Blog

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:  39.65 miles
Gym visits:  0
Chocolate eaten: 1 easter eggs
Alcohol  drunk:  half a bottle of Rioja

Weight:  11st12lb

Up early and a little bit hungover but not too bad.

Appointments from 8am until lunchtime and then me and Gail are driving down to Middlesbrough to chose a kitchen worktop. I did the kitchen before Christmas but we've had a plywood worktop since then as we couldn't decide what we wanted and also we've just been too busy to drive to Middlesbrough and also Middlesbrough is just plain nasty.

So we drove down and chose the exact same one we chose 6 months ago. Then on the way home we swung by Dalton Park and the Adidas shop where I bought nothing. There was a sweet pair of pink Adidas shorts I was tempted with but they were a pastel pink and wouldn't match my socks or trainers and I don't want to look stupid with 2 different shades of pink.

Then Tues evening and it's the final Grand Prix from the lighthouse. I haven't ran since Sunday and still don't feel 100% but the team are sitting in 4th place and we need to give it a decent go tonight.

I'm in a decent starting group with Graham, Georgina, Sutcliffe, Adam and a very pissed off Simmo who spends most of today complaining about starting with us all. My plan is mara pace heading out into the wind and then threshold pace back.

I balls this up almost immediately by going off to fast at threshold pace but it feels okay so I stick with it. I'm running with Graham just behind me and then Tom catches us and the three of us run together. When I say 'together' I mean I lead it whilst they sit behind me and on my shoulder and then as we come out that bay they both cheat by going faster and pulling away from me.

This kind of cheating should be banned in the Grand Prix and I'm hoping the new handicappers ban people that suddenly start to increase their pace mid race.

Heading back I get told off by Heather for running in the cycle lane, this is strictly speaking Toms fault for running on my right hand side and this forcing me to run in the cycle lane but by the time I think this excuse up in my head I'm half a mile away and going back to explain just seems overkill, so I just laugh and keep running. Greg takes great delight in me being told off.

Finish the GP, it's a bit faster than I planned but it felt okay and then me and G run to Cullercoats for curry and Guinness. Ben 'two bowls' pretends he's a vegetarian to steal extra food as the queue is shorter and even has the audacity to go back for seconds.

Rumour has it he got thirds.

You can't take him anywhere, actually it was probably Ben's fault I ran in the cycle lane, he probably put Tom upto it. Bloody Ben.

Another stupidly busy day working.

I have a gap in the morning where I'm planning to go and do a threshold session at the track.

However, I'm shattered and I end up lying in til nearly 10 and when I wake up I'm just too tired to run so instead have a lazy hour before working.

In the evening I decide I'll just go to the club, I haven't done thresholds now in 2 weeks and I'm feeling like my fitness and endurance is all starting to slip away.

I do lampposts with C team, don't feel upto B team pace and nothing to be gained by running myself into the ground this close to race day. I feel okay in C team and the pace is alright. Home and another 9 miles in the bag.

Planning a rest day on Friday and then 14 miles on Saturday. I'm really hoping this bug totally lifts over the weekend as it's starting to piss me off now.

I also eat another Easter egg tonight, the diet is officially over but I really do need to get back on it for next week.

I'm up at half 6, couldn't sleep for some reason.

Make some breakfast and a large cup of black coffee, take Murphy for a walk and at 7:25 head out the door for a planned 11 miles to finish at 9:00 for parkrun.

I leave mine and the wind is a shit bag, I've got 5 miles heading into it to Tynemouth and it's utterly grim. My planned 8 min mile pace isn't happening and I'm working hard but I'm lucky if I hit 8:30's.

As I head towards Cullercoats I see a group of people up ahead blocking the path and need to decide if I jump in the cycle lane or barge through them. There's a short fat bloke in a yellow jacket, a smaller guy or maybe a child dressed in black and two other people, one dressed in a beige top and one in blue. I figure it's a mum and dad with their kid chatting to someone else so I head towards them guessing there'll pull the kid aside and let me through.

I should add here it's overcast, it's raining and I'm wearing sunglasses.

The kid in black turns out to be a Labrador.

The one in blue turns out to just be the dog owners legs.

The one in beige is his top, he was bent over picking up dog shit, it looked like two separate people.

The small fat fella dressed in yellow was actually a defib machine attached to a lamppost.

Sunglasses look cool but I'm thinking I may need to get prescription ones or maybe it's time I start actually running in my glasses?

But sunglasses look cool.

I get to Tynemouth and turn to have the wind behind me as I head back to Whitley, the pace picks up and I get to the Dome, loop it and head back to Tynemouth for a second time. Second time is less fun than first time and the fat fella dressed in yellow still hasn't moved.

Back to Tynemouth and then turn and back to Whitley and arrive with a few minutes to spare before we start. I head off a little quick for the first mile and then settle into threshold pace and a 23 min parkrun.

Then home, shower, watch a film about a town that gets flooded and loads of sharks invade and eat everyone and then a day wandering round shops and pottering about the house.

All previous blogs are available to read HERE