Killing myself softly ( with the same old song )

Brueton park5k  17:38


Always behind chased leaders 1k , struggled one paced 2k failed to get on terms  3k , faded & tired final 1k .

With the extra speed work in my legs Expected to go at least 30secs faster & maybe have pop at the course record but my mind wasnt up for it felt jaded and tired esp' top my legs possibly train too hard on the (Beast ) treadmill mid week also running on an incline to counter the speed of the treadmill belt as advised to do by so called experts which is the reason why my thighs felt fecked over past few days .

But dont intend to bust my balls on the track or rds so the treadmill enough fer me as I dont expect to go anywhere near 16:30 not at the amount of training Im doing or the xtra weight Im carrying ,but sub 17:00club  is more realistic target ;mind you on this course Id be struggling as they messed around with the course I reckon its at least 150m over from the old summer one which I ran 17:14 on .

Interesting banter with fellow vet50  'The Hoff 'afterwards bout nostalgic days of 70s  football hoolligans getting run @t Old Trafford & Anfield & escaping within an inch of our lives as the oppo fans used us for target practise with bricks & bottles , thats when you discover wether yous can run or not lol ....those were the days kids today they aint lived when thy moan bout pitch invasions & police brutality back then you only had to look at the SPG in funny way & they give you good going over with a truncheon lol !!.

Park Life

Park run 5k 17.39 : fact that I actually managed to make this race was more important than the time mind you they tend to chop and change this course so its hard to use this time as a marker but its a base to work from fitness wise .

I see they given me a PB on the new course but in my book that dont count if the course is only slightly different how can it be PB ?


The new start and finish on this course is an improvement but its not as fast as' Brueton park' over at Solihull maybe in the summer they could shift it to an evening mid week run which would not only attract more runners but would be better for the volunteers too .


After the intial 'Brave heart ' charge it was the same old same old for me as worked my way thro' to 2nd after 1k and spent rest of the race trying to close the leader down finding myself in the no mans land with large gap to 3rd I made half hearted attempt to reel the leader in but as is the norm these days my pace fades after 3k esp' with the xtra weight Im carrying and so took my foot off the gas & I settled into a relaxed stride to the finish .

Good thing bout these parkruns is apart from the fact that you dont have to drive down the motorway to have bad run you can do on yer own doorstep and just like the Number 11 bus theres always anougher one the following  weekend to put the poor run  right .

I jogged the 4 miles or so back home to make the miles up to a nice little 10 contemplating on how I can get my weight down without have to run by guts off 5/6 times a week !!.

Sun

90mins, just didnt feel up for the 2hr + run its not Gospel to run it every week maybe I was bit mentaly jaded from the previous days excursions Im probably cuming back too quickly and over cooking it  .


Clear a path coming through !!

Noticed plenty ramblers on the stratford section of the canal loads of the bloody blighters no doubt out for their annual club walk ,walking three a breast blocking the towpath even when shouted " cuming thro' some of the cunts were too busy talking to notice no doubt discussing where they were going to stuff their faces at the nearest pub .
I read somewhere on Ramblers club page that some of them are claiming responsabilty for help to keep the towpaths open not in my book it was us runners who were useing the towpaths even before they were renovated during the early 90s !!

Telling it how it is

new years day

This was supposed to be part of my 'super Roll over weekend ' I intended to combine LSD with local grass roots race but think the 'racers block ' has struck gain Id been awake since 5am but couldnt be @rsed  to get up so the 'roll over ' was  confined to bed .

But did manage to salvage a 2hr run but feck me only just the previous nights booze& the twelve days of drinking  had taken its toll and I struggled round after this Im going on the wagon for at least a week anyway .

Took to the scenic route around the lanes havent ran along sum these lanes for 10 yrs or more but there were quite few lady runners about in wythal & surrounding area by time I hit the Stratford canal over at Dickens heath Id been out for 50 mins but wasnt feeling any better felt like shite feck knows how managed 2hrs.

Sunday 2nd

22m =2hr 15mins , Part two of my' super sunday Roll over ' to run 20 + on consective days once again didnt feel like going out but after 3 cups strong coffe and playing mind games with myself by talking my legs into only doing 1hr run I got out there .
Upped the anti and managed @6.30 steady pace taking in River Rea cycle route via Edgbaston picking up the canal at Brindley place city center 55mins which meant the only way back was anougher 50 mins at least but by then started to enjoy myself with the knowledge was on for my 40+ mile weekend target by adding on few loops of warstock.

mon 3rd

My head said rest but my legs had other ideas as I took to the treadmill for bit of speed 30mins @ sub 16 pace which is enough for me at this stage and should do me for what I have in mind then a short jog home .



canal knowledge
Noticed on the  Stratford canal the council have padlocked shut the gates unlike the Bham city center towpath maybe the council should make their minds up either its cycle route or not !
I heard that disabled fishermen ,who had access to special keys to the gates were leaving them open for their able bodied m8s and are also selling duplicate keys to collegues who were leaving the gates open for ilegal off rd bikers to use as an escape route from police .

Running back along the towpath towards K/norton I often wondered why Birmingham doesnt make better use of its canal system by having foot races on it ,I know theres Black country half marathon from wolverhampton to Bham & an Ultra race on Stratford canal but nothing on Bham section .
Maybe they could hold relay races from Brindley place / Lifford  and back gain I might even be tempted out of retirement .

A month of Sundays

Dec 25th

With xmas day  falling on saterday  this year it means perfect excuse to not only get the traditional Xmas day run in but also double up and call it long weekend with LSD run on sunday (Box Day )  in fact with the following weeks new years day on a saterday you could call it a double roll over as its gonna seem like 'a month of sundays ' .

Xmas has always been the ideal oppertunity for me to throw the miles in and steal a march on my rivals most of which were usauly on the piss and piling on the pounds even tho' I retired from competitive running old habits 'die hard with a vengance ' .

18m easy over enrolled myself in the 'Skool for hard knocks ' and wore cut off shorts was ok after I warmed up and the blood started circulating not many runners out and about it seems the Traditional xmas day run has fallen by the way side amongst club runners but to get out at least once at this time of year even if its just for an hour or so is a psychological  advantage .

Boxing day 26th

Managed to survive xmas so far without Collateral liver damage  & limited myself to just a few drinks with plenty Brown Ale altho' did seccumb to few shots of schnaps as someone gave me bottle for xmas ,with my feck liver I shouldnt be drinking let alone still running !!.

20 miles easy pace the snow has been flattend and trapled down by walkers esp' on the canal towpath so its lot easier to run on  in fact Im quite enjoying myself running on the stuff hope its here to stay for anougher few weeks at least .
Past few runners on the canal as I ran past the Uni'  load sad bsterds on towpath to look at the new Bridge thats been lowered into postion to make way for the new Rd thats being built have to say it hardly makes a differance it seems some slap heads & local historians block the towpath with their cameras too occupied to move out the way and too  deaf to here me shout " make a path coming thro' " .

canal new build

Mon 27th

with two succesive days of LSD I had the idea to try hit 100mpw just for kicks as that kinds milage used to be common when I was lot younger esp' as nearly every pleb out there  seems to be pushing back the frontiers of running and unltras are the new marathon ,makes you feel so inferior especially when Celebs like 'Eddie Lizzard ' are doing it .

But I came down with bout of Neuralgia on the night , serves me right going out without a hat on Box day when it was -4c I dont usauly seccumb to cold viruses & manage  train thro' them but with  Neuralgia  the pain in the head gets worse with exercise and I end up being doped up on pain killers so I rested up for few days .

wed 28th

Resumed running and went for session down the gym on the Treadmill for some more torture cranked up the machine to top setting and let rip 20mins @ sub 16 mins 5k pace ages since I ran that fast but the speed in your legs never leaves you even at my age , jogged the extra few miles back home via the common for total of 10 m .

Been useing an old pair of shoes as they offer better grip in the snow trouble is they offer little cushioning on my ankles & knees the new Trainers I brought over month ago are still uncomfortable to wear they dont make Nikes like they used to .


footnote

Seems to be growing trend for Barefoott running I blogged on this few yrs ago but most of it was wind up I know 'Ron Hill ' was famous barefoot runner but he only ran without shoes on the Xcross country Ive tried it on the beach run in the wet sand near waters edge & on a treadmill ;mind you doubt wether I get away with it now with health & safety .

I did try doing track session once but gave up half way thro' after get foot burn on bottom of my feet due to the tartan track surface but there are plebs out there running barefoot in parks and on Rds which is crazy as you never know what sharp objects ley beneath the surface !!.

Tails from The Treadmill of Life

Weathers been that bad even Ive succumbed to the indoor treadmill after two weeks running on snow & ice I needed to get the feel of flat clean ground under my feet the problem with run on compacted snow is the bumps jar the joints and tendons thats why I picked up slight abductor strain.
 Its in one those embarrasing places that you dont wanna let the Physo' get there hands on except of course if shes attractive ,Ive known runners  invent injuries just to go along to check out a nice looking phsyo in the area but mine should be ok knowing my powers of recovery &' Kellys eye 'immortal  healing properties .

Dont mind the snow but wouldnt wanna have to train on it 6/7 days a week like those poor  sods who are still competitive athletes I can please myself when to go out .

All the slow running get to yous and its good to have burn up occasionaly I did 30 mins at bout 80% effort including some show boating altho the gym was empty thanks to the fair weather trainers I half expected the gym to be closed Im sure it was durng last yrs Artic blast .

The  Gym scales are fecked they dont seem to give the same reading twice ? either that or they are on an uneven surface still 11st 5lbs ?? but think Im get used ter running under this weight .


I see M60 'Mike Hagger ' is still running a one man assualt force on many masters titles & age world records supposed to be 60 but looks like feck 70 hope I dont look like that at his feck age !!.

Mike Haggered '

Wed 22nd Dec

Gym jog treadmill 1x 20 mins 1x 10 mins dont ask me wat pace but it was just enough to feel the burn some geezer a non runner on treadmill next to me  with the feet of an elephant you could feel the vibrations across the other side of the gym no wonder the machines are bust !!.

The Thought of Drinking this xmas is enough to turn my liver inside out esp' as Ive just started kicking myself into shape so I be sticking to wine this year and not stuffing my face ahead of the traditional xmas run .

Footnote

Bumped into an old drinking pal few weeks ago I was shocked to find hed had a 'Heart by pass ' hes same age as me 52 ' like me he used to be very fit when he was younger  and was verygood footballer at one time courted by few Lge clubs .

He reckoned it was the drink & fags thank feck I had my running to keep me on the right rd otherwise I may have ended up like him too !! we used to call him 'George Pissed ' as he was the 'George Best 'of the non Lge when ever we had a match we had to hunt him down & drag him out of the pub but even when he was half cut he was still good enough to run rings round the oppo ' .
I remeber one night under the influance of alchol  he agreed to play for three different pub teams the following day but never turned up for any, one pub team found out where he lived and wouldnt go away until he answered the door eventually he persuaded his poor  mom to make up story hed broke his leg but it meant he had to steer clear of all the local pubs for months !!.

In case of Rescue cut here

90mins in the snow in my memory heavist snow fall since the 80s back then it was -12 & up to my knees in places esp in the country lanes ,bt that was then this is now !!

Have to admit even for me it was bloody hard going the faster runners tend to run on the frontfoot but in these conditions you have to run kinda flat footed which is  both uncomfortable & tireing and saps the energy especially in the tops of the legs .

After 90mins I had enough & turned back for home dont know if its because Im older or turning into a whimp but when was younger seemed to cope better with the conditions mind you back then I had four wheel drive .
Running across the local heath discovered it was a mistake to wear a yellow flourescent t-shirt after noticed some people were waving at me from a distance but realised they werent just being friendly they were in need of rescue prob' been there all night trapped in thier cars ,must thought I was the fecking RAC or the mountian rescue or something serves em right for not listening to advice and leaving their cars at home !! .

Id only agreed to wear the yellow top after my Mrs nagged me to, as in case of emergency like if Id broke my leg , and laying in the snow for hours the yellow would make my body stand out in the snow for any passing helicopter to swoop down and pick me up ,they think of  everything women dont they .

After few miles on the canal Id had enough of struggling in white stuff and came off at Bournville , loads sad bsterds at the railway station waiting for the shoppers special into city center makes you wonder wat would happen if the whole transport network broke down and everyone was forced to walk it would do lot to tackle the obese problem .

It was no better on the Rds too dangerous to run in the kerb cars were sliding all over and compacted snow on pavements made it hard to get into any rythm on the uneven surface thats prob' why I never was any good over the X country but just had to grin and bare it .

Take in local beauty spot 'Cannon Hill park ' met with new hazard people walk thier dogs esp' the packs of them ,the dogs seem'd to think just like thier feck owners that us runners are part of the winter wonderland and to be played with for their entertainment . Ok I can take a joke just like the next bloke but after few hundred yards the joke wears little thin but found a polite 'FUCK OFF ' in the diirection of the owners worked a treat for them to call the wolves off !!.

Then there was the photographers dozs of them all lined up around the lake turning it into a feck 'ski sunday ' salom course had to weave in out of them I just realised why the bloody gritters havent cleared the roads its something to do with the local 'Historical societies ' wanting to take pics for future generations in 50 yrs time to show them how hard we had it in proper snowfall 

Running back thro ' the 'River Rea ' cycle route passed few hardy joggers including one geezer wearing pair of knee length shorts but Im afraid he doesnt make it into my 'skool for hard knocks ' as the whimp was wearing a hooded fleeced top that dont count in my book . 

Looks like the white stuff is going to be around for weeks so Im serously concidering wearing a pair of run spikes next time out but think if I had a choice between running on ice or snow Id chose the more dangerous ice everytime .

FOOTNOTE

Been doing my bit to help my elderly neighbours in the snow one side I  got 'Charlie ' hes quite friendly  for Scotsman @t 76 & on sticks he does ok, like most Glaswegians hes seems to have mastered the art of foul language esp' the word 'cunt !! which to him seems to be term of affection especially when talk to me .
Ive always found that Feck, @rse ,Cunt & bsterd sounds much better cuming from a Scotsman as in " you see that cunt over there " meaning a bloke whos Dog keeps shiteing on his front garden or " will you go and get me the papers you cunt !" . I dont mind esp' in the snow he usualy has the 'Scottish post ' but this morning I got him an 'English paper ' he wasnt too happy so ungrateful , thats the trouble with some these 'Scits ' they got no SOH !!.

Get a Grip !!

Thurs 16 Dec

Been feeling sluggish and tired of late reduced sessions to four instead five whch seemed to do the trick felt lot better tonite with 60min effort (10m) ish round canal & bournville found the going tricky with the sudden arrival of fresh snow & ice but after 10mins mastered it ok.

Made sure I chose a route with plenty grass verges to run on [ hope your taking notes out there you have to pay good money for tips like this from one them fancy coaching sites ] but when had to switch to roads it was trecherous more so when change direction just like one them formula one race drivers on slicks , had to slow right down and pick my spot to accelerate away gain but after running for over 25yrs theres few weather conditions that thase me .

Decided to leave the weights alone for bit as running and pumping Iron dont mix noticed strange tiredness in tops of my thighs lately could be xtra weight Im carrying 11st 10 lbs ?