Miles 16.9; Units *?*//! (see below)

Miles 16.9; Units ?//! (see below)

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 really do take the time to come to London because they know we are an interested bunch. I am going to have to stock up on Rosso di Montalcino 2008. Anyway, Sunday was spent mostly recovering (and hence the run not being quite as fast as desired) but what a good reason, eh!

Next Week - Edinburgh!!

Comments

miles 30.46; Bike miles 0; Units 27

A good running week. I planned for 4 runs, however only 3 resulted as the Saturday run fell to the combined demons of ice, cold and shopping (!). I thought I might be able to nip in a cheeky 3 or 4 miles after we had returned from the delights of the first batch of Christmas shopping (oh, and buying a new telly...so it was not all bad) but it was not to be. And a rather nice bottle of La Tour du Mons 2000 (Cru Bourgeois Margaux) called too.. This week, I managed a hill session in the cold on Wednesday, which did not tax me too much, a steady 7 on Friday, and then a challenging and hilly 18 on Sunday. This was a great run in the cold air - just splendid to be out there when it is so quiet and cold. Just really wonderful. The temperature hovered between -1 and +1, no snow in sight, and a bit of occasional ice. Just really good. I was reflecting as I ran on one significant change in my attitude since running - and that is my approach to artificial fibres. Before running, it had to be c

Miles 33.84; Units 27

Exercise-wise, a back end loaded week. I had to miss three training days through pressure of work. Sometimes that's not such a bad thing, as it gives you a chance to recover. All too often, we runners can run ourselves into the ground, if we are not careful. However, after two days you start to feel the lack of exercise, and imagine that you are ballooning up in weight. This of course is not true, though that is little comfort. This may also be a personal thing, however I usually find that when I take more than one day off, a number of niggles emerge - in this case a touch of plantar fasciitis (for you non-runners, a pain like a drawing pin being lodged in your heel - see the gloriously Heath-Robinson picture of the necessary stretching to help the recovery). Maybe the body is just seizing the day and bringing the bad stuff out that it has kept under check whilst you are exercising - clearly 3 days is enough for it to think "oh good, we seem to have stopped all this mad runn

miles 21.08; Bike Miles 1; Units 20 excluding Saturday which was far too many!

"a happy weekend is one with more miles on my shoes than my car tyres" Another week of just two runs - but both good quality, including some tough hills. So I am not unhappy with that - would have been good to crack 30 miles this week, though! The Sunday run was out with the running club, as before from St Catherine's in Winchester. It was crisp, dry, and everything that makes a wintry run truly great. You do just feel absolutely alive after that. It also included a rather random piece of pathway that was covered in cows, which needed shooing off the path..slightly worrying. It was along the water meadows at St. Cross - always feels very medieval at that spot, as if you could be seeing a scene that a monk would have encountered 500 years ago. There is something about these old towns that embody and then exude the years of history. I have included a photo of these meadows at St. Cross because I find it truly enigmatic, evocative...and frankly all a bit Cadfael, if you reme

I Drink, therefore I Run

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