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 20.64; Bike Miles 0; Units probably too many!

A couple of runs this week, Tuesday and Sunday, the latter a great long run - just over 14 miles - really feeling back in the swing of things, and ready to book some races now. It was just glorious to be out in the cool but sunny weather - absolute joy! I am finally feeling like I am able to run again. It has also been a bit more of a relaxed week at work, with a couple of days on a training course, and the rest of the time in the office. Also, the throat was gently easing out by the weekend ( I did promise not to go on about it).... ....which is good when I tell you that we went to Hotel Terravina again, this time as a gift for my 40th Birthday from Carol and Huw, to take part in a 'sabrage' event, which means that you chop the top off a bottle of champagne with a sabre! All very extravagant and grand - see me brandishing said bottle in the attached photo. What a great experience that was, really very special. Thanks to C&H for that! Other than the Champagne we also had tw...

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...

I Drink, therefore I Run

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