Run which is a Half Marathon that has nothing to do with those ‘Great’ and ‘Run’ people.

There are dire predictions of parking chaos but as it happens we park practically on the start line, not sure how that happened.

While I make my way to the start line, L makes her way in to the city centre to find a good viewing point. She’s really going to scout out the local Waterstones but if she gives me a cheer as I run past all the better.

With half an eye on next weekend’s ‘big’ one, I was more than happy to jog round this one in another 1:45. When I ran this race before, in 2014, I got round 1:49 but I was seriously strapped up at the time.

Sadly there isn’t a 1:45 pacer today but there is a 1:40 one. So I thought I might as well flirt with him and see what happens.

The route is very flat as was shown by my split times which were incredibly consistent. I also achieved my aim of getting them all under eight minutes per mile. This is always my aim on a half marathon but it is rarely achieved. My slowest today is 7:41. Which all bodes well for a decent time, although by the end I am hanging on to the pacers for grim death.

There are about a dozen of us running with them but when a group of us stop at one of the later drink stations and the pacers don’t, pandemonium ensues. Runners end up colliding with each other as they attempt to get back on pace and in the end a group of us form our own little peloton around 50 metres behind them.

We do gradually battle our way back to them but never quite gain parity with them again and in the last mile I let them go. I’m more than happy when I come home in 1:40:38. L remarks that it was good that I was ‘taking it easy’. I think she’s impressed.

So a good race, although not a very pretty one once you’ve done the city centre but it’s pleasant enough and well organised. I could have done with a different colour t-shirt though, yellow ugh.

I again use my new trainers and all appears well with them but then it was only a half marathon... next week it isn’t.

In the evening we again tour Canning Circus and wind up at the Park Tandoori for a takeaway curry.

(Sunday 8^th October)

Ambivalent To The Occasion

With L still sidelined, MD and I again run parkrun with Daughter. Today we’re up at Brierley Forest Parkrun at Huthwaite, the reason being this is where Doggo’s brother now lives and it means we can get the old men together again.

The runs goes well but it is a bit narrow for running with a dog and after MD’s usual shenanigans at the start it takes us an age to catch up Daughter or perhaps she’s just getting speedier.

I also get to try out my new trainers which seem ok but then it was only 5k.

It’s been about five years since Doggo and his brother met up as they have been living down in Suffolk where we have only visited the once. Both dogs seem a little bit ambivalent to the occasion. Doggo is particularly wary as his brother has also been a tad too boisterous for him in the past and can frankly be a bit of a bully.

Age, however, seems to have mellowed him, either that or he’s no long capable of boisterousness. Both the boys are now sixteen.

(Saturday 7^th October)

All Eventualities

I’m on the bike today which was much easier than expected. L isn’t impressed though, she’s too morose about her own exercise regime. Which she describes as... Nothing. Zilch. Zero. She’s not even brought her bag of all-eventualities kit to work. In fact, not carrying the all-eventualities bag will probably benefit her back no end. I tell her to reward herself with a glass of wine later.

My new trainers are waiting for me at work when I get in today. I shall try them out this weekend. We also have my masseur over again tonight, making last minute preparations to my calves for next weekend.

While on my way home my phone beeps. ‘boobs sorted’. It’s not often you get a text like that. L’s been to get measured. I did offer but I don’t think she thinks I’m professional enough.

My masseur follows me in as I cycle home. Clearly he’s keen to get started. 

(Friday 6^th October)

Totally Nailed It

I’m in London again today for yet another meeting. Thankfully it’s a late start so we cruise, more or less, through the traffic which wouldn’t have been the case if the planned tube strike had gone ahead. Thankfully they seemed to forget what they were striking about and called it off.

The meeting itself is brief and goes well. It is so brief that we have chance to nip to their other site so that I can show my colleague what we’ve done there and we’re still out of London well before rush hour. We cruise past Luton and then stop for a quick snack.

Then just when we think we’ve totally nailed it we hit Kegworth, just twenty minutes from home, and barely move for over an hour. My colleague who is driving tries to find a different route. Never works... doesn’t work. We’re that long L suspects we’re in the pub but sadly, no. She’ll have to start our night in without me.

(Thursday 5^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)

In The Shins

Back on the bike this morning and it was a lot harder than I expected, so perhaps my legs aren’t recovering as well as I thought.

L has an Osteopath appointment, who beats her about a bit and I think improves things a touch. He also tells her not to run... Luckily I don’t think she’s moving well enough to kick him in the shins.

Dog training tonight and then in the Masons afterwards with L and the usual beers.

(Tuesday 3^rd October)

Plaster Shopping

L thanks for an exciting weekend despite her units being a tad high. That would be Tuesday's naughty whisky. Who needs Malmo?

The old legs seem to be coping ok with the half marathons and I feel I could run today if I wanted to. The only problem is the gorgeous blisters that I have. I imagine they’ll be particularly wonderful after a full marathon. L suggests I check out Compeed blister pads when I’m in Sainsburys later.

While I’m shopping for plasters, L sneaks off for a lunchtime swim. 

Then it’s a very blustery dogging session.

(Monday 2^nd October)

Malmo Substitute

Well it could have been Malmo but it wasn’t to be and now here we are in Lincoln instead. Malmo was a tentatively plan for my 50^th Birthday running teat but it just proved too difficult to get over there for a weekend. I need to start planning further out next time and by which point L should be fit enough to play a full part.

My entry to Lincoln went in very late and at first it looked like they were going to make me drive over to Lincoln on Saturday just to pick my number up but they relented. As it turns out there are loads of people collecting their numbers on the day. It is a day that starts very dull and rainy but it does fine up by start time.

This is the second running of the event which starts at the Lincoln Showground which we know well from the many dog shows that are held there.

You can see why they held the start and finish out at the Showground but it’s a bit of a dull run in to Lincoln itself from there. It’s also surprisingly not very supporter friendly because the start was a fair old hike from race HQ as it was held on the far periphery of the showground and supporters also weren't allowed past the finish line to watch us complete it.

However, once the race got into Lincoln it was great. There was plenty of support there and an interesting section on the river front, followed by lovely big hill up to the Castle and then a nice little cobbled section.

Then there’s the long dull run back to the Showground and a final stretch along the very gravelly access road which hurts my feet. It makes me think I some less minimalist trainers for my marathon, which isn’t really what you’re supposed to do two weeks out from a race.

I cross the line in a reasonable 01:45 to be handed the traditional pint of Erdinger Alcohol free.

In the evening we tour Canning Circus and finish off with a curry from the Park Tandoori.

(Sunday 1^st October)