Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It’s been 7 days since my last blog. The thing is Father, I’ve been mis-behaving and not taking my running life seriously… I also took a drink Father!
So what have I been doing, and where have I been? All shall be revealed, but firstly, here’s tonight’s effort at running.
I ran to HQ again…
18:48 2 miles 14:36
1 7:13 2 7:22 Average 7:18 min/miles
This was too fast for a short warm-up run. I also realised very quickly how hot it was and that my selection of a long sleeved t-shirt was a poor one (idiot! ed). This then followed…
19:15 8.36 miles 1:03:36
1 7:54 2 7:41 3 7:42 4 7:36 5 7:19 6 7:37 7 7:32 8 7:32 .36 2:43 (7:33 pace) Average 7:37 min/miles
I didn’t feel good from the off. My legs felt heavy and I seemed to be working very hard given the initial slow pace. I don’t know why. I’d felt pretty good on my way to the club, but now was dying a slow and painful death! It could have been the heat (I’ve never been good in the heat) and it was quite humid/clammy. It could also have been down to my weekend activities, or the fact that the WHW race is still lurking in my muscles. But in truth it was probably down to a lack of sleep. I couldn’t sleep last night, and having finally dozed off at about 02:30, I was woken by a text from Mrs pacepusher in Malawi at 06:45. I was already tired after the weekend and was in need of a good sleep… but didn’t get one!
Whatever the reason, it was at about the 4 mile mark that I really started to struggle. We were well into the main ascent of the run and it was just not happening. I was so relieved when Gordon turned around and said he was heading back. I quickly joined him and we ran back on the nice flat cycle path. We were running at about 7:30 pace but it felt really, really hard. I was desperate for a drink and couldn’t wait for the run to be over. As it was, we only ran about .4 of a mile less than the others.
The idea of running the two miles home was a no brainer, so I asked Chris for a lift back. He kindly obliged, Thanks mate!
I chatted to Davie before we started about his trip to Masham in North Yorkshire. He had sampled all three Black Sheep Ales, The Bitter, The Special, and the slightly dangerous, Rigwelter. His opinion on these fine ales? He ordered a pint of… wait for it… Kronenberg!
…and so to my other activities and my own trip to Yorkshire (to the preferable West version though!)
Thursday 17th July
It was the pacepusher’s Wedding Anniversary, what did I do? I worked, I drove, then I went to the pub! I don’t know what Mrs p did as I didn’t even manage to talk to her due to a battery disaster. And so to bed…
Friday 18th July
The plan was to go to the Open Golf Championship today, but the forecast was shocking and we had decided to go the following day instead as Michael Fish (or whoever!) reckoned it would be nicer. So after bacon butties we went to meet my sister and the youngest of her 3 boys. I had a run planned for the afternoon, but after a very pleasant lunch which included wine, I gave up on the idea! Instead, my exercise for the day took the form of a Premiership standard football match with my sister’s other two boys and, like flies to poo, 95% of the children in her village. My shins still bare the scars, but it was great fun. I think the final score was 32-25 but I have no idea who won. At times I didn’t even know who was on my team!
Saturday 19th July
And off to The Open we went… and Mr Fish was right!
It was a pretty lengthy drive and following the incredibly poor AA route planner directions, I wasn’t sure we’d ever get there. I introduced Mum and Dad to Icelandic band Sigur Ros in the car. No they weren’t actually there, I introduced Mum and Dad to their new CD! Dad was impressed and has taken the details to go shopping!
Once we finally arrived we got ripped off by the parking Gods. Signs tell you that you must park in the selected field, then the parking attendant says, “10 pounds please”. It’s such a con, but at least it included the bus journey to the course. I wouldn’t have been surprised if that had been another £5 each!
Once we had finally negotiated the rather farcical security checks, and been sent the wrong way by the most useless policeman in Britain, we were in… and headed straight to the merchandise tent! Much spending followed, before we headed over to the 1st tee. This was Mum’s first visit to the golf. Myself and Dad were at the Open 10 years ago, funnily enough, at Royal Birkdale, which was the year Justin Rose shot to fame. Mum was amazed at the scale of the whole event and it was much more than she expected – she had a great day, as did we all. After watching a couple of pairs tee off, Mum went to find coffee… me and Dad headed for the beer tent though!
We managed to do everything I wanted to do and saw all the players I wanted to see. We saw the Great White Shark birdie the (I think) 13th which was a highlight, and we also saw him on the practice ground before he started his round. We settled for watching the final groups play the 18th from one of the main stands (Having read JK’s blog, I reckon that I was about 100 yards from JK and WHWRunner in this stand, but didn’t see them). The highlight again came from the Shark – Greg Norman’s third shot which he came so close to sinking.
Mum introduced some new golfing terminology throughout the day. Birdies on par 3 holes for example, became known as “one of those one putts” – genius!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and I really enjoyed it. It was really tiring though – largely down to the wind – and after a hearty meal, it was a good job Dad managed to stay awake. He wasn’t driving, but he was able to save the day when Mum dozed off at the wheel!
Sunday 20th July
Today we were at the 2nd cricket Test Match between England and South Africa at Headingley (my Scottish reader’s can probably scroll down to Monday now!). Our arrival at the official Park and Ride cost us a mere £6 this time! The car park/field was right next to my old university campus which brought back some memories, although when Dad asked me for some directions, I had to confess that I hadn’t actually gone there very often! It was only when I graduated that I found out there was a library there… happy care free days!
To get into the ground we first had to exchange our tickets for the Winter Shed for tickets for the, er, Winter Shed! They had been planning building work which had been put on hold and this must have affected the seat numbers or something. More searching followed before we were allowed in. I don’t really think they were looking for any bombs or the like, they were just making sure that we spent our money in their bar and didn’t bring our own booze. The searching was so poor though that I probably could have taken in a couple of barrels of ale without being caught!
The cricket didn’t produce the greatest days play, although we did see a few wickets fall and got to see all the players. We also saw cricket legends Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham and Nasser Hussain. Headingley has the delights of the ‘Western Terrace’. This is basically a large stand with the cheapest seats, where there is an all day party. Sunday at the cricket is fancy dress day so there were many fine outfits, including some pirates which Subversive Runner would have been proud of! The current fad of the ‘Barmy Army’ is the snake. You collect your groups ’empties’, stack them up, and then pass them on with the accompanied song “feed the snake and pass it on” to the tune of a football song. This is an act which has been banned, but of course it still goes on, with huge applause from the crowd. There were many attempts aborted by the stewards, but the odd one escaped and would get up to a good few meters in length. The longer the day goes on, the more drunk the Western Terrace gets, and the more out of order it becomes. I sat in there for a one day game when I was at Uni and had such a good day, and I’m all for it. However there’s always a few that have to take things too far and begin to interrupt the cricket. Pitch invasions are just, well, ‘not cricket’, but at least 4 people tried to get their 2 minutes of fame.
Leaving the ground, the aforementioned ex-England cricket captain Nasser Hussain came flying out of the TV rooms and ran straight into me. “Sorry bud” says Nasser, “no worries mate” says I. Most bizarre. Mum however, annoyed that he hadn’t run into her (?) said, You should have got Saddam Husains autograph. Could she be any less PC? She begged me not to mention this but why would I leave out such a great comment! This brief meeting comes second however to the day that Kevin Costner asked me if he was needed on the tee at the Dunhill Golf Pro-am Championship!
Dinner and a few more beers, then off home to fall asleep trying to play Scrabble. Another great day had by all, and yep, another day without running!
Monday 21st July
Today I was able to release the golfing erge left from my visit to the open. Myself and Dad went to the Leeds Golf Centre to play their par 3 course (Dad can’t manage a full 18 hole course – yes he’s old and has injuries, but it’s his tallent that lets him down!). I really enjoyed it and played well despite my time away from the game, finishing with 10 pars and 8 bogies. Dad had decided that his dress style for the day was fitting of Greg Norman?!?!?
After the golf it was back to my three nephews and the chance to release the cricketing erge, playing French
Cricket with the two older boys. Again great fun. We didn’t manage a game of snooker that evening (that’s one for next time) we were both tired and I’d forgotten my cue anyway. Instead we visited the other local pub. Or the ‘Top Pub’ as it’s locally known given its position at the top of the hill. They now serve Black Sheep so I polished off a few for Davie and gained a couple of nice glasses. I did ask!
Between the golf and the cricket, I did manage a run…
15:38 5 miles 34:45
1 6:54 2 6:49 3 6:53 4 6:35 5 7:35 Average 6:57 min/miles
I went off too quickly but decided to stick with it. I planned that I would keep pushing reasonably hard for 4 miles then have an easy final mile. I really enjoyed the run, especially the section of trail through the woods, and whilst running past the golf course I almost tripped as I tried to check out the quality of the greens!
Tuesday 22nd July
I was supposed to leave for Glasgow early that morning to give me time to chill before doing a few lessons in the evening. However Dad uttered the words “another round of golf” on Monday evening and I decided I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. This time Dad, in his orange ensemble, decided that he was dressed like Andy Garcia. He obviously mean’t Sergio Garcia, but looking like the American actor was probably more accurate given the standard of the golf!
I didn’t play particularly well, although I did have the pleasure of writing 2 on my scorecard twice. The 2nd time, I left the ball 12 inches from the pin. I’d forgotten how good the feeling is when you do that and I’m missing my golf. I think I’ll make an effort to get playing again!
After a hearty, large fish, chip and mushy pea dinner at the mighty Wetherby Whaler, I reluctantly hit the road. My first lesson was at 16:45 and I made it, but a little late at 17:00. Two lessons later I was home at about 20:30. I gathered up my running kit and started to get ready. I gave up though. Having emptied the car etc. It was now 21:15, and I decided sitting on the sofa was a better idea!
Thanks Mum and Dad for a great weekend!
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