A strange day today. A lie in, a park session and then the rest of the day in. Perhaps this is what normal people do on a Saturday. I do a few jobs that have been on the 'to do' list for the last decade or so but only a few before I turn the computer on. Fatal mistake. Well some of the many jobs I need to do involved the computer, buying stuff you know.
Then I spend so much money on-line that it would have been far cheaper to go out. In fact it would have been far cheaper to have gone away for the weekend. Abroad.
Well I did need a new camera, desperately; those gig photos really weren’t up to scratch. We’re also been without a TV for some time. So Daughter will be ecstatic at that purchase. L too will be elated that I’ve got her a new cosy camping mat... perhaps, so that she can sleep in a tent next month when we go up to Langdale for the 10k, rather than having to spend the night in some posh hotel. I even got some new torches to illuminate the way.
Derby lose. Told you it was an strange day. I've kind of got used to them winning very week.
Spending the day in, also turns out to involve spending the evening in when L turns down my offer of a romantic Mexican cannibal film at Broadway. It's a shame but sensible and she placates me with an early night instead. Which is all good before tomorrow’s Barnsley 10k, that I’m trying to take seriously. Hence we're alcohol free tonight as well.
Instead we indulge with a heavily cheese-laden Lasagne for tea, for the carbs naturally. We’ll need to run fast to work all that off.
(Saturday 13th November)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Fashion Conscious Email
Its mega windy this morning so it seems to make sense to run into work rather than to cycle. Cycling would be more ‘entertaining’, sideways gusts and all that but running is perhaps safer. It’s more of a steeplechase than a run, as I had to hurdle many a fallen branch.
How hard should it be to email a knitting pattern? Ok... why do I want to email a knitting pattern you ask? Good question. Don’t worry about it. The fact is L emailed one to her work from our home account and it never arrived. So I emailed it to my work and again it never arrived. So in the end I picked it up at work via webmail, so that I could print it off. For some reason both our works’ email systems must have thought it was dodgy. I can’t see why though, it was just jpeg images. Must be some new fashion conscious email filter they’ve introduced.
L and Daughter keep complaining its cold and of course it isn’t. They’ll want the heating on next. True, the weather has perhaps got a bit chillier recently but it’s hardly wintry. Then today I get an email from Cairngorm Mountain saying they’re opening for skiing this weekend... as I was saying, the weather’s starting to get a bit colder now.
I run home from work, apart from the middle nine miles, where I hop on the bus. I’m only 10k training now, so no need to overdo it. Just as I’m nearing home the music in my ears is drowned out by two dogs going nuts. I seem to have inadvertently ran past the ‘boys’ and L without noticing them. I backtrack and make my apologies.
Tonight we head down to the Johnson Arms’ mini beer festival. It’s only a small affair but still worth a look. In fact, although they have a good long rotating beer list, the actual selection on at any one time is only six beers and they usually stock five. Thankfully some of them are good ones. In fact there were only a few on the rotating list we fancied but most of them seem to be on now. L cosies up to the Adnams’ Dutch Style Bokbier (5.3%) whilst I only have eyes for Milestone’s Old English Ale (4.9%). Well, I have a brief flirtation with the autumnal charm of Derventio’s Standard Bearer (4.5%) but I’m soon back in the arms of the Old English for the rest of the evening.
(Friday 12th November)
How hard should it be to email a knitting pattern? Ok... why do I want to email a knitting pattern you ask? Good question. Don’t worry about it. The fact is L emailed one to her work from our home account and it never arrived. So I emailed it to my work and again it never arrived. So in the end I picked it up at work via webmail, so that I could print it off. For some reason both our works’ email systems must have thought it was dodgy. I can’t see why though, it was just jpeg images. Must be some new fashion conscious email filter they’ve introduced.
L and Daughter keep complaining its cold and of course it isn’t. They’ll want the heating on next. True, the weather has perhaps got a bit chillier recently but it’s hardly wintry. Then today I get an email from Cairngorm Mountain saying they’re opening for skiing this weekend... as I was saying, the weather’s starting to get a bit colder now.
I run home from work, apart from the middle nine miles, where I hop on the bus. I’m only 10k training now, so no need to overdo it. Just as I’m nearing home the music in my ears is drowned out by two dogs going nuts. I seem to have inadvertently ran past the ‘boys’ and L without noticing them. I backtrack and make my apologies.
Tonight we head down to the Johnson Arms’ mini beer festival. It’s only a small affair but still worth a look. In fact, although they have a good long rotating beer list, the actual selection on at any one time is only six beers and they usually stock five. Thankfully some of them are good ones. In fact there were only a few on the rotating list we fancied but most of them seem to be on now. L cosies up to the Adnams’ Dutch Style Bokbier (5.3%) whilst I only have eyes for Milestone’s Old English Ale (4.9%). Well, I have a brief flirtation with the autumnal charm of Derventio’s Standard Bearer (4.5%) but I’m soon back in the arms of the Old English for the rest of the evening.
(Friday 12th November)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Anything Is Possible
I try to get out of bed this morning to go for an early morning run. If I’m going to get that 10k time back below 42 minutes I’m going to have to train a bit. Perhaps not this morning though as I hear the rain lashing against the window, again. I snuggle back into bed with L and by the time I get finally up the only viable option to get to work is by car, and of course hope that no one’s parked up in the middle of the A52 today.
My meeting, cancelled from Monday, finally happens but I have to cancel a pub lunch for it, so not terribly enamoured to be there. It goes ok though.
Then it’s squash, which I lose 4-1. Although there were several pluses. First the game that I won was 15-1 (yes we play to 15, which is none standard but don’t ask), and was nearly the first 15-0 whitewash for either of us. It would have been well funny if I’d achieved that. The second plus was that we carried on playing after the match to aid my opponent’s 10k training. We played two more games and I won both. My superior fitness winning through.
Not that I ever expect him to actually do a 10k of course but he did drunkenly agreed to one last week, so I’m revelling in the possibility at the moment. I guess anything is possible.
Anyhow I’m calling the score 4-3 and if we’d kept playing I’d have won overall eventually. After that I had to practically carry him to the pub.
I get home just before L, who’s just back from the cinema and a brick session (that’s my training plan) at the gym. So we’re both in need of sustenance and because Daughter had staked out the living room for some TV programme we have to take the bottle into the bedroom. Not a problem.
(Thursday 11th November)
My meeting, cancelled from Monday, finally happens but I have to cancel a pub lunch for it, so not terribly enamoured to be there. It goes ok though.
Then it’s squash, which I lose 4-1. Although there were several pluses. First the game that I won was 15-1 (yes we play to 15, which is none standard but don’t ask), and was nearly the first 15-0 whitewash for either of us. It would have been well funny if I’d achieved that. The second plus was that we carried on playing after the match to aid my opponent’s 10k training. We played two more games and I won both. My superior fitness winning through.
Not that I ever expect him to actually do a 10k of course but he did drunkenly agreed to one last week, so I’m revelling in the possibility at the moment. I guess anything is possible.
Anyhow I’m calling the score 4-3 and if we’d kept playing I’d have won overall eventually. After that I had to practically carry him to the pub.
I get home just before L, who’s just back from the cinema and a brick session (that’s my training plan) at the gym. So we’re both in need of sustenance and because Daughter had staked out the living room for some TV programme we have to take the bottle into the bedroom. Not a problem.
(Thursday 11th November)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Almost Dead
On the bike today and rather bizarrely I get shouted out by a chap who had not only parked his car in the cycle lane in Risley but then got out of the car without looking. I have to swerve to avoid colliding with him.... and he shouts at me! He was a huge chap, well overweight, he could have done with doing a bit of cycling himself but I think probably even walking would have been beyond him. I probably burned more calories in that swerve than he will do in the rest of the week.
This morning L asks whether she’s got life insurance. She has but does the fact she’s enquiring mean she's more ill that I thought?
It’s the tuition fees demonstration in London today. Son was on about hitching a lift on the coach to blag a day out in London. Though I can’t see the NUS letting him get away with that. All the same I look out for him on the BBC news. No sign. Turns out he stayed in Warwick. He’s well out of it.
Can’t believe this photo from the BBC website. Talk about staged. All those cameramen just happened to be there when that lad kicked a window in...
I cycle to the pool for a swim. I think that’s three weeks in a row. When I arrive I text L ‘Alive. At pool’, as I usually do to confirm that I’ve survived another battle with the traffic. Her response ‘Almost dead. At work’ isn’t encouraging but quite witty. Hope I don’t need to resuscitate her later with Leffe.
It’s Doggo’s late training session tonight. His one evening a month when he gets the training all to himself. MD isn’t happy though and sits there looking a bit pathetic in the car. He does that very well.
(Wednesday 10th November)
This morning L asks whether she’s got life insurance. She has but does the fact she’s enquiring mean she's more ill that I thought?
It’s the tuition fees demonstration in London today. Son was on about hitching a lift on the coach to blag a day out in London. Though I can’t see the NUS letting him get away with that. All the same I look out for him on the BBC news. No sign. Turns out he stayed in Warwick. He’s well out of it.
Can’t believe this photo from the BBC website. Talk about staged. All those cameramen just happened to be there when that lad kicked a window in...
I cycle to the pool for a swim. I think that’s three weeks in a row. When I arrive I text L ‘Alive. At pool’, as I usually do to confirm that I’ve survived another battle with the traffic. Her response ‘Almost dead. At work’ isn’t encouraging but quite witty. Hope I don’t need to resuscitate her later with Leffe.
It’s Doggo’s late training session tonight. His one evening a month when he gets the training all to himself. MD isn’t happy though and sits there looking a bit pathetic in the car. He does that very well.
(Wednesday 10th November)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Preserving Front Line Services
In the car again today because I need to be home and in Lenton for 6pm. Tonight I investigate a possible new ‘career’ in coaching and have enrolled on a course which starts tonight. It’s run by the council, so I’m not getting too excited.
L, who’s looking a bit ill but naturally won't admit it, is also probably thinking about a new career or maybe just retirement. She says it’s positively ‘icy’ at work this morning and she’s not talking about the weather. Maybe that’s why she’s feeling off colour. As expected the refit at work has upset a few people. She worries too much. You can’t beat a bit of infighting. If she retired she’d miss all that.
So to Nottingham City Council’s Coach Recruitment Programme. Tonight they teach us how to coach a new game. They make one up especially, so that the rules are new to us and then get us to make one up as well. It’s all quite fun actually. We even learn how to give a health and safety briefing... guess I should have seen that one coming. Then, blimey, another free buffet. A very large and impressive buffet, no wonder council funds are under pressure. When they talk about preserving front line services amongst all the budget cuts, it’s good to see they’ve not only retained the buffet but kept it at a high standard.
The evening is finished off with more red tape, the filling in of CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure forms. You need to be CRB checked before you can do any coaching and there are coaching opportunities on this course. They give us a list of these and among them is a post with Notts Athletic Club which could be interesting, or there’s even the chance to rejoin the dark art that is orienteering. We used to do quite a bit of orienteering a few years ago and there’s a chance to coach with the Nottingham Orienteering Club.
(Tuesday 9th November)
L, who’s looking a bit ill but naturally won't admit it, is also probably thinking about a new career or maybe just retirement. She says it’s positively ‘icy’ at work this morning and she’s not talking about the weather. Maybe that’s why she’s feeling off colour. As expected the refit at work has upset a few people. She worries too much. You can’t beat a bit of infighting. If she retired she’d miss all that.
So to Nottingham City Council’s Coach Recruitment Programme. Tonight they teach us how to coach a new game. They make one up especially, so that the rules are new to us and then get us to make one up as well. It’s all quite fun actually. We even learn how to give a health and safety briefing... guess I should have seen that one coming. Then, blimey, another free buffet. A very large and impressive buffet, no wonder council funds are under pressure. When they talk about preserving front line services amongst all the budget cuts, it’s good to see they’ve not only retained the buffet but kept it at a high standard.
The evening is finished off with more red tape, the filling in of CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure forms. You need to be CRB checked before you can do any coaching and there are coaching opportunities on this course. They give us a list of these and among them is a post with Notts Athletic Club which could be interesting, or there’s even the chance to rejoin the dark art that is orienteering. We used to do quite a bit of orienteering a few years ago and there’s a chance to coach with the Nottingham Orienteering Club.
(Tuesday 9th November)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
My Sort Of Mission
I’ve spent the last few days setting up for a meeting that was arranged for first thing this morning and then suddenly it’s cancelled. The guy claims car trouble but I reckon he just didn’t fancy driving up from Norfolk in the rain. It is totally foul out there.
Oh well, all is not lost. There’s still the pre-ordered buffet lunch to dispose of.
In lieu of her new Madonna image L slots on the bottom of today’s shopping list ‘tights - your choice’. I like that sort of mission; I can let my imagination run riot. Although she’s probably expecting something in plain black or maybe she’s hoping for something more Madonna-esk. Hmmm. I think I’ll play safe, in any case she will want something that’s warm, whereas Madonna probably wouldn’t be that fussed as she doubtless doesn’t walk that often into town for a pint in the middle of winter.
Cue fanfare. I’ve finished another book, a Nick Hornby, called ‘Juliet, Naked’.
I like Hornby, particularly when he’s in ‘music fan’ mode. No one quite writes about the emotional attachment to music like Hornby does and he gets to let his imagination run wild with this one. He conjures up a whole career for his invented 1980’s American singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe. Crowe gets a complete set of albums with track listings, lyrics and accompanying tales, along with his own Wikipedia entries, fan sites and forums. So convincing was it that I almost found myself trying to track down a second hand copy of ‘Juliet’, his legendary break-up album from 1986, on ebay, just to find out what all the fuss was about because after ‘Juliet’, Crowe fell silent, stopped recording and became a recluse.
The story though is mainly about a couple, Annie and Duncan, who have been together almost as long as Crowe has been silent and Annie is well bored with the whole thing.
Then suddenly out of the blue Crowe’s record company releases ‘Juliet, Naked’, a CD of acoustic demos of all the songs from that legendary album. Duncan loves it and posts an ecstatic review on the internet. Annie hates it and posts a counter review. Perhaps as a consequence of this Annie gets kind of lucky when Duncan leaves her for someone else, very briefly, and then refuses to take him back as she starts getting her own life together. This includes hanging out with the man himself, Tucker Crowe, who gets in touch with her after he agrees with her review. Duncan can’t quite get his head around that.
In truth, not a lot happens in the book. It is three quarters of a good idea and then meanders a bit. I wondered how he was going to finish it but actually the ending is quite good.
By the evening, the rain is still impressive but then it has been practising all day. L says I won’t get Doggo to go out in it but its MD’s training tonight and although Doggo probably won’t get a go himself, he wouldn’t let us go unsupervised.
After that we do a late night raid on L’s work and nab an old desk for Daughter’s room. I believe we have permission and that it’s all kosher. Their new renovated offices look good, so good, that L reckons the rest of the staff will hate it when they come in tomorrow. Office politics, love em.
(Monday 8th November)
Oh well, all is not lost. There’s still the pre-ordered buffet lunch to dispose of.
In lieu of her new Madonna image L slots on the bottom of today’s shopping list ‘tights - your choice’. I like that sort of mission; I can let my imagination run riot. Although she’s probably expecting something in plain black or maybe she’s hoping for something more Madonna-esk. Hmmm. I think I’ll play safe, in any case she will want something that’s warm, whereas Madonna probably wouldn’t be that fussed as she doubtless doesn’t walk that often into town for a pint in the middle of winter.
Cue fanfare. I’ve finished another book, a Nick Hornby, called ‘Juliet, Naked’.
I like Hornby, particularly when he’s in ‘music fan’ mode. No one quite writes about the emotional attachment to music like Hornby does and he gets to let his imagination run wild with this one. He conjures up a whole career for his invented 1980’s American singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe. Crowe gets a complete set of albums with track listings, lyrics and accompanying tales, along with his own Wikipedia entries, fan sites and forums. So convincing was it that I almost found myself trying to track down a second hand copy of ‘Juliet’, his legendary break-up album from 1986, on ebay, just to find out what all the fuss was about because after ‘Juliet’, Crowe fell silent, stopped recording and became a recluse.
The story though is mainly about a couple, Annie and Duncan, who have been together almost as long as Crowe has been silent and Annie is well bored with the whole thing.
Then suddenly out of the blue Crowe’s record company releases ‘Juliet, Naked’, a CD of acoustic demos of all the songs from that legendary album. Duncan loves it and posts an ecstatic review on the internet. Annie hates it and posts a counter review. Perhaps as a consequence of this Annie gets kind of lucky when Duncan leaves her for someone else, very briefly, and then refuses to take him back as she starts getting her own life together. This includes hanging out with the man himself, Tucker Crowe, who gets in touch with her after he agrees with her review. Duncan can’t quite get his head around that.
In truth, not a lot happens in the book. It is three quarters of a good idea and then meanders a bit. I wondered how he was going to finish it but actually the ending is quite good.
By the evening, the rain is still impressive but then it has been practising all day. L says I won’t get Doggo to go out in it but its MD’s training tonight and although Doggo probably won’t get a go himself, he wouldn’t let us go unsupervised.
After that we do a late night raid on L’s work and nab an old desk for Daughter’s room. I believe we have permission and that it’s all kosher. Their new renovated offices look good, so good, that L reckons the rest of the staff will hate it when they come in tomorrow. Office politics, love em.
(Monday 8th November)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Idea Theft
It’s a touch cold when we arrive in Shepshed for the Shepshed 7 race and it’s not even as if it’s a crack of dawn start. Kick-off isn’t until 11am.
I ran this race three years ago and didn’t particularly enjoy it, too much off road for me. Nice smooth tarmac is what I like. So I haven’t been back since. L though has never done it, so it’s a nice treat for her... I think she’s also taking it quite seriously, right down to the aerodynamic sports bra. Think Madonna in Vogue. Red hair and now Madonna gear, she’ll be singing next. It does looks good though, on as well as off, but I digress.
Looking back at my performance in 2007, I put in some cracking split times, well suicidal ones and I feel well intimidated by myself of three years ago.
This week I have split the dogs up in the car, to try to prevent them egging each other on in a chorus of howling. It kind of works. MD appears mute, which is slightly unusual, ok very unusual, but Doggo makes a pretty good attempt at going solo.
Then we line up at the start among the impressive 536 entries. The course, to me, is a lap around the muddy playing field followed by roughly half a mile downhill, before about a mile on the flat and then uphill for the remaining two through a quite picturesque private country estate. Seems more up than down to me, which is perhaps why I didn’t like it much last time. And then we do it all again, as this is a two lapper.
As expected, at mile one, I’m already well down on my splits from 2007 but my pace isn’t too shifty. I catch up a chap who is wearing a special running vest that tells us he is doing ‘50 races in his 50th year’ and that this one is race number three. Ah, L won’t be happy when I tell her, that's idea theft, he’s pinched her idea. He’s also got the dates of his 50th year on there and as he was 49 right at the start of October, I reckon he’s already a little off the pace. It's five weeks in and this is only race number three. I pass him and wonder how I’m going to break the news to L. As I say she won’t be happy.
Then when he later re-overtakes me, I’m not happy either.
As I climb up the hill in the final mile, I pass the 10k point and it’s pleasing to see I’m actually faster than last week and that’s with saving a bit for the last .8 of a mile. It’s still in the 42’s though, so I’m not totally ecstatic about it.
The race goes ok. 68th I think. Over a minute slower than 2007 but I expected that and I did have a few beers last night, not that they seemed to hold me back.
It’s a well organised race with a nice technical t-shirt that I will actually wear and most importantly it’s not red. Well mine’s ok, I pick a medium and it’s a perfect fit. L’s t-shirt choice doesn’t go quite so well, they’re all out of smalls and her medium turns out to be blank, with no logo. In fact all the remaining mediums turn out to be blank, so I give her mine and grab a large for myself. Gallant or what.
We head home and after a hot bath take Daughter with us for Sunday Lunch. Hobgoblin is on at our local which is a cruel trick for a Sunday.
Daughter goes out later, so with the dogs comatose and of course Son in Warwick we have a quiet house all evening. Which brings back memories. Those were the days, before dog ownership and children who stay up until midnight.
(Sunday 7th November)
I ran this race three years ago and didn’t particularly enjoy it, too much off road for me. Nice smooth tarmac is what I like. So I haven’t been back since. L though has never done it, so it’s a nice treat for her... I think she’s also taking it quite seriously, right down to the aerodynamic sports bra. Think Madonna in Vogue. Red hair and now Madonna gear, she’ll be singing next. It does looks good though, on as well as off, but I digress.
Looking back at my performance in 2007, I put in some cracking split times, well suicidal ones and I feel well intimidated by myself of three years ago.
This week I have split the dogs up in the car, to try to prevent them egging each other on in a chorus of howling. It kind of works. MD appears mute, which is slightly unusual, ok very unusual, but Doggo makes a pretty good attempt at going solo.
Then we line up at the start among the impressive 536 entries. The course, to me, is a lap around the muddy playing field followed by roughly half a mile downhill, before about a mile on the flat and then uphill for the remaining two through a quite picturesque private country estate. Seems more up than down to me, which is perhaps why I didn’t like it much last time. And then we do it all again, as this is a two lapper.
As expected, at mile one, I’m already well down on my splits from 2007 but my pace isn’t too shifty. I catch up a chap who is wearing a special running vest that tells us he is doing ‘50 races in his 50th year’ and that this one is race number three. Ah, L won’t be happy when I tell her, that's idea theft, he’s pinched her idea. He’s also got the dates of his 50th year on there and as he was 49 right at the start of October, I reckon he’s already a little off the pace. It's five weeks in and this is only race number three. I pass him and wonder how I’m going to break the news to L. As I say she won’t be happy.
Then when he later re-overtakes me, I’m not happy either.
As I climb up the hill in the final mile, I pass the 10k point and it’s pleasing to see I’m actually faster than last week and that’s with saving a bit for the last .8 of a mile. It’s still in the 42’s though, so I’m not totally ecstatic about it.
The race goes ok. 68th I think. Over a minute slower than 2007 but I expected that and I did have a few beers last night, not that they seemed to hold me back.
It’s a well organised race with a nice technical t-shirt that I will actually wear and most importantly it’s not red. Well mine’s ok, I pick a medium and it’s a perfect fit. L’s t-shirt choice doesn’t go quite so well, they’re all out of smalls and her medium turns out to be blank, with no logo. In fact all the remaining mediums turn out to be blank, so I give her mine and grab a large for myself. Gallant or what.
We head home and after a hot bath take Daughter with us for Sunday Lunch. Hobgoblin is on at our local which is a cruel trick for a Sunday.
Daughter goes out later, so with the dogs comatose and of course Son in Warwick we have a quiet house all evening. Which brings back memories. Those were the days, before dog ownership and children who stay up until midnight.
(Sunday 7th November)
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