Having learnt nothing from yesterday's failure to check the
weather forecast before heading out with the hound I was treated a little
better today and got wet but not soaked to the bone. Rowlf, of course, didn't
care. I didn't take a camera with me this morning so I'll try to describe the
scene from the top of the hill. A bank of heavy cloud was hanging above the
ocean but did not extend all the way to the horizon. The sun was shining
through and under the cloud and the ocean was lit silver and bronze, but under
the cloud was a brooding grey-purple. From the cloud you could see rain falling
and where it hit the ocean you could clearly make out the crescent shape of the
leading edge of the shower. If I can see that I really do not care how wet I
am, because that right there is gobsmakingly beautiful. Hello Monday morning.
The rain had stopped by the time I left for work and set to
coaxing my legs into doing something that might qualify as running. I'm
starting to feel like an old car. Let it turn over a bit to start with and
don't even think about revving it until it has warmed up. The suspension is
suspect, so slow down on corners. Paintwork faded, backfiring, aircon broken.
OK, that's enough of the metaphor.
Andrew had not backed up last weekend's marathon with
another big number so it was the slumbering giant, Gary, who rocked me this
morning with his 30 mile Sunday. Room spinning, need to sit down, it's
happening all over again...I'm on metronome detail this January and I'm not
sure I'd have a big number in my legs. Repect to the guys who can lay down the
miles day in, day out and then go large at the weekend.
My blog, back to me. The run to work was the run to work and
there isn't a lot more to say about it that that. I think it was the first time
I'd run with the three things I got from Wiggle after last year's 2nd place. My
X-Socks are on their last legs, the Inov-8 backpack is great until I start to
run and then becomes OK, but the Craft shorts...they're like being cupped by a
velvet glove. I did think about my dad a bit, but not in the
digging-deep-for-any-help-I-can-get way that I sometimes do. He had been a
physical training pnstructor (PTI and later a parachute jump instructor, PJI)
in the RAF. I wondered if he had enjoyed his exercise or if he had days when he
was just getting it done? Then I snapped out of it, realising that fully-kitted
winter pack runs over the Brecon Beacons and my commute to work were really not
apples and apples.
I decided to add the under-the-Bridge-along-Barangeroo bit
to the commute and give myself 14km for the morning and a target of 25km for
the day.
But hey, I made it work and have therefore made it to the
half way mark. And I have also made it to within fifteen minutes of going home
without stuffing any newspaper in my trainers. Yuk. And on that, time to get ready for the run home.
The run home passes in a bit of a blur and I think I know why. By the tail end of the day I am so knackered that I've no energy left to think about how knackered I am and my legs, left to their own devices, simply keep turning over. Slowly, but turning nonetheless. But I have discovered something slower than me. Tonight runningfreeonline hit a new low speed record. It already has the shits with me - maybe because I changed Garmin devices after a few days, maybe it doesn't like my shoes. I don't know why, but it doesn't like me. The upload process now goes a lot like this:
Plug in Garmin and try to upload out of a misplaced sense of optimism. Website connects to device and sees new run. Website claims to have uploaded but not processed run. Website then decides new run, despite being a new run that will have a different date, time and (slightly different) waypoints tells me it thinks I have a duplicate. I tell website to ignore duplicates and just upload the thing (how I wish there was a "just upload the fucking thing" button!) and wait for it to tell me there is some is a communication failure or the dog ate my waypoints or my run was abducted by aliens.
Anyway, to make better use of my time waiting for the inevitable failure I chuff over to Garmin connect, upload the new run without any silly questions or accusations of duplication. I then export the new run to a GPX file. Tonight I id that while runningfreeonline was still trying to to fail. So I killed the session, started again and uploaded the GPX file. Then it was a simple matter of deleting the time of day, elevation and anything to do with the weather and then save my miles. Silky smooth technology I think not.
Anyway, having spent as much energy getting that off my chest as I did uploading today's trot I think I'm done for the day. A bit over 25km with the Barangaroo thingy.
For the record, and please don't tell the others, both legs are feeling a bit weak at the moment.
The run home passes in a bit of a blur and I think I know why. By the tail end of the day I am so knackered that I've no energy left to think about how knackered I am and my legs, left to their own devices, simply keep turning over. Slowly, but turning nonetheless. But I have discovered something slower than me. Tonight runningfreeonline hit a new low speed record. It already has the shits with me - maybe because I changed Garmin devices after a few days, maybe it doesn't like my shoes. I don't know why, but it doesn't like me. The upload process now goes a lot like this:
Plug in Garmin and try to upload out of a misplaced sense of optimism. Website connects to device and sees new run. Website claims to have uploaded but not processed run. Website then decides new run, despite being a new run that will have a different date, time and (slightly different) waypoints tells me it thinks I have a duplicate. I tell website to ignore duplicates and just upload the thing (how I wish there was a "just upload the fucking thing" button!) and wait for it to tell me there is some is a communication failure or the dog ate my waypoints or my run was abducted by aliens.
Anyway, to make better use of my time waiting for the inevitable failure I chuff over to Garmin connect, upload the new run without any silly questions or accusations of duplication. I then export the new run to a GPX file. Tonight I id that while runningfreeonline was still trying to to fail. So I killed the session, started again and uploaded the GPX file. Then it was a simple matter of deleting the time of day, elevation and anything to do with the weather and then save my miles. Silky smooth technology I think not.
Anyway, having spent as much energy getting that off my chest as I did uploading today's trot I think I'm done for the day. A bit over 25km with the Barangaroo thingy.
For the record, and please don't tell the others, both legs are feeling a bit weak at the moment.
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