Miles 18.3; Units substantial

Another busy and mad week on the work front, though I did manage to squeeze in an extra 5 miler to get the weekly total nibbling up a bit. I am just starting to notice a bit of 'creep' around the midriff...have to watch out for that one. On Sunday, my long run of around 10 miles was absolute torture with a belting hangover from the Saturday night. You do quite literally sweat out the alcohol on the way round! I was debating having my first long run with the running club, but to be honest, not only did I not feel like it, I probably wasn't legal to drive anywhere.

So far, I have not set a new running goal, though I feel that time is nearing. I do seem to be able to go for about 6 weeks before the lack of a focus gets in the way a bit. When you have to go out and put in the hard miles of fast work, which means pushing your pain threshold, it is difficult to do that without a specific purpose. Now why do I also think that's a bit of metaphor for how my life is at the moment...

On to pleasant topics, and of course Wine of the Week. No question this week. We went round to Keith and Pete's for dinner on Saturday, and I took the opportunity to raid the cellar. Standout wine was Grahams 1983 vintage port. Sensational, with everything you'd expect - sweetness, power, perfect balance between alcohol, fruit and tannin..figgy, slightly cooked plums, very fine and with a long, subtle finish. 1983 was the famous (soi-disant) split declaration, with some shippers favouring 1982 and some 1983. Over time the latter year seems to have proved the better bet. Such. class, depth and complexity here. Graham's is on the sweeter side, and I like that.

An the final good news is that I still have one more bottle, and I reckon it needs drinking in in the next 12-24 months. Such a pity..

Pip Pip

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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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