To run or not to run

 

After a blustery night we were not sure if we would get a run in today since we are both getting a bit long in the tooth to deliberately go out and get soaked through to the skin. We have had several drenchings in the last ten days and none were intentional. I know that there are athletes and sports apparel companies for that matter that follow the doctrine ‘Either you ran today or you didn’t’. That is not a way that I have ever followed and I will not be put down by those who say that to me. The simple rule is to be sensible if you are not in the first flush of youth. So if it is raining stair rods before I leave the house for a training run… I don’t leave.

If on the other hand we go out for a run and whilst we are running, rain comes along, then that is just too bad and we have to poke up with it. The same goes when we are racing. If we have entered a race and traveled a long way to get there then yes, again we will carry on and do the event.

Last year at about this time we had gone to Haugesund in Norway for the Ironman 70.3 event. We had made a holiday of the trip and three friends had come along with us. We all really enjoyed our stay, it was a most enjoyable and very interesting holiday even though the choice was made because of the event and the touring around to visit this place and that, were extras.

However, on race day it was dreary to start and pretty soon turned into the very worst of summer weather with frequent downpours while we were making our preparations. It got gradually worse until there was a thunder and lightning storm of biblical proportions. We are not talking a single streak of forked lightning. We were surrounded by the light show. Still we got our wetsuits on and walked to the start and while the thunderstorm progressed, we completed the swim. One of our friends got out before the swim was finished. The foul weather continued and my gears packed up working at all on the bike leg, when there were still streams washing across the road in some places. It was a disappointment of course but those things do happen from time to time and they are nobody’s fault. In fact I felt more sorry for the race director and his team and the marshals that I did for myself. Sure it’s a long was to go and quite an expense to get a DNF behind your name on the results. So there we have it, we only run in the rain if we have a very good reason.

Windsor Triathlon had pretty awful weather last year too but for an event when you have traveled and invested in a journey you get on with it and make the best you can of the experience. 

When we woke today the sky was mostly blue and although some dark clouds did gather and the wind was strong, there was plenty of sunshine too and the colours of the downland were intensified for having been refreshed. We did not get wet and the ground was a bit softer for having some rain without being horribly muddy.

Yesterday after all our training sessions, I sat and did some sewing and listened rather than watched a fabulous concert that Steve had recorded for me for such a time. It was called Hollywood in Vienna and it was the music of Hans Zimmer , the concert was held and recorded in 2018. As I said I did not sit down to watch the performance but still saw quite a lot of it all the same. The music was excellent and I had not seen the guest singers or soloists before. Even though I listen to Classic FM, who do play film music and even have a programme at the weekend called ‘Saturday night at the movies’, I was not familiar with all the music. I love to have music on whilst I am working or writing.

Today has not been so peaceful after the training because our office printer decided to misbehave and that made Stephen very cross. He tried his hardest not to make me feel that it was my fault because I have so much printing that I need doing, and it doesn’t help that I am useless with problems like that. So I have to leave it to him mostly but he did well not to totally explode, though it got close a couple of times. He even had me sit down and read the stage by stage internet instructions for servicing the blankedy-blank machine, which was a little tedious but a trouble shared is a trouble halved after all.

My theory is that some of these devices are deliberately made to not have long lives. A new printer is on the horizon now having wasted a couple of hours messing with the curs-ed thing. Ho hum.

Below are my succulent little Shiraz variety of Mangetout. 

Every day for a while I think.