Janathon

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Janathon Day 23 Can you take me seriously?

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Rupert considers his next move. Actually this pic was taken last year, or even the year before, when it was particularly frosty. He struck a similar pose this morning but there was no frost  and I didn’t think it worthy of a picture. He’s still sulking. I’m thinking of making an appointment with the vet. Is narcissism in a dog treatable?

Cambridge parkrun this morning. Muddy and mild. I’ve done the last four Cambridge parkruns within four seconds of each other and two of them in identical times. I’ve noticed similar patterns before. I don’t look at my watch during the run and always run as fast as I can. Conclusion? Week to week I am very consistent or rather I have periods of consistency. At the present time I am consistently running two minutes slower than in October last year, just before I fell in a half marathon and injured my thigh. Injury is all cleared up and I feel I am flying. Conclusion? The nature of time has changed. It’s obviously speeded up!

Still, I enjoyed the run and had a nice cup of coffee with Eric and Kerry. The women were surprisingly absent so we were able to endlessly discuss football, darts, fast cars, technology and do a bit of online gambling on our smart phones. We also took turns to read off our running stats from Strava, Garmins and Fitbitty things. And then we went to the pub and sank a number of pints. No, I’m making this up. I just had coffee with Eric and Kerry and we chatted about running stuff. An enjoyable morning.

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Janathon Day 22 On the way to being the next Lichtenstein

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It’s incredible! Print Making course, second week in, and Tate Modern in London and Tate Liverpool have been in contact, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst have messaged me and I’m being lauded as an exciting new talent. Here’s more –

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Despite this recognition, my fellow students failed to point out that I had a big blob of turquoise acrylic paint nicely positioned in my hair, just above my forehead. Luckily it came to my attention when I went to the loo before leaving the college. I was able to remove some of it but it looked very messy. I had to do a big shop in Tesco with very visible green highlights. Never mind. All in a day’s work to a creative like myself.

In the morning, before it went all kerflooey (this word was brought to me by dictionary.com : word of the day), I went for a run in a bitter wind and light, driving rain. Not my first choice of weather for running but it certainly made me focus and feel alive.

Change of plan for tomorrow’s parkrun. It’ll be Cambridge, and not Wimpole Hall Estate, the former probably the muddier of the two. Possibly a long run on Sunday.

Reasonably realistic and sympathetic depiction of puerperal psychosis/bipolar disorder relapse in East Enders at the moment. This is a soap being sensitive and responsible. The only dud note if you’ve been watching it is the time taken for East End characters to appreciate her level of illness and their capacity to accommodate her severe symptoms. Tonight she received treatment!

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Janathon Day 21 It’s all about the image, man

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In the spring or summer I hope to do a bit of trail or fell running somewhere in the UK. Never done it before. I’ve only taken in occasional steep hills or undulating countryside. We’ll probably try to identify a race that’s manageable for an inexperienced fell runner rather than opting to run up and down something that should be tackled with ropes, crampons and ice axes. Nor do I want to be in a race with ultra tough looking fell men that eat ice when they need a drink and run up as fast as they run down. There must be something suitable for a soft Southerner (living in the East).

I’m currently doing a screen printing course for complete beginners, during the daytime, in a local college. It’s in a large art room/studio full of much used art equipment, paint stained sinks, racks, screen print benches of varying sizes and everything to support multi media. Second session tomorrow. It’s a bit like being back at school but more relaxed and with a benign teacher.

Another night time run. Didn’t really feel like it initially. After 5 minutes I came alive and felt much more alert and energetic. That’s the thing with running – it wakes you up!

Parkrun on the weekend. We’ll do Wimpole Hall Estate. It’ll be muddy and slow but we’ll be with friends, have a nice mug of coffee post run and the bookshop will beckon. Heaven.

 

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Janathon Day 20 The “Gate Keeper”

IMG_20160119_082057978 Rupert is unimpressed by the scary “shadow man” manifestation which appears fleetingly then disappears. That’s the nature of shadows, man! He is the “Gate Keeper.” If “shadow man” is present, you may pass through the “gate,” to gain entrance to the next field, or rather “field”. If you don’t see him, DO NOT PASS THROUGH THE GATE. Rather worrisome, innit! But not as worrisome as Sarah Palin and Donald Trump on the same platform.

After my 10 mile run yesterday, I felt rather good ie tired but relaxed and appreciative of an evening rest. I felt an impulse to have another long run today and had to resist it. I ran a couple of miles only just before dusk.

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Janathon Day 19 Something like winter

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Hard frost this morning, around -5C or -6C. Brrrrrrrrrr!

 

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No, this isn’t Siberia or the frozen Alaskan wastes, it’s Worts Meadow in rural Cambridgeshire but there are undeniable similarities. All three locations are pretty chilly and require the correct standard of clothing and protection to survive the hazardous environment. Luckily I made it home unscathed, accompanied by Rupert the dalmatian (he didn’t fare so well. The intense cold caused a couple of his spots to fall off).

I had previously decided not to run with the club tonight (a planned fartlek around Cambridge) and instead do a long run by the river. The temperature was one or two degrees above zero and I wore my heaviest cycling jacket to keep the cold at bay. In the end I ran a bit further than I anticipated and did just over 10 miles. I came across surprising number of runners of all ages( and the obligatory walkers cluttering up the tow path).

Janathon total so far around 69 miles (running).

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Janathon Day 18 Everyone’s gawping at everyone else

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I took this picture of Trinity College’s Jerwood Library, on the bank of the Cam, yesterday. The light was poor, I was cold and it was taken with the wrong lens. To make matters worse, I was just able to lip read one of the gilded youths inside the warm library. He turned towards another chap, who was probably clutching a teddy bear, and said “Look at that twit, standing in the cold, trying to take photo of us with his silly telephoto lens.”

Another cold day, today. The temperature didn’t go much above zero centigrade and tomorrow morning it will be more like -3 or -4c. I went for an afternoon run, starting in an adjacent village and running along the Cam in the opposite direction to usual, that is towards Ely rather than Cambridge, There’s no clay cycle path going this way and it proved to be very muddy. I did around 3 miles which felt enough.

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Janathon Day 17 At least the dog’s warm

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We made Rupert cosy last night. Instead of shrugging off the blanket, he fell asleep immediately. He was still asleep in this position when I brought him a nice cup of tea at 7 am this morning. He likes his soft toys as well and often carries them around with him.

The temperature hovered around 3-4c when I went for an afternoon run. I ran through an adjacent village and picked up the river Cam at a different point. Saw plenty of other runners and some odd people just sauntering (okay, walking). I ran just over eight miles and feel better for doing a longer distance. I could have carried on quite easily but you can’t spend your life running, can you? Can you

 

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Janathon Day 16 Drama on the start line

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Picture by John Wilderspin

Cambridge parkrun and they’re off! Well at least two of them are. The man in the orange with folded arms is clearly sulking and thinking about it.

Chris in the blue top is showing serious intent and goes on to win it (I mean he completes it first, it’s not a race of course). Nice pose by Paul who sets them off with his horn (except the sulky guy who’s not playing ball).

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Picture by John Wilderspin

Here I am, lost in my own world, slightly open mouthed and fully attired for freezing weather. Compare and contrast with the near naked elite on the start line. The temperature is around minus 1c which is cold enough to wear  my warmest jacket. Trail shoes were essential. There was ice, broken ice, mud, frozen mud and water lurking everywhere so one had to concentrate or one could find oneself coming a cropper.

Post run we had coffee with our good friends and very enjoyable it was, too. Tea was also taken.

Despite the cold and frosty weather, the sun held most of the day and we went into Cambridge in the afternoon. How lucky are we to live close to such a beautiful city which is really no bigger than a medium sized town.

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Here is the still spooky Trinity Lane.

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And here is the last of the Saturday sun shining on the righteous.

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One last pic. Cambridge University Press is currently having a book sale. All softback/paperbacks £3 and hardbacks £7. CUP academic books are notoriously expensive. It’s a big sale and goes on for three weeks with books being added daily. It’s beyond excitement. I’ll be back!

 

 

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Janathon Day 15 I am menaced by cows!

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Look how I am being given the evil eye by this crazy bovine, backed up by his equally aggressive mates. As you can see, I’m only protected by a thin ring of steel with a gate in the middle. So it’s a stand off. It lasted almost three hours until a truce was agreed and they allowed me to pass through the gate and return home. Actually, that’s not strictly true. This picture was taken in October and the cows are expecting to be thrown apples from the apple tree out of shot. Of course if they are denied apples, theoretically a stand off could occur and the long wait to get home might become a reality. You can now appreciate the risks and tricky situations that can arise if you live in the countryside. This is just one (theoretical) example.

No apples lying around now. The cows are gone and there was a hard frost this morning. But the sun was shining in a cloudless sky and it was perfect for running. Tomorrow it’s parkrun at Cambridge and the weather should be similar. Last week BBC East came along and their report was broadcast early in the week. It’s likely that more people will be encouraged to come along and last week was a record at 504. Mud, ice and congestion.

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Janathon Day 14 Life imitates art in Cambridge

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Compare and contrast my image of urban alienation and ennui with Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks (1942) (courtesy of Wikipedia). I think Edward has the edge.

I battled the elements (bitter wind, biting rain, threatening snow and, worst of all, dull, grey light, to triumphantly enter Cambridge city centre, aided only by my bus pass and a steely sense of purpose. I transacted my business, got freezing cold and then repaired to Eat, the sandwich shop chain where I hunkered down and ate an up market tuna and cucumber baguette. It was rather squidgy (Lorna wasn’t there to throw up her hands in horror) and I made a mess but no-one noticed (obviously because they are wallowing in urban alienation etc and that kind of thing goes over their heads).

I do like Eat. It’s anonymous, unpretentious, not expensive, reasonably comfortable and I can concentrate to read, eat and drink coffee.

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I then went to Cambridge Central library and saw this on display. Reader, I borrowed it! I can only fantasise about fell running locally. Cambridge is flatter than the flattest pancake.

I am managing to run each day for Janathon although 4-5 days in the week are just 2 milers. The mild winter in Eastern England has now got appreciably colder and I’m now running in trackster bottoms and a mid cold protection running jacket. It’s about 2-4c at the moment but minus centigrade temperatures will soon be upon us and I’ll wear a heavier duty cycling jacket which I keep on even when I’ve warmed up.

Alan Rickman’s death was announced today. Another very sad event. A great and entertaining actor, gone at 69.