exercise

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 6

Day 6. The weather in Cambridge today was almost Spring-like. Periods of sun in a hazy blue sky alternated with heavy downpours and the temperature was a mild 10C. I feel so much better running when the sun’s out as I’m sure most people do but it’s the degree of enjoyment compared to a cold, drizzly, overcast day that always surprises me. After yesterday’s debacle (see blog dated Jan 5) I ran over to the next village, avoiding their roadblocks and vigilante patrols (they have their own issues in this community) and used their recreation ground to do a few strides/sprints. I felt very happy to be able to sprint for short distances at full speed. I may not be fast but it feels fast and I recover quickly. I had a heart attack four years ago and I was able to recover my full fitness subsequently. I feel extremely lucky to be running at a reasonable level and now be part of a running community. I started doing Cambridge parkrun on their fifth event in February 2010 and now I’ve completed 159. I also joined a running club after 30 years of running alone and found it conducive to my exacting requirements of a good balance between sociability and just running without frills.

The Guardian ran an article on a research findings  link between cancer and inactivity today http://bit.ly/KxhjW2 giving shocking figures concerning cases that (theoretically) could have been prevented  if people were more physically active. Apathy and a closed mindset can be lethal.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 5

Day 5. After yesterday’s high level of social intercourse, I decided to treat myself to a lone run to the far end of my village. This carried the risk of bumping into people I know and deciding to run on thus leaving them with a feeling that I don’t love them enough to stop and chat. This only applies to non runners, of course. I ran for 26 minutes in total and it was far from incident free. My end of the village is populated by normal, reasonable people like myself. Beyond the crossroads is the other half of the village where, on the weekends, one has to look out for marauding gangs of Townswomen Guild and local interest groups who detain innocent pedestrians and press gang them into serving the cause. I easily ran past an origami club because they saw me too late but I had a close call with the campanologists, and the yoga club distracted me by striking bendy poses which I forced myself to ignore. I ran free and fast. My generous spirit attracted a large heron who flew alongside me on my return journey and scattered the shock troops hell bent on enforcing membership. The heron requested me to stop on my “safe” side of the crossroads and proceeded to lecture me on my folly in running through an area populated by zealots, knowing the dangers. Mea culpa I admitted! He flapped away, shaking his beak as if he was admonishing a wayward youngster.

This episode left me unnerved. It might explain my understandable error committed  when I prepared the evening meal. I was convinced that yellow split peas were grown up lentils but they didn’t cook like them. We had a very chewy absent-lentil wannabe dahl. I also cooked enough to feed half the village. Guess which half!

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 4

Day 4. I marshaled at Cambridge parkrun today and stood at a fork in the path where all 280 runners passed me 3 times. The 5K course in Milton Country Park was very muddy and they took the opportunity to splatter me as they went past. Repeat offenders were reported to the Community Support Officers and I expect they will be spirited away to  a gulag near the  Watford Gap for running etiquette rehabilitation.

I’m constantly fascinated by everyone’s different running styles and my perception that the fastest runners don’t seem all that speedy when you are passively watching them from the sidelines. I surely must be able to keep up or pass them if there is any justice in the world. Of course, these notions are in my head and the reality is very different. Afterwards we had  tasty coffees with our pals and I continued to learn to be more sociable. I found it’s worthwhile making an effort rather than rushing away home. The great majority of runners are very friendly, even those who you initially judge to be a bit aloof (like me).

Continuing in this vein, I had the option of going for an individual run in the afternoon or joining a social run with an informal club, 5 or 6 members being  already known to me. I opted for the latter and it was very enjoyable. It was a mixed ability group and we ran about 5.5 miles through puddles and more mud. Everyone behaved themselves, no-one was competitive and I didn’t have to make any citizen’s arrests.

My eldest son Dan did parkrun in Valentine’s Park near Ilford, Essex and came in at 21 minutes 57 seconds, a whole 1 minute and 22 seconds faster than my personable best. I am eclipsed as this family’s premier running god. I have been toppled from my pedestal. I am yesterday’s runner, an ex legend consigned to history. I could carry on dissing myself but I will stop there. Instead I will rise from the ashes like the phoenix, regenerated and stronger than ever. Another notion in my head. Note to self : make it reality.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 3

Day 3. I donned my black running tights again and ventured into the gloom. My new haircut today allowed me to glide along with superb aerodynamic efficiency. I plumped for an uncontroversial short  style after the barber declined to work his magic and  transform my barnet ( cockney rhyming slang – Barnet fair = hair) so it was indistinguishable from Rod Stewart’ coiffure circa 1972. It was dark and drizzly and strangely, mildly exhilarating. I duplicated my 2 mile run of yesterday since I left it late to hit the road and needed to get back to cook the family meal. I soon got into a running groove and an owl and nightjar flew alongside me, commenting on and advising me about, my running gait. “We see lots of nocturnal joggers, ” he twitt-a-wooed,”and I can confirm you’ve got very good running form. Keep up the training and you’ve got a parkrun win in the bag.” “Yes,”sang the nightjar,”but you will need trail shoes in muddy conditions. We heard about your experience at Huntingdon parkrun on New Years Day. You nearly came to a standstill.” I didn’t need reminding,thank you!

I’m marshaling at Cambridge parkrun tomorrow morning and the forecast is heavy rain. I may go for a longer run in the afternoon with an informal running group. The weather is expected to improve.

I considered applying for the Great North Run today. I completed the online form but baulked at the entry fee of £50. Decided against it. I would love to do it but I would have to stop over for a day or two because of the distance to travel. Taking part in a really big event is exciting but not necessary for a runner. What we need to do is just run…anywhere.

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 2

Day 2. I’m still recovering from yesterday’s mud festival at the Hinchingbrooke 5K. They should have billed it as a swamp challenge. In retrospect, I think Indiana Jones had less dangerous near misses even where he’s actually trapped in a swamp up to his neck. My body is unscathed but my mind is in bits. It didn’t help that my nice Ron Hill tracksters were still drying and I was compelled to wear running tights in broad daylight. I looked like Max Wall!

max wall image

Whereas, I normally look like this

knit4

No matter, I pulled myself together and went off for a 2 mile run just to keep things ticking over. The weather was sunny and mild today and if one was inclined, one could fantasise that Spring was around the corner. This one started to fantasise. I saw daffodils poking through everywhere and I’m sure I glimpsed lambs gambling in the fields.

Why run? You feel physically better – more alive, alert and fitter. Your mood improves, you feel more positive and you meet a whole new society of good people. You reduce the risk of developing a raft of diseases and disorders, you focus more sensibly on the food you eat. You feel younger (this is age related : you don’t feel 14 when you are actually 22) and it can be exciting and result in a sense of well being. Why wouldn’t you?

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Aliveandrunning Janathon January 1 2013

First day of Janathon! We went to Huntingdon parkrun (for 9 am )where the 5K race is held in Hinchingbrooke Country Park. This was the first of two special New Years Day parkruns, the second taking place in Peterborough at 10.30 .am. A lot of our chums went to both but we just did the one. It was a lovely course – undulating, grass land and woodland paths – and a complete mud bath. I’ve never run along such long tracts of churned up mud before. I haven’t got trail shoes and I seem to have trouble with balance in these conditions. I did a very slow time. Still it was fun and Lorna took some good pictures. The forecast was rain today but it held off until the finish of the race. The temperature was mild and unlike yesterday when I ran the Ely New Years Eve  10K at Little Downham, I didn’t notice the wind.

Here’s me at Huntington today on relatively firm but gluey ground. I pulled even weirder faces in the thicker mud in the woods plus the start of the race. Both photos by Paul Homewood.

1525098_10201248953090867_1574392435_n (1)          steve at Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon 5K, NYD

 

On slightly firmer ground

Lorna's pic of me at Huntingdon, NYD

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Aliveandrunning December 30

Yes, I ran for 46 minutes and 53 seconds yesterday. I ran to the river but not along it. At the point I turn around, I touch a railing as the river footpath rises onto a bridge. Failure to touch the railing would result in me falling into an alternative dimension where running is illegal and everyone has to consume a gallon of corn syrup each week by law to ensure good health. Naturally the BBC is regarded as a terrorist organisation. So you see, I have to touch the railing or I am imperilled. On the return journey, nobody gave me a friendly acknowledgement but a robin hitched a lift on my shoulder for 700 metres and gave me the latest ornithological news. He also recommended adding worms to my diet for “balance.”  “No,” I gasped,”that’s strictly for the birds.” He flew off with in a huff.

Pedestrian observation : I’ve eaten too much over Christmas and unhealthy food to boot. How to make reparations ? Shall I order a hair shirt on line or indulge in a bit of verbal flagellation ? No ! I’ll eat less and return to a healthily discriminating diet. And I will up the running until I reach such a peak of fitness and performance, it causes Usain Bolt and Mo Farah to look anxiously over their shoulders. Tomorrow I am doing the Ely New Years Eve 10K. Unfortunately the weather prospects are grim – no sun but plenty of rain, wind and cold. These conditions are not conducive for a comfortable run. I’ll do my best and explain to hundreds of my fans lining the course, that I am a below par running god now regaining his fitness. This will be received as shocking news given their belief I was infallible.

I read in the Murdoch owned Sunday Times yesterday that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering halving the recommended sugar consumption people should have in their diets. This is following increasing numbers of studies which conclude that sugar plays a major part in obesity and heart disease. The article predicts, predictably, “a robust response from the multi-billion pond food and drinks industry.” The manner in which our food and diet has been degraded for financial and commercial reasons  over past decades is truly shocking. Your degree of shock and awe is usually proportionate to how much interest you have shown in how food is sourced, grown and manufactured which for the large majority of people is zero. The mindset and conduct of the food and drinks industry is unlikely to be radically different to the tobacco, alcohol, armaments and pharmaceutical industries in successfully pulling the wool over our eyes. As I write, the TV sound is off but I looked up to see Rock Hudson and Patrick McGoohan each lighting up a cigarette in Ice Station Zebra (1968). It could have been worse. At least they weren’t munching Krispy Kreme doughnuts on screen.

Egregiously, I saw a Krispy Kreme delivery lorry outside my local Tesco store. I shot the driver a withering glance and my upper lip curled up in the manner of Clint Eastwood showing contempt for bad persons in the Dollar films. It had no noticeable effect because the delivery person carried on taking this dangerous foodstuff into the store. In hindsight the reason for this may have been I was 150 metres away when I executed these devastating facial movements. Must try harder.

I’ve had a few ideas about  the development of a new cult/religion. I really like the concept of karma and reincarnation. I think this idea has legs. What about MuchBetterNextTime.com ? For a fixed yearly subscription, my personal self serving  registered charity/cult/church would guarantee a return to this world in greatly enhanced circumstances compared to your previous life. No- quibble money back if not fully satisfied. How do subscribers attain this goal ? They embark on a policy of tolerance, generosity, kindness and acceptance towards others even if they wear strange clothes and live in other countries. I’ll produce the guidance and develop lots of esoteric waffle, they pay their subscriptions and accrue the benefits in this life and the next. It’s a win-win situation. I’ll also make them start running.

 

 

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Aliveandrunning2013 December 16

They say parkrun is a social run not a race. 5K of friendly jogging and enjoying the company of like minded buddies. WRONG !! It’s a matter of life and death. Probably more important than life and death. Survival and glory are the only objectives. I see myself as Charlton Heston in the final chariot race in Ben Hur forcing my way through a course of spilled  blood and guts and bodies. I am the good guy but it’s my chariot with the protruding metal spindles that wreck the wheels of competitors causing them to crash spectacularly. 283 runners took part last Saturday. Only the fittest survived and I don’t mind admitting I had blood on my hands when it was all over. How did I do ? A massive 2 seconds faster than last week. I regard that as a huge margin when you compare it to the Big Bang which created the Universe in less than 1 second about 13.7 billion years ago. My arch rival Mike beat me by a minute. I’m fairly sure he takes a short cut when I’m distracted pushing obstructive children out of my way and into the nettles. Perhaps I should request an urgent steward’s inquiry or contact the media. Another 3 seconds faster and I would have dropped below 24 minutes. I can’t seem to do this at the moment. I note that a man in the 60 to 64 age range ran it in 21 minutes 10 seconds. What sorcery is this ? That’s obviously too fast for a social run and he should have been disqualified. My only consolation was that I beat another arch rival, Diane, by 3 seconds (Big Bang times 3) who complained of “tiredness.”

Am I taking it too seriously? Is it unrealistic to harbour a hope that I will, one day,beat the hundred or so runners in front of me and cross the line first ? Should I join the Flat Earth Society ? Am I just an “amiable loafer” as Lorna has described me ? Sounds like a good domain name!

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Aliveandrunning2013 December 11

I continue to run but I have mislaid the Winged Sandals given to me on loan by the Greek god Hermes. I’m not flying along effortlessly and I can no longer kid myself that it’s still late summer. A 45 minute run a couple of days ago was a lacklustre affair and drew no comments from passersby like “Wow, you strongly remind me of Usain Bolt” and “There goes a top class runner we are proud to have living in the Cambridge area.” I missed an outing with the club yesterday and instead heard Ian Rankin. UK crime writer interviewed in a rather lovely church in central Cambridge. See my other blog http://oscardiamond.wordpress.com/ for my very brief review and my view on Scientology following a Supreme Court ruling in London today. Scientology, you couldn’t make it up ? Or could you ?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/pope-francis-approves-panel-fight-clerical-sex-abuse The Catholic Church appears motivated to set up a high profile commission of experts to fight clerical sex abuse but, as explained in this article and another the previous day, the Vatican has refused to give a United Nations panel information it requested on clerical sexual abuse. Additionally there is still no clear plan to examine the issue of bishops’ accountability in clergy abuse cases. You would assume that a religious organisation that has caused, and allowed to continue, so much harm would be highly motivated to make whatever amends it could. Unless that organisation was so thoroughly self serving and saturated with hubris that it decided to continue to minimise the impact of abuse and make an industry out of lip service and crocodile tears.

I have a cunning plan to encourage myself to be more sociable. I will invite more people to come around for coffee or (in exceptional cases where the person is very discerning) lapsang souchong. At the point of invitation I will give them a card stating the maximum length of time they may stay eg I hour, 2 hours, 3 hours etc. They know where they stand and the whole thing has a nice manageable feel for all participants. It also gives a chance for people to increase their favour with me and receive subsequent cards of longer duration. It can’t fail.

 

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Aliveandrunning2013 December 7

I’m struggling to regain my running form after my calf strain in October/November. I haven’t been doing longish training runs and my running week seems to have lost its rhythm. The barometer of success is parkrun. Not only have I failed to beat my arch rival Mike but I am being outpaced by runners who are usually behind me. Woe is me! I am at least 30 SECONDS off my normal pace for a 5K race. That’s a very long time compared with the Big Bang and the creation of the Universe 13.7 billion years ago. On the other hand it’s no time at all if you believe God did the hard work in 6 days. Time to employ a cunning plan to return to form and mop up those superfluous seconds.

The miracle of Nelson Mandela and his associates. White South Africans escaped the retribution they might have expected after decades of cruelty, murder, destruction of human rights, extreme inequality and poor health care for the black majority.

Went to hear Raymond Tallis and Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury discuss the issues concerning Science and Religion. It took place at Heffers bookshop in central Cambridge after the shop had closed. Heffers is a large general and academic bookshop and puts on regular literary events. This was the first event we had attended. There was a strong sense of being in a wonderful environment where you only had to reach out to touch a book, even when you were sitting down listening to the speakers. All manner of naughty thoughts ran through my mind. I fancied I co-owned the entire shop (I don’t mind sharing books with others), I considered moving in and I pondered Lorna’s reaction if I bought thousands of pounds of books (helpfully the shop was still open for purchases following the talk (which we enjoyed). Being a disciplined sort of chap, I pulled myself together and left quietly without causing a scene.

Into Cambridge again this afternoon. We meant to go to the “bohemian” Mill Road Winter Fayre today but didn’t get any further than a clutch of charity shops 15 minutes walk away. The large Oxfam shop has an excellent book section but their staff have a serious attitude problem. Because I have more than enough books at home I selflessly decided to browse rather than make a purchase. As I made my way out, empty handed, a sales assistant barred my way and declared I wasn’t permitted  to leave without buying several books. I looked at him incredulously and laughed in his face. Attempting to push past him at least six of his colleagues suddenly appeared out of nowhere and I instinctively knew that my high minded decision not buy anything was doomed. I finally capitulated when someone flicked my earlobe and suggested I was “frightened of books.” I chose four items, resentfully, paid up quickly and stormed out, my dignity in tatters. I won’t be going back there, thank you very much. at least until next week. I really hope their attitude improves but I suspect not.