no running since Wednesday. does that sound like fun? no, not at all.
but i think i'm ready to get back to it. tomorrow. the knee's been tender through til now, and i've not been sure about testing it. still not completely sure, but i think it's time to find out. won't get a chance to run in the day tomorrow (on a course all day), so may pop out early or may go out when i get back.. probably only a few miles - say the short four miler from here. looking forward to it, and i hope it turns out right.
the weekend's been full. we had old university friends of mine over for lunch today - did slow-cooked belly of pork with quite a lot of sides. was great. turned out just how we planned. everyone enjoyed it, and we had a good time. hadn't seen them for ages, even though they live just across London. yesterday, we started off shopping but took off to a fantastic Woodland Trust wood called the Hucking Estate. we bought a picnic and at it at the top of a rolling field full of ewes and lambs. the kids loved it. we spotted all sorts of wildlife.. just as we finished lunch, just down the fenceline a family of rabbits popped out of the fence. the woods further along on the walk were wonderful. full of bluebells and all sorts of trees. a real find.
as i've not been able to run, it's made me think a bit about what it's like to not run. and how it must have been for me before i started to run. the first race i can remember doing was a 10k in Brighton back in something like 2002 (ran 39mins, but almost died in the process). after that, i don't think i ran again for a few years. can't explain why. i think i still ran here and there, but nothing serious. It wasn't until a birthday party round at my now running mate's house back in 2007, i think. he was telling me how he'd been running with another new dad, and that they were going to do a race. from that i entered the Greenwich Meridian 10k, and ran - without training much - 46mins. i even walked up the slope the second time. after that i thought i should take it more seriously, and we decided to enter the Myra Garrett 10k in May and the Swanage half-marathon in July. I ran 52mins in the 10k, after running most of it with Piero, then running off for the last 2k on my own. i think it was then that i realized i could do better and so - i can see this from my diary then - i planned out the 8-9 weeks before the Swanage race. we were going there for the weekend and camping outside the town. i can see from my diary that i got up to 9miles three weeks before. i remember that run, and thinking how hard and long it was. what did i know! what else did i know..
my uncle was dying of cancer, and it was having a big effect on me. he was my favourite when i was young, and someone who i modelled myself on. he was a physics PhD and funny and fun. he came to visit often and came on holiday with us too. and he ran - when i was say 12 or 13 we took a run with my other uncle. it was a hot summer's day and my other uncle couldn't keep up. he got lost, about a mile from our farm, and my aunt had to go find him in a car when we got back without him. the story's been retold in our family a number of times. so i feel i learnt running from my uncle Geoff. maybe it was just that i associated my running now with these childhood experiences of running with him.
he died ten days before the Swanage run. his funeral was just three days before. i was asked to say a piece at the funeral, but broke down and couldn't finish it.
we took off on that weekend hoping that a little time away would help. it did. the campsite was lovely. we were there with my running mate and his family, and it all went very well. we were both very nervous about the race, but i think i had some of the numbness in me from the events that week to calm me. the race is tough at the outset.. there's a two or three mile hill out of town at the start of the race, and not much of it is flat throughout. the race descends back into town at the end for a finish right next to the beach. i took it fairly easy at the start, but felt ok so pushed on up through the crowd. we'd split up at the start, knowing we'd run different times. i expected to come in around 1:45 if possible. not knowing at all how it'd go. it was a hot day, and the race didn't close off the roads, so there was traffic to be aware of too. i did ok through the first eight miles. that took us to the road that led off to our campsite. [my mate had it tougher and he seriously considered giving up there and just turning off..!] from there, the miles started to cut into my legs, and by ten i was really weary. the thought of Geoff came into my mind at that time.. it hit me really hard and tears bubbled up.. the downhill started in earnest, and i was able to pick up speed and fell better, not feel him with me, but feel the warmth of his memory. i finished in 1:35, no super-time, but i was shocked and very happy. i stood in the sea, cooling my legs off and thought that this thing was definitely right for me.
since then, i've thought of Geoff in most races. sometimes the thought comes to me, sometimes i invoke it. it always helps. i've knocked over ten minutes off that time now, and i'm sure i can go further.
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