I Drink, therefore I Run

No miles this week - recovering from Edinburgh. I haven't not run for this long for about 12 months, so this is quite strange. I haven't really felt twitchy either until today, Sunday, a week later - I wanted to go out today but my trainer suggested a week's rest so I shall go out tomorrow instead. I've had to fend off the questions around 'am I feeling upset' to which the answer is No! I am delighted to have run Edinburgh, and yes, I wish I had hit my time, that's life! Workwise it has been a tough week, so it has suited me well to be able to crack on with things and not rush back for training. I have resolved that for the next 4 weeks at least I shall just run as I please, no new goals, no targets. I usually find that, when I am ready, a new target appears. On the wine front, I cooked a great spicy beef and wild mushroom stew last night, which was perfect with Barolo Le Albe Vajra 2001 - the usual hint of roses and tar, really well balanced tannins, silk

Well, the big day has arrived - the Edinburgh Marathon is upon me. And what a day it was! Stepping back a bit, I flew up to Edinburgh on the Friday with Andy, and we had a great weekend - we played it really steady, with a short walk, then a long coffee stop and the papers, then a short walk, then lunch, then a film, then a light dinner and early to bed. Darned hot though! I woke up on Sunday after a rubbish night's sleep, and the weather was just as per forecast. Grey sky, foggy, raining - perfect weather! At the start, it was still grey, so we merrily dropped off our shades and cap in the bag drop and didn't think sunscreen was needed! I started off well, crossed the line in 25secs. I was probably a bit too fast for the first 4 miles, though the course was downhill so it is always difficult to know (and at the start Liz Yelling, no less, said not to worry if you went off a bit fast!). I started to pull back at about 5 miles and returned to 7:15 pace (=3hrs10m). The weather ch

Well, the tapering has really kicked in, with hardly any miles under my belt, or so it feels. I do struggle with these short runs, trying to keep the pace down. Not easy. The big day approaches, however, and soon all this will be over and I will be delighted - I hope! The lion's share of this week's blog must of course go to the Wine of the week, which is another event - the Decanter Italian Fine Wine Encounter in London, at the Landmark hotel. What a day! On Saturday, Janet and I took the train up to London, for 3 rooms of around 90 producers and I reckon 400 wines. I am disappointed to record that I only managed around 100 of them! We have a policy of only allowing ourselves to drink the good ones, however when the quality is as good as these were, then this falls down somewhat - as do I by about 3pm! Crikey I did get very drunk. As always the Tuscany and Umbria wines most pleased us - and how great to be able to talk and share with the actual producers and owners - they re

The miles don't tell the whole story. I had three rest days this week, a mix of a couple of evening events and a desire to rest well for the Lymington 10k at the weekend - a short race to take advantage of the fitness and endurance from my marathon training. I am also in the first of three tapering weeks - this period when you feel like you have to explain to everyone why you aren't putting in the huge miles at the moment. Tapering is a weird period - whilst it is great to have some time back, you do find that it plays with your mind - you start to feel that the training is leaking out of you at every moment...that you can't run any more...that you will never run again. And yet, when you've done this before, you have to maintain your confidence and remind yourself it works. Which, in a way, is why you do short races like Lymington. It's odd that, in warmup, you try to push the heart rate up and can't seem to find the pace you know you need - and yet, when the

Last week of long runs before tapering down for the Big Day. My Sunday run was pretty tough, with a lot of gusts of wind, a hilly course through Farley Mount, and drizzle. All told, a good set up for Edinburgh, I feel! It's been a busy week, preparing for the Bank Holiday, and generally rushing around. So, I very much enjoyed the opportunity to 'come down' from the long run by watching a classic of the Sunday afternoon film genre - 'High Society'. What better combo than Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, First of all, Grace Kelly is of course gorgeous - perhaps not quite as sultry as in 'Rear Window', but no slouch. Then the great duets between the crooners - Bing and Frank - whilst tipsy on Champagne - well, what's not to like about that way to spend the day? And of course, the gravelly-deep Louis A. What a wonderful world indeed. Makes you wish you could visit Newport in the '50s..but then we wouldn't be allowed, prob