Archive for November, 2008
November 17, 2008 at 2:01 pm · Filed under Running
Running. Don’t you just love it?
I woke this morning with one of those huge grins that point blank refuses to go away and look just a tiny bit less smug with itself. Wandering down to the station I had to work hard to keep my feet in some kind of order as they were threatening to leap into the air for a spate of heel clicking frivolities.
When Amy MacDonald came on the iPod I couldn’t resist any more and had to run - I didn’t get too far, the platform was crowded and my rucksac was loaded with heavy study texts. The moment I got home though, I dropped the extraneous trammel and headed down to the river to release my joy with a sprint through the drizzle.
Sprint being the operative word.
Either it’s good for me to run on smiles or else someone has been slipping me performance enhancers. I broke my 3 year record for the two bridge river route and it’s my second zippy run of the week. I may have to attempt a time trial again if this keeps up.
Popularity: 10% [?]
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November 8, 2008 at 8:18 pm · Filed under Rambling, Running
I struggled with the running concept again this morning. I was awake from 4am thinking that I might just go out any minute and take in my required 10 mile pootle but I was still flouncing around at 11am throwing anti-running strops on the living room floor.
The new non-runner in my life has taken to questioning my strange obsession with this odd masochistic feature of my life and as a result I’ve found myself slightly bemused by the whole thing as well. I really and truly did not want to run today but at the same time I knew I had to, ought to and should go running!
What’s that about, when did I develop this addiction and do I need to go into rehab?
Sometimes I really want to run just out of the sheer pleasure of bounding around but I think I mostly run to escape myself. It’s much worse at the moment because I’m in the middle of exam stress and so am supposed to sit around on my arse all day studying. It doesn’t take much of that to make me want to run from my own company. I used to be able to sit around just fine without driving myself nuts but this exercise malarky seems to have given me boundless energy and without an outlet it turns me into a serious irritant!
I left the house knowing that a 10 miler was on my schedule but under the circumstances (I’ve no idea what they were) I’d settle for 8. In fact it was actually quite clear that I was open to negotiation and my baseline requirement was that I at least started running and I needed to get as far as Marks and Spencers for biscuits. Not a good start to a long run - I anticipated my inner whiner would kick in at the 1 mile turn off for M&S.
As it happens I seemed to be enjoying myself. I positively bounced past the first turn off point and then it started to pour down again. Rain is such a joy on a run, I love it. It makes me feel cool, committed and vaguely but satisfyingly ridiculous. I got to run past miserable walkers, huddled under the cover of trees, splashing through the puddles and calling out “light weights!”
Why is it that only runners smile in the rain?
I started to remember how great I feel when I run - you can continue forever and ever, meditating on the joys of your life and composing literary masterpieces (or even mediocre blog posts). When you finish you feel so goddamn smug that you can relax on the after affects for at least 3 days. I’m going to have such a productive revision day tomorrow!
The sun decided to put in an appearance over Twickenham Bridge and removed my perverse enjoyment so I turned round and headed back. I did nip into M&S but with my new found runners self-righteousness, I settled for grapes instead of ginger nuts.
8.5 miles - 1hr 46 mins.
Popularity: 14% [?]
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Tags: non-runner, why?
November 4, 2008 at 8:46 pm · Filed under Running
I wasn’t going to blog today but as both JogBlog and FitArtist have made the admirable commitment to blog everyday this month, about anything and everything, I thought the least I could do was blog about a bone-fide run, even if it was short one.
Their challenge is entitled NaBloPoMo which is perfectly explained in Cathy’s post. She may call herself a pedant but today it rang too many bells as I sat in an accountancy lecture listening to the tutor attempt to simplify the functions of Internal Audit with the mnemonic (or is it acronym?) ISACSRACE. That apparently stands for, Independent, Systematic, Analysis, Controls, Systems, Records, Adequate, Complete, Exist. What the heck does that lot mean and how does it help me with internal audit?!
I’ve got about 10 days before the exam and am wasting this evening trying to decide whether to spend the next week commiting that helpful little snippet to memory - well actually I’m not, because I’m going for a run instead! 7 hours of that sort of rubbish and I need to break free!
Accountants are crap at mnemonics, medics on the otherhand are the undisputed masters, how about: “Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle”?
This helps you remember the carpal bones (in the hand) from proximal to distal row, both lateral-to-medial: Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrium, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capate, Hamate.
Pure Quality!
Although it may be good I have to admit that I couldn’t remember it, and had to google “dirty medical mnemonics” to trigger my memory, but you can bet in another 15 years I won’t be going to so much trouble to remember the functions of internal audit.
Anyway, back to my run. Did I mention that I went for a run today? A whole 3 miles! Split in the middle with an allotment inferno of gargantuan proportions. So you could say I did two runs today!
Impressive or what?
Popularity: 12% [?]
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Tags: allotment, fire, NaBloMoPo
November 2, 2008 at 10:20 pm · Filed under Running
My new once a week running schedule is just not sufficient to keep me sane. By Sunday I’m absolutely climbing the walls.
I’m still off work, with college/study/mahjong-playing leave and have been going stir crazy. All week I’ve been promising myself a weekend treat splashing around the muddy trails of Swinley Forest and I bought some swanky inov8 mudclaws for the occassion - check out those treads.
Swinley Forest is my old haunt from the Broadmoor days and I love running around there. After last weeks Hebden Bridge trip I’ve been eager for mud, hills and bouncy forest trail - there’s nowhere better.
It was a bit cold and wet today but those are the perfect conditions for an autumnal forest run. The leaves were lush and the going was soft to squishy.
The shoes held up very well but then the soles would give a tractor tyre a run for its money. - solid grip. I slipped only once, while trying to leap a 4ft puddle by way of a slimey tree stump. Anyone with half a brain would have known that was going to end in tears but my oxygen starved brain has a tendency to want to see me in an emotional and painful heap. I escaped with only minor groin strain and some very cold feet.
I was heading to the lure of Caesar’s Camp. I love running around that hilltop fort, it was inhabited over 2000 years ago and it feels powerful. You can run around a thin trail, hugging the edge of the hill, and every time I’ve been there it’s been delightfully solitary.
Things have changed a bit with the seasons and the place seems to have been invaded by tiny xmas trees.
It seemed to be getting dark under the tree cover by 2:30 so I headed back a little earlier than planned. I was diving in and out of the woods following any trail that seemed passable and many that weren’t. I found an exciting mountain bike trail that proved almost as much fun on foot which is just as well as I’m about to flog the mountain bike to fund my lavish lifestyle and expensive tastes in running shoes.
Arrived back at the car park only to realise that I couldn’t remember the colour of the hire car and hadn’t a clue what the number plate was.
Of course I made it home eventually and was rewarded with this view of Barnes as I crossed the bridge.
I think a river run is called for next week.
Popularity: 13% [?]
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Tags: Bracknell, Broadmoor, Swinley Forest
