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Oh Manchester, So Much To Answer For
Week 14

Well, it's that time once again and it only feels like Amsterdam was 5 minutes ago, but here we go again ...

The week in numbers ...
Miles ran: 26.57
Gym visits: 0
Chocolate eaten: 2 more easter eggs
Alcohol drunk: 2 pints

Weight: 11st12lb

Monday 30th March

No running today, I should go out but I'm not feeling 100% so decide a rest day and I'll run every day for the rest of the week instead.

Working all morning and then I nip to Whitley to get some things for my upcoming Manchester weekend and walk past the charity shop to see the record box is now out!

I walk in and am faced with a Barbara Streisand album, flick to the next one and it's Bay City Rollers, I'm tempted to get this as a present for Bain as he bloody loves them and rumour has it that he has a large tattoo of Les McKeown on his arse, but I resist the urge as he's probably got it already. Then it's The Stylistics, The Drifters, Joan Armatrading, Tom Jones and lots more Barbara Streisand. I pick out a few and walk round the shop with them and then I check my Discogs (sad record buyers database of records I own) and realise I have all of these already so I put them back.

Bag of shite.

Charity shop bastards.

Tuesday 31st March

An exciting day, I work, I get my hair cut and I work some more.

I'm still not feeling great, I'm sneezing constantly and sleeping a lot which is very unlike me.

In the evening it's a club session, I decide to go but run by myself as my whole body aches and I've hurt my neck from sneezing so much.

I start the groups and head off to do the first 1k rep alone, pace is okay and I do the second and again it feels okay. C group are there when I get back and about to head off, so I cut my recovery short and jump in with them for the next 4 reps.

All bang on pace and I feel fine. We start the final one and again my whole body suddenly just aches and I fall to the back and start to jog it a little bit but then my competitive edge kicks in and I work through the pack and by Spanish City I'm about 50m behind Jess at the front. So naturally I give it everything I've got to catch her and come in on a 4 min km and then I'm done.

Home, shower, food and in bed by 10pm absolutely shattered.

Wednesday 1st April

I really feel like shite today.

A terrible nights sleep and I think last night session has wiped me out.

I work in the morning and then head out for some easy miles which feels really hard and it shouldn't feel like this.

Then home for a shower and I've got a couple of hours before work so fall asleep on the settee and it's a proper deep sleep. I wake up and feel ten times worse than I did. I realise I haven't been eating properly this week and I just want to sleep and sneeze and then sleep some more.

I have a lemsip and eat an apple.

Oh and what the hell is going on with Lemsip's. A pack of 10 in co-op was seven quid, seven fucking quid for lemsip! I'd expect crack cocaine for that kind of money.

And then sneeze some more.

Thursday 2nd April

Wake up and have had a terrible night's sleep.

I'm working all morning and then I'm planning a track threshold session of 20 x 400m at threshold pace with jog recoveries.

I finish my appointments and sit on the massage bed trying to muster up some energy to get changed and go to the track. I spend ages talking myself into getting up and going. I end up having an internal argument with one very small side of me saying I should get ready and go and another much larger part of me saying 'fuck it'.

After about ten minutes I realise it isn't happening, I feel horrible.

So I do the sensible thing and go to sleep on the settee with Murphy for 2 hours.

In the evening I walk to the seafront for the club session, I have about 14 layers on and a cup of coffee and I'm still shivering.

Home and bed.

Friday 3rd April

I feel slightly better today, I'm off work and so is Gail so it's some housework and pottering about but nothing strenuous and no running.

My Garmin seems to think I'm 'peaking' which is worrying as I feel fucking horrific.

Again I realise I haven't eaten all day so we pop to Sainsbury's and buy some pizza and the plan is a movie and a pizza. My neck is now really bad and I can't turn my head so some self trigger point to try and release it which is half effective and half really painful.

A ton of pizza, lots of lemsips and a movie and then bed.

And most more sneezing.

I haven't ran since Wednesday and I'm a little worried about this, I also have a 17 mile run on my plan for the weekend and at the moment there's no chance that's happening.

Saturday 4th April

The fair is in town so there's no Whitley Parkrun on today.

My choice is run to Blyth and do parkrun and find someone to give me a lift home.

Run to Blyth, do parkrun and run home.

Don't do parkrun and just go for a run round Whitley.

Have another day off running.

I naturally chose another rest day, I convince myself this will mean I'll feel much better tomorrow and be able to do the long run.

In the morning we have a walk into Whitley, I need to buy a cheap top to run to the start in tomorrow that I can then chuck away. It's forecast to be cold so I want something long sleeved and maybe a thin jacket. Most shops have very little in the way of men's clothes so I start to look through the ladies and in one shop I discover all ladies clothes are £1, bargain! I find a puma tracksuit top, its a size 14 so it'll fit me and I take it off the hanger to try on.

Now the first thing I'll say is it's pink, bright pink. Usually this doesn't bother me but I am wearing pink shoes and socks tomorrow and this may be a bit 'too much'. I the have a proper look at the top. The Puma is made up of pink and purple sequins, the pockets are what can only be described as 'puffy' with scalloped edges and the shoulders have what looks like shouder pads stitched into them. I'll be honest and say at this point I'm still thinking of buying it as its only £1

I call Gail across to have a look, she sees the colour and raises an eyebrow, she sees all the other features and gives me that look, that look that says "for fucks sake Simon, what the hell is wrong with you"

I instead buy a navy blue hoodie in a size 10, it's a bit dull but will do the job.

We have an exciting day doing the garden, going to the tip and then home and I once again feel wrecked so lie down on the settee and watch a movie.

Today's movie of choice is Sing, now it's no Moana but it's a cracking movie and maybe it's the fact I feel drained and ill but I'm not embarrassed to say I shed a tear when the elephant finds her courage to sing in front of everyone, a real tear jerker.

Sunday 5th April

The alarm is set for 8am, I'm planning a 7 mile run to Shields at an easy pace and then the NT10k at threshold pace. This seems easy enough but I've hardly ran this week so I'm starting to question this plan.

In bed by 10 and a terrible nights sleep, I wake up loads and eventually at 6am I just can't get back to sleep and Murphy's crying so I get up and go downstairs for some porridge and coffee.

The problem with eating porridge is that I really hate it so after a few mouthfuls I give up and just stick to coffee. I get ready and can hear the wind howling, at 8;45 I'm out the door to give me an hour or so to get the 7 miles to the start. I've got on my ladies hoodie, now the thing with ladies clothes is that they're a bit on the small side. The sleeves go nowhere near my wrists and its at least an inch too short for me. I look like a tit but less of a tit than I would have looked in neon sequined pink.

The first few miles feel hard and I'm really sluggish and heavy legged. I crank up the music and some Basement Jaxx carry me along.

The wind is awful and I'm thinking this is gonna be a long day on the office. At 9:50 I arrive at the start with ten minutes to spare.

We start and the first 2 miles are okay with a bit of a tail wind. By the time we hit Tynemouth the wind has really picked up and the next 4 miles are a combination of a headwind or a cross wind. I slow up a bit but still sit around threshold and tick off the miles.

A few weeks ago I was confident I could run a very comfortable 42/43 minutes today but as it is I do 45:30, I cant complain after 7 miles to get here and hardly running this week. Then home and get ready to go out for lunch, I have some pizza and a pint of Guinness and then we go home and I once again fall asleep on the settee, I feel totally drained.

In the evening I eat an entire huge Easter Egg in one sitting and then go to bed feeling very sick.

2 weeks to go.

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