The general public might
think it is amusing if they heard me the refer to myself as an athlete at my ripe
old age of seventy seven but that is how I think of myself and looking closer
at the claim, it might possibly be put even further in to question since I have
not been our doing any of my usual training sessions for two and a half weeks. Quite
dreadful for me. No swimming, no bike or turbo sessions, no running. The
weather was not up to much either which did not help because I didn’t even get
out much for little walks.
My first exercise of any
significance was last Sunday when I walked the 10 km woods and woodland run
that I usually so enjoy running, although actually getting out and seeing my
lovely local countryside again was a huge boost. It can be an advantage or
disadvantage to be married to ones coach and I have found it hard during this
period, when I have tried hard to keep my mad mind occupied, to keep from
getting my wild up, due to being stuck at home while he went off with my friends
to swim sessions.
So this morning it made me
happy when I looked outside at 5.30 am and saw that it was a fantastically clear
sky smothered with stars and as I stood in our tiny garden star gazing, I was
blessed with a shooting star right over my head. This was a good omen I thought
smiling and went in to put the kettle on. I made myself coffee and read my
kindle until Steve woke up, then I made him a cup of one of his favourite Rose
and French vanilla teas.
As he sat sipping his tea he
asked me if I was planning to walk or run this morning. I knew the shooting
star was a good sign. I said I would go on my own and try a little bit of
running (since I was obviously considered well enough today). I asked if he
would make sure that my iPod was working ok and said that I might play my ‘Daf’s
Best Boys’ playlist and run one track and walk one track and see how that went.
He raised his eyes in my direction and gave me a dirty look over his tea cup. He
said that there was no need to go alone and that he would come with me and that
he didn’t mind if I was not up to much because he had had a very hard week at
work. He said that another option was that I could take the shorter course. I
didn’t want to do that and said that it was all or nothing because I wanted to
do the whole course one way or another.
The next thing under
discussion was my mode of dress and Steve though that I should add a thin
sports tee under my thermal base layer and wear my warmest running coat as there was a heavy frost.Then
we had words because I did not want to wear a hat. My argument was that I have
incredibly thick hair that is presently much longer, so would act as both hat
and scarf. He said he did not want me to get cold, since my recovery thus far
was going well. My heels dug firmly into our ageing carpet and he said it was ok
because I had not been coughing at all since I got up.
Anyway. We set off and
walked the first half kilometre up to the gate into the woods. Then we tested,
a minute on and a minute off, which Steve decided to change and just go by how
my breathing sounded. We did that all the way along Monarchs Way
Once we got to the triangulation
point at the highest part, it was bitter cold with a cutting east wind, thick
frost on the grass and a whole bunch of fluffy sheep. That reminded me of the ‘Straight
faced joke challenge’ on YouTube between Football manager Jose Marino and TV comedian
John Bishop because the one where John Bishop won as Jose collapsed with
laughter was: What do you call a sheep with no legs? Answer: A cloud. Jose, you
lose man!
Our friend Birgit passed us
toward the end and remarked as she ran by, that we had not seen the man we call
‘The spirit of the woods’ for a good few weeks and maybe he had got on to the
departure lounge!!!!!
The total time was not as
bad as I would have thought since it was my first run in almost three weeks. It
was still in the range of times that have this autumn been our best in a few
years. Not the best by some minutes but well in the range of better
times this year. We were both well pleased that I had not lost too much form
during my poorly period.
Tea and cake followed at the
Swanbourne Lake Lodge. I had the Orange Lake Placid ,
a bit of Ski jumping from Klingenthal and the Downhill skiing from Val d’Isere.
Four hours later and my legs
don’t ache at all….. yet anyway.
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