It's been a good week on the 'training' (or practising, as I think I should call it) front... I've been running in the mud twice and it was only sleeting once... I've been running on the mud, on the roads, on the hills and on as many flat bits as there are round here (which isn't many). Wherever I run my time for 5k seems to be about 38 minutes, even if I only do 3k and multiply it. At the triathlon I did 38 minutes too. Mindful of what Fit Mark said about mud, hills and grass being slower to run on, I come up with A Plan. This morning after visiting the Farmer's Market in Cardiff, I will run round Bute Park. It's flat and it has proper paths. Hooray! With my clever new watch timing thingy I can do a proper 5k. Hooray! And time it. Hooray! I even warm up properly this time - my Adductor/Flexor (which sounds like a new film starring Arnie...) is a bit tweaked from the run in the sleet as I didn't warm up properly. To be fair, it was very difficult to get warm standing in Rudry Common's car park in driving sleet. So I just started running... Anyway, it's tweaked. So this time I warm up properly and set off... Guy says I am limping as I leave him and Blunkett behind. After 1k the right knee joins the Adductor Flexor and starts complaining. After 2k the left knee joins in and after 3k the left ankle starts yelling at me. I keep going, mostly on the basis that after 5k I will be back at the car and I have to get there somehow. I get slower and slower... My clever watch thingy has a large notice on the screen saying 'LOW BATTERY' (I know how it feels) and I can't see my time... I finish and I think it says 30 minutes. Hooray! Then I get rid of the low battery message and find that it doesn't - it says 38. How can it POSSIBLY be 38 minutes? On the tri run I was (a) useless and (b) walking a lot of it. Identical time. How? This time I ran every step of the way. And measured it properly... Maybe I'll be faster when my right thigh, right knee, left knee and left ankle don't hurt? Good grief...
And I didn't wear my varifocals to run - I am getting used to them but thought I didn't need them. This was borne out when, near the end, I saw Guy (black hat, red fleece, dark trousers, wellies and black labrador) walking and waved vigorously at them. With both arms. Then called to Blunkett, put my arms out and made 'YAY, BLUNKETT!' noises. They ignored me. Not Guy or Blunkett. Deeply unfair of unknown bloke to wear same gear and have same coloured dog...
And I also (at long last) got on the bike. Hooray again! I am planning a good bike ride on Friday of this week to a meeting with my accountant in the Bay, so wanted to try out my new pedals beforehand while Guy was around to advise... he knows more about bikes than I do. I have flash pedals that the cycle shoes clip straight in to - makes you go faster with less effort, which sounds like a Damned Splendid Idea. I had a little practice of getting the shoe unclipped (you twist your ankle out) and it seemed stiff but 'do-able'. Off we went. We only cycled down to the factory and Guy pulled up in a layby. I pulled up beside him, couldn't get my foot released, and fell straight over sideways complete with bike. Nothing broken, although I have a good hole in my running trousers, and a fairly good hole in my knee. It'll be fine when it stops bleeding - it's only been 24 hours so far, so it's early days yet. On the way home Guy went far enough ahead of me to get off his bike in order to catch me as I fell again. Only this time I didn't fall - I actually got my foot released! Hooray again! We've got the same pedals to put on Guy's bike in due course, so I read the instructions later in the evening - apparently there's a tension on the fixings which you can make looser and easier. Easier? That's exactly what I need! I'll get them fixed as soon as I can.
Or as soon as I buy a 2.5mm allen key...
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