I Drink, therefore I Run

A great run today. I signed up for the Silverstone half marathon again this year. It is a fabulous event, well organised, and highly exciting. Given the central position, and a venue that can soak up a 200,000 crowd, it deals easily with more like 20,000. It is also off road, and thus has a 12 o'clock start (well, 12.05 actually, as they held it for a bit because of queues on the going road, ironically...). And of course I am a F1 fan, so the opportunity to run on the hallowed ground is surely only akin to a football fanatic having a training session at Wembley. And, I got to see the new stand, and run on the new track and pit lane. Fab! The morning was simply lovely. Crisp, fresh spring had properly 'sprung'. As I rounded Oxford, a couple of air balloons rose gently and majestically. I would love to have been in them - if it had not interfered with the race, of course!  I followed the pacer for the first 3 miles, then stepped out a bit myself, and managed to hit my ...

Last night. Home from work, feeling very tired. Need to do a hard session. Legs still from the day before. Very easy just to say no... ...and then you don't. So, you head out, and after you have passed the 'terrible tens' moment, and stretched a bit, well, maybe it isn't so bad... ...and then you pick it up and hit the tough work. 5 x 1 mile at pace..first mile ok..maybe we can do this? ..then mile 3 comes and that's a push but you do it.. ..and then you find the second wind ..and before you know it, it's over and you can bask in the glory of having cracked it! Not sure it helps understand how or why!

Last Sunday, I took to the trails for the 21.2 (by my GPS..measurements vary!) extremely hilly, cold, muddy Meon Valley Plod. Quite an experience. The goal was to test my endurance out - and I am delighted to say that it passed with flying colours. I came 44th out of 250ish, and even had some push left for the last few miles. But oh my gosh, what a course! There is something very special about these kind of long events. You sit at the end, and run your mind over the 3 hours 15 of running, and all the things you have seen..and it is incredible. Sometimes you can't even believe it was the same event. So, now I need to let my legs recover, and then I have 3 weeks to get a totally different type of training in- faster work, to be road ready for the Silverstone half marathon in 3 weeks. We move away from time endurance and towards speed endurance. This is gonna hurt... On the wine front, last night Janet was in Scotland, so I have a chance to try 'the wines that come in tall think...

Two evenings of running in the cold tests the patience of even the most committed runner. There is the philosophy that cold weather makes you run fast, to keep warm - ok, sure that might work - however it also makes you feel entirely unlike pushing yourself in 6min/mile reps. The thought of all that cold air rushing in the lungs is enough to make me go for 'just a steady one tonight' On the other hand, winter food is great. Lamb shank is bubbling away tonight, partnered with a Moss Wood 'Amy's Blend', a cabernet, merlot and petit verdot Bordeaux blend from Margaret River in Western Australia. This is lush, sweet fruit, brambly, hint of mint, delicate and powerful. Yummy. Tasting note from Matthew Jukes sums it up well “A cabernet sauvignon-dominant wine of jaw-dropping class unequalled anywhere.” I shall ensure i enjoy it..

For the third time in 8 days, I am drinking a (plastic) glass of British Airways red wine, a merlot from negociant Laboure-Roi. More well known for their burgundy, this is humble vin de pays. And the strange thing is that each bottle has tasted worse than the previous one! I am curious as to whether my state of mind has influenced this, or is it the perils of repetition...or is there really this level of variation in such a standard product? Suffice it to say that I shall not be seeking this particular blend at my local merchant any time soon. But hey, it is free!

Friday night, the end of what has been an extraordinary week. On completion, Kate (the agent from La Porta Verde) gave us a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate. To be honest, we were so knackered that we did not get round to it, and the weather was so cold we couldn't even go and sit in La Torretta. We brought it back with us (nervously wrapping it in plastic bags and a t-shirt in the middle of the suitcase - it has survived!) and on Friday night we were finally able to crack it open and celebrate! An excellent and clean prosecco, always lighter than Champagne, and thus much easier to drink. Mercifully, also only 11%. So - here's the the future!

Wednesday felt like a very different day. We woke up, looked at ourselves, and both thought "crikey - we've finally done it!". So, here you see me, proudly unlocking for the first time (and trying to ignore the weeds in the drive that I really need to tackle! The weather was still very cold, and there was about 2 hours before heading for the airport to take in the place on our own. I am delighted to say that the sun beamed down on the front terrace, so we were able to have our sandwiches (bought from the village shop of course!) with the sun on our faces, overlooking Papiano. That was a good moment... So, the work starts now. Rental, website, letting agent, buying a LOT of towels, sheets and pillowcases, utilities, local taxes, blah blah blah. And getting the garden together. We will be there next at the end of March. Can't wait!!