Ah yes! Where were we? Well, plenty of the same, in summary. It's that time of year again, irrelevant to most, but significant to me. I struggle a little with the indifference even those at the club have to the Wilmslow Half Marathon. It's the equivalent of our 'home game', to use the vernacular of my new football knowledge. But I seem to be in a minority of one, as I see the road signs up predicting carnage this Sunday. Hmmm. Right now, this very moment, I'm a tad sore.
I had an appointment last night for what seemed like the whole evening, on the couch with Georgina, one of the clubs sports masseurs. It was only an hour, but oh my goodness. Her opening line was 'how do you like it'. Regrettably my reply of 'please go gentle with me' came out as 'yeah, go hard'! And she did. I'm not a woman, and regrettably I've not experienced child birth, but surely this pain is worse. There was a lot of noise coming from behind these doors.
The reason for my visit...I've been upping the miles a little. Peaked at 50 last week, but winding it down this, with a good couple of days of absolute rest. Tonight was a gentle 5 miles after work in relative warmth and absolute daylight. Last week I was trudging out on my appointment run with Pete and Steve up the bypass in the dark chasing headlights. Pete 'three weeks to London' essentially hasn't been seen since. It seems he's a bit puffed out. Hang in here, Pete. Not long.
So what's it all about? I'm not sure. Last year, I scored what I called an accidental PB at Wilmslow, my first sub 1.30 half. Ever! Since then, every half I've run has dipped under 1.30, and I guess I'm a bit scared it might not happen this time. I know I'm a slow starter and take a few miles to get going. Gas! I can not put my hand on my heart and say I have it in me to run the miles splits I need. Yet on the day, it comes...from somewhere. But I don't where, no matter how I prepare.
I'm enjoying my running at the moment. I'm even enjoying training. Motivated. Inspired. Keen to keep my health. It's a big year for me, 2014. Significant. But I'm trying not to dwell on that. And neither am I trying to dwell on Sunday. But it's going to be a milestone, of some sort. Look at these photos. Black, dark, grey. It's time for some colour. I'm fed up with this misery. It's time for change, though time doesn't actually change until next week. But Sunday, it's my day...that's the appointment, as the saying goes!
