miles 20.79; Bike Miles 2; Units 24

I mark a milestone this week with a return to (a bit) of hard training. Clearly the imminence of the Hursley 10k has impressed itself on my mind. So, I tried out 5 x 1km fast, with a 90 second float. Actually I was not that bad at all. I even think I could have gone faster. So, a really good start, though one training session does not a Gebrselassie make...anyway I really enjoyed that feeling of pushing again, that sense of making yourself work hard. There is a phrase, 'being in flow', that seems to sum up good training so well. The sense of flow comes best when you have a challenge that matches your skills, you know why you are running, the feedback is unambiguous (hitting a target time for an interval sure is unambiguous!) and you can focus only on the present. When you get this going, even tough tasks feel good. I am reminded of the excellent books from the 'runner's philosopher', George Sheehan, who just seems to sum up so well why we run. Out on Sunday with Southampton AC - just 4 of us this time for a great 15-miler through Hursley and Farley Mount. Some chunky hills including a 1.5 mile solid uphill drag! Really good day for it though, with the sun just starting to rise. So, a good week.

This week a glorious wine - Italian of course to symbolise both Monza and the Ferrari win of Alonso.

I am as you know an avowed McLaren fan but also an Italianophile, so I am naturally torn,. No difficulty with choosing Italian wine though - the truly excellent Rosso di Sera 2004, Fattoria Poggiopiano. The mix is Sangiovese 90%, Colorino 10%, and though this is almost Chianti Classico riserva, the estate declassifies it as IGT Toscana to enable it to be freed up from the rules. A great wine from the first taste - well balanced, with dark berries, coffee and a hint of maple syrup and rich spice. Big, full-bodied and rich, yet silky and wonderfully textured. Loads going on. Gorgeous.

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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