The Walker With Heart

It's Ballot Day... All around the world people are filling in the online form for the London Marathon. I've filled it in 3 times before and not got in, so get to enter early... Fingers crossed, I've no more chance than anyone entering today but looking at the list of Facebook friends who've entered makes me smile and try and work out why 26.2 tantalises and lures us in... It's the legendary distance... almost a palindrome 26.2 You can be fast or slow it doesn't matter... its 26.2 You earn the right to say you've run it, like no other distance... it can only be 26.2 You get the thousand yard stare as you recall the pain... of the 26.2 This isn't just a run... its 26.2 This isn't just a run, for 3 - 6 months its your life... the all consuming 26.2 You become an expert on nutrition, hydration and chaffing... all to finish the 26.2 You know yourself, your body and your mind as never before... all for the 26.2 And then once its done, you feel empty... Yo...

Went the general gist of the question... By email... from someone who took umbrage at something I'd said about Safe and Sustainable... My response was to confirm I'm not a parent, but have seen more congenital heart kids than most non-medics. I'm not a doctor, but my degree and postgrad are biology based and I've spent 8 of the last 15 years tearing science apart and rebuilding it to test it for veracity. And most of all - I do care . To argue for the best care isn't saying one centre is better than another, isn't saying one configuration is better than another... Its to argue for the best care. And again I have to say read the documents, make the arguments based on something, anything, but don't attack those who have a different point of view or whose point of view is that this process has been overdue for 10 years, so lets get a bloody welly on - we owe that to the kids of tomorrow! Rant over... Anyway, it did make me think who the hell am I... - I'...

Everyone whose heard me rant on about the poor level of service in helping choose boots, trainers or any other form of technical footwear will know I'm a bit of a stickler for making sure boots fit and do what they say on tin. So taking the boots kindly donated by Hi-Tec out on a 13 mile walk as their first major outing was bordering on the unfair, before the walk I'd worn them around the office and decided that they were a little high volume for my feet. So I found some of the Hi-Tec memory foam replacement insoles and was ready to go... The measure of a good pair of boots (and a good backpack) is that you don't notice them, either during the walk or after it. So 13 miles on riverside paths, in the unseasonally hot April was a good test of the pounding effect (did my feet feel tired), overheating (sweaty feet can result in blisters) and annoyance (how many times did I have to retie the laces, fiddle with the sock tops etc)... The great news was my feet felt fresh, no tire...

It's been a week... Give a presentation to new people to my work - no pressure, just try and sell them on what we want our culture to be, rather than what they might think it is... Have a promotion interview (only for 6 months, but you got to go for these things), result on Monday... Run a 10km personal best... And crack a personal challenge I set myself years ago - the 70 min 10km... Which I did:-) Not by much, but I think a psychological blockage may have shifted. I'm looking forward to the challenge again, taking my running apart and rebuilding parts of it from the ground up - revisiting my mental mantras, checking my posture and basically seeing what I can do. Walk over 13 miles with the GUCH Walking Club, returning to an old favourite though a art we've not done before - the Thames Path, from Radley to Eynsham. The whole point of the GWC is to enjoy the countryside, to take part in some exercise and enjoy each other company - and that's what we did. 3 of the gang ...

Run done, rest done, new guru book found, first run under new scheme done, in the press again and joined a running club... blog done... ;-) In slightly more detail... The effects of last weeks half have faded, the ankle is fine, and stood up to a good solid climb and a 5km... which is all that I tend to do the week after an event run... I've finally cracked and got Jeff Galloway's book on the kindle, its how he reckons a run-walk marathon can be done readily and with improved time... Which I worked out for myself, but someones else take on it will be useful, and as he's done 150 marathons he may know what he's walking about. So the 5km this morning was a 3min run, 1min walk... and felt good:-)(the garmin's battery ran out of juice, so no map and heart rate data this time) Now the long training plan starts, target Liverpool Marathon... time target sub 5:53... My exploits last weekend have made the press - http://northwood.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/2011/03/inspirational-...