Running with a group for the first time

This evening a friend took me to meet a group of people who run every Wednesday evening. They are the Hemlington I Run group and provide a friendly environment with encouragement and gentle competition to run in. They meet at Hemlington Lake which has a path running around it that is about 1.1 km long. We were free to run however many laps we chose and could stop whenever we wanted. The group ranged from some speed merchants who disappeared into the wild blue yonder, to several who simply walked the laps. On every lap though there was someone  cheering you on with words of encouragement, a really lovely environment to run in. So my training tonight was 5 laps of the lake (about 5.5 km) in approximately 35 minutes, not too shabby considering it was 20 degrees Celsius, a tad warm for comfortable running and that I still haven't sorted out the rubbish water bottle situation.

Back to work, Sunshine and a Sleeping Bike

Gods but I didn't want to get up this morning, the alarm went off at 5.30 am, which of course we all know is really still 4.30 am after the clocks went forward, and good resolutions flew out of the window. I happily hit snooze and snuggled down for five (make that fifteen) minutes more. Sadly, will power alone is insufficient to hold back the demands of a dog that needs walking and a day at work, not just a day at work either, the first day back after TWO weeks off!

It occurs to me if I could harness the will power utilised in wishing for it not to be time to get it up and translate it into training I'd be challenging the Alistair Brownlee  in September not just myself, but more of that later.

Shortly after tumbling into the shower I remembered that some idiot had booked training into my diary for 9 am, in York. Then as the water cleared the fog of sleep from my dozy brain, I realised I controlled the diary and therefore I was the idiot. I guess if the cap fits... Going back to work was made all the harder by the fact that with the start of BST, we seem to have summer, it won't last of course, British summers never do (apart from 1976 and that lasted at least 2 years according to my memory) It'll be warm this week, lull us into a false sense of security and then Bam! Snow for Easter, you just watch. Work worked despite my stupidity, made harder by the fact that the sun was shining outside all day and I was stuck inside for most of it, but hey, all bad things come to an end eventually.

I was good though, when I got home I took the dog out, got some shopping and then, with the temperature a balmy 19 degrees Celsius I went and ran. I ran the one and a half mile circuit and again managed it in 14 minutes, that means if I can keep the same pace up for 6km I will do it in 35 minutes, 5 minutes outside the guide given on the Tatton Triathlon site but I guess its a start. I find it more worrying that they reckon 20 minutes for the swim and 50 minutes for the bike. I haven't even managed to wake my bike up yet, let alone do 20 km in 50 minutes on it.

Shhh! Bike sleeping!

While I write this I'm listening to Neon Bible by Arcade Fire and have just discovered this rather wonderful site for you to play with that also plays the title track, click here for amazingness!

A detour to the South West

So early on and already the excuses start I hear you say, and indeed there is an excuse. The last few days have been taken up with a trip to Cornwall to see my daughter Fiona. I did give genuine consideration to taking my running stuff with me, but then the memory of the steepness of the hills in Falmouth made me decide that discretion was the better part of valour and indeed, cowardice was the better part of discretion. So on Thursday morning I set off to drive the 433 miles to Cornwall in glorious sunshine and sure enough on the edge of Bodmin Moor the heavens opened. Now I have been driving to and from Cornwall since the 80's and I can probably count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've driven across the Moor when it's not been raining! That said it eased off as I travelled West and by the time I reached Falmouth it was dry albeit overcast.

I stayed at the most splendid guest house I have ever come across (discovered on a previous visit). It's called the Moonlight Guest House, situated a few minutes from the harbour and run by Celia, a delightfully eccentric Spanish(?) lady who gives all the profit to children's educational charities and animal charities. I have been there twice now and I have never seen Celia wearing anything other than pyjamas, she is unfailingly helpful and friendly and an absolute delight!

My main reason for going down was to see my daughter perform in her final school production before she starts Uni, the production was called Our Town, by Thornton Wilder - a 1937 play set in a fictional New Hampshire town. Fiona had two small parts - "Artistic Lady" and "Dead Woman" - both speaking parts (yes the dead speak in this play) and the first role destined to gain the biggest laugh of the night and the only individual round of applause. As you can imagine I did the bursting with pride fatherly bit throughout, made all the better after the production by meeting a number of other parents who were fulsome in their praise of my little girl, not just regards to her acting but of her as a person too. Drinks with the cast after the play just ended the day perfectly, a midnight finish but well worth the tiredness.

Friday dawned beautifully sunny and the morning was spent wandering around Falmouth, enjoying the sunshine and admiring the boats. My daughter informs me I should buy one, get a parrot and become a pirate so she can come and spend holidays with me on the boat, not that bad an idea apart from the parrot to be fair. The afternoon was spent with Fiona, talking and catching up and then in the evening going for a very lovely meal. Sadly the end of Friday brought with it the end of my short break and Saturday morning brought the drive home... Ah well, back down to see her soon.

Oh btw, the running starts again tomorrow!

In the mean time this boat would make a very good Pirate's boat!

I should start this by saying I have skinny legs, I don't just mean thing, I mean SKINNY! You know the stork that delivers Dumbo? Well I could have been a life model for the Disney artists when they drew him. I say this merely as a preamble to the fact that the thing preventing legs from being skinny is muscle, when over taxed, muscle aches, I have skinny legs ergo I have very little muscle in my legs, this being the case WHY DO MINE ACHE SO MUCH after one lousy 1.5 mile run? The whole of Monday they were shouting at me, rather loudly I might add, that I had abused them on Sunday and I'd better not do it again. I hadn't planned to, or at least not yesterday.

Yesterday I was visiting my God Parents (long over due) and enjoying a bit of countryside air. They are wonderful people, my Godmother would defend me to the hilt, even if it happened to be stuck in someone else's back and my fingerprints were all over it, my Godfather fascinates me with his knowledge of all things music and never lets me down with his diatribes about the Tory scum (his words) and the old fool on the throne (I think he meant the Queen). He describes himself as an Atheist, Socialist, Republican! But for me the sentence that will always sum him up is one he uttered about 35 years ago... Socialist maybe, Nazi never! (BTW Not quite sure how an atheist became my Godfather but I wouldn't change him for the world?)

All of this said I went and did the running stuff again this afternoon and again clocked 14 minutes for a mile and a half, I will admit to being somewhat hampered by a water bottle that would let any water out unless you shook it. Anyone who has ever drunk anything will be able to tell you that it is a most inefficient way of drinking, add running into the mix and the rehydration factor is about as effective as sunbathing nude in the Kalahari, but hey ho, I'll get that sorted I guess.

Sunday 18th March - or do I really want to do this?

Well I did it, I discovered through careful research (prevarication) that there is a 1.5 mile obvious circuit around the block from my house and this morning at approximately 7.15 am I ran outdoors, on the road, for the first time in ages.

The Molly dog was unimpressed at being left behind, but perhaps wisely I decided that having my right arm ripped out of its socket every time she wanted to stop and squat (and believe me she does that far too much) was not the best idea in the world. Although I will admit that it did briefly cross my mind that a shoulder injury would prevent me from swimming...hmm I wonder?

The weather today, or at least at 7.15 am (did I mention it was 7.15 am on a Sunday morning?) was cold, not quite freezing but you could see the dew on the grass wasn't quite sure whether it should crystalize or not, but beautiful blue sky and no wind. Ideal! Yep, and bloomin' cold when your dressed in shorts and t shirt. Door locked behind me, ipod on loud (Stemm - Face The Pain seemed an appropriate choice) I set off, 14 minutes later (roughly) I was back, 1.5 miles run, breathing somewhat laboured, ready for a cup of tea. I guess this counts as the first step.

Next, a shower and a drive to wish my Mum the happiest of Mothers' Days!

How it all began

Back in January a friend (or at least she is at the moment) suggested I joined her and her family doing the Tatton Triathalon. OK I thought, I'll give it a go, I've done a couple of half marathons, I can swim and we all know that you never forget how to ride a bike! Then on the 6th February I got the dreaded message via Facebook saying, and I quote "you are now entered for your first triathlon - keep up the training :) Expecting you for the weekend of the 8/9 september. love Tanya" at which point the terror set in. Since then I have had a raging chest infection, moved house, had a new tattoo, discovered my bike had perished inner tubes  and generally prevaricated, but now, I guess I'm going to have to start training properly. So I thought I'd record my progress here. I plan to take it steadily, the only sprint I'll be doing is in the distance of the tri. But it'll be fun to try and record what it feels like to get there...starting tomorrow ;o)