Running Shits Me

Sometimes.

But not always.

Couple of months of GOOD running.  Working upwards, week by week on distance.  Building up for potential marathon.  BUT.....in the couple of weeks of 50 and 60km a week I put on 2KG.  TWO FREAKING KILOGRAMS!!!!!  I started this running lark to loose weight.  I could sit on my arse and eat properly and not put on weight.  So to be doing great training and having the issues I do with my body, I got the shits and gave up.  Only to miss it terribly.  So I started again.  So, it is fair to say that my "marathon" training has been shite.  More than shite.  Totally inadequate.  So the wee man who does the marathon stuff  at Fitzroy Falls called me ask me to start early so that I didn't hold them all up on the day, so I said "dont worry about it" and dropped back to the 10km and so today the guy I was meant to be running with has told me his friend is only running it cos she knows I am slow and can run with us, so BUGGER IT we are running a very slow, untrained for, mawathon.  You must call it a MAWATHON.  Cos that's what it is. 

And my dad is dying.  And I dont really know what to do about that.

And also my job situation is difficult.  I have been offered a new job which I really like but there are some bits of mad argy bargy going on - and it will mean a relocation or mad serious travel.  Although I really LOVE my current job, except it is only a contract.  So I am lying awake at night worrying about it all.

And my marriage is breaking up.  Well it has been for ages and ages, it is just a matter of extracting myself from it. 

So all in all, life is kinda fucked.  And I have a lot of pimples as a result.  And I cry a lot.  So I am not really equipped for a marathon or a new job or anything really.  I seem to do drinking quite well though. 

So do I take new job, do I sell house or rent it out, do I go home to see dad, do I run marathon or not, do I leave husband or try and make it work, or do I just try and forget everything and go for a run?  

No Surprises

It's impossible to get bored with Radioheads "No Surprises".  Those bells.  It is, however, possible to get really bored with your life, which I had done for a while, so lately I have been throwing in different things to see how they go.  I think it is called "making an effort".  Anyway, I really did not feel like running 26km up and down a mountain in the cold and rain and wind last Friday night after another busy week of work and the daily three hour commute.  But I was worried about letting friends down and also about my mood if I didn't go.  I was worried I would get even more down.  So I went, and I will admit that when we got off the train at Woodford at nearly nine O'Clock at night, in the wind, the cold and the dark, I really questioned whether this was a good idea.  The train had been nice and warm, and TALKING about tough runs we'd done was fine, actually DOING one was another thing.  However, once you are in, you are in.  There was no turning back, so sucked it up and got moving.  I think it proved to be the best medicine possible.  It took a while to sort out pace - some very fast people and some slower and then me, really slow, but we fell into a nice pattern and to be honest, with all that has been on my mind of late, I was happy with my own company, my own little circle of light and my own thoughts.  It was a great time to reflect, and the conditions were actually PERFECT for running, cool, dry and eventually the moon peeked through the clouds.  There is something magical about running at night, you really have to concentrate on the trail which really keeps everyday stresses far from your mind.  I really liked that aspect of it.  At one point, I thought it would be good to come out and do this on my own some Friday night.  Then I wised up and caught myself on, when the Bogey Man leapt to the forefront of my mind....

Anyway, did the run, the car shuffle, the huddle round the campfire at the end, and driving through the sleepy town of Glenbrook, next thing I see sirens and police lights flashing behind me, urging me to pull over.  Not again!!  Every damn run I do, I get followed home by the cops!  Having been stranded in the middle of woop woop with no phone reception and no way to get home from Mudgee and a pocket full of two and a half grands worth of fines because my rego was three days overdue, I was not keen to catch up with the NSW Police again so soon. However they had different plans.  This time a breath test (all clear) and my tow bar for my bike rack is apparantely illegal.  So he fined me for that.  Which makes me think (a) he was a prick and (b) the events in Mudgee might have got a little tick beside my registration in the COPS system.  Now I am a law abiding citizen, and admittedly I am a crap driver and even worse at parking, but fines, demerit points, near arrest?  Or am I delusional and should I just get off the roads?  I managed to drive around for twenty years without losing one point and suddenly over the past few years I seem to find myself on the wrong side of the law WAY TOO OFTEN. 

Anyway, thanks to a busy weekend, I had no time to dwell on whether the NSW Police Force had me in their sights or to dwell on the fact that I couldn't really move my legs come Saturday morning.  Saturday was spent with absolutely no thoughts of running, had lunch with an old friend and an early night.  Sunday I ran 10km, only because I got lost in the forest and only planned to do about six.  But it was nice and Buffy the wonder dog came with me.  Getting lost made me late for my Sunday afternoon catch up with friends, shop till you drop, eat till you burst, drink until you can fit no more in extravaganza.  Actually it was more like a moving feast, after we gave up on the shopping we grazed and grazed and grazed, accompanied by beer.  Until I got so cold from so much beer, so I had to have an Irish Coffee.  It was kinda a nice afternoon.  Wierd, but nice. 

This week I am doing a crash diet.  Silly I know, but I eat well and healthily and love my veggies, but would love to lose a few kilos quickly.  So am on day two of "meat and eggs only".  Which was fine until I read the email I got from the RSPCA today that the ACCC are investigating a number of chicken processing companies who claim their chickens are "free range", but aren't.  The footage attached to the email was upsetting and basically says that no shop bought eggs are from chickens that are treated humanely.  This upsets me greatly.  The most upsetting thing to read was that they only want female chicks and the male chicks are ground down ALIVE.  Please god, who does this stuff?  Who thinks this sort of thing is ok?  Where are these peoples minds at?  Sorry, getting wound up now.  Time to sign off.

Bankstown Hidden Half

I ran it.

It was hilly.

It was fun.

Man, I really enjoyed it. 

Currently searching for more half marathons and upset to find Sydney Running Festival Half is sold out! 

So back to the river.  Seems this longer run one week, shorter "long" run the other week (work with me here) works quite well for me.  Took the legs out for a trot tonight in the Bondi B's.  I am going to have to train my calves to work in a totally different manner to get the most out of these shoes.  Tonight hurt.  It really did.  It wasn't pleasant.  I stopped for a stretch and it was better.  But I am convinced I am running in a totally different way.  At the moment I am thinking at least one run per week with these shoes until I work out how the hell I am supposed to place my foot. 

But, in summary, fantabulous run yesterday (in terms of enjoyment factor) shite in terms of how I fared in the placing (I wasn't last but that was only because there were about 26 75 year olds behind me), and I actually felt bloody wonderful today.  You can't beat that.

No, I'm sorry, I can't - I have, I have, I have an Audience with the Pope that day....

I need more excuses to not attend ridiculous meetings.

I would get so much more done if they just gave me the minutes and got on with it on their own.  In fact, work would be so much more efficient without meetings.  They should be banned.  If you need to speak to someone about something, in the olden days, you just walked over to their desk.  Juggling diaries should now be an Olympic Event.  Government employees are bandits for meetings, I'd like to see them scrapped.

But anyway.  I have been "managing" my achilles in anticipation of the half marathon this weekend.  I went to "Enter The Dragon" Massage Parlour and asked for the VERY BEST in calf massages.  I was very disappointed to hear Enya and what sounded like Richard Clayderman coming through the speakers, because I had become quite fond of the "suburban Chinese Restaurant music".  I still cannot have a massage without getting the giggles when they do behind my knees or just above my kneecaps.  I think the guy thought I was crying today, but it just does something to my reflexes and makes me kick out my foot and disolve into fits of giggles.  I always leave feeling like a wierdo. Nothing new there though.

So another crapola week of running, this marathon is looking more and more unlikely, and I am fine with that.