IT'S WHAT ANY IDIOT WOULD DO...

It's a strange thing with injuries, niggles, pains and what-nots, their arrival is often sudden, and painful, but their departure is slow and protracted (and "yes" that includes the "Duke of Argylls").
Still not fully rid of Mr Sorerib, but feeling better than I've felt for weeks now.

While we were in Dorset the runs we did were many, but they were relatively sedate. Enough to keep the metabolism in the old "cake burning" zone, but not likely to put any strain on anything. Probably just what I needed.
A strange sign that the rib might be getting better is that I've stopped getting out of bed with a sore back. I've obviously been running in a strange{er} way to ease pressure on the offending rib, and that's been having a "knock on" effect on my back. At least, that's what I think.

So, with the recovery on track I've gone and done what any idiot would do - I've entered the Loch Ness marathon!! We've been thinking about it for a while. Anne hasn't done a marathon this year yet and wants to do at least one.
Obviously, I'm not starting training "from scratch" and I've done a couple of longish runs, but little since my wee "set to" with the pathway in the DGP has been of any real "quality".
So. Four weeks to get into marathon shape?
For one thing the two week taper is getting knocked on the head - I'll just try and get by with one!
Three weeks with high mileage and at least two long runs a week (and one speed session) and one week of about 50% the usual mileage. Going to try a long run this Thursday.
Race day preparations? Likely to be a light breakfast, followed by a flap-jack on the bus to the start line, followed by 2 paracetamol and 2 or 3  brufen half an hour before the start!

DORSET

Well, that was a quiet week.
Been away in rural Dorset. Which, in many ways, is much like rural East Lothian - only with "added money"! Every where you look there are large, ostentatious, "cottages" for the well off. Each one seems to be complete with a large "fuck-off" fence and one, or even two, larger "fuck-off" guard dogs.
It has the appearance of a place where folks with a bit of cash go to retire. But then spend half their time  trying to protect what's theirs (nothing wrong there I suppose).
Strange thing is though, that once out of their well protected houses the people were really friendly (don't think we walked or ran past anyone who didn't say "hello").

The place we were in was small and quiet but did boast a very nice pub that sold 37 different types of beer, and god alone knows how many ciders!!

Now. It's a little known fact that Dante Alighieri was a piss head turned tee-toatler. It's an even lesser known fact that there is an often over looked stanza in "The Divine Comedy" that sees him and Virgil not in another circle of hell, as such, but more in a sort of "annex" to hell that closely resembles a real ale pub that sells thirty odd different beers - beers that he cant drink - but only one type of cola!! (to be fair, both these facts are "little known", because I just made them up!).

Did a fair bit of running when we were there. That was a bit strange too. Loads of nice, narrow, country lanes - but they all had hedges about 12 foot high all along either side. It got to the point where you felt as though you were running through a tunnel, or a maze for morons - with only one turn every mile or so. The countryside may have been stunning - I couldn't tell you, because I couldn't see over the hedge!

"I SAID ...THE NAME OF THIS SONG IS......"

Today’s workplace shower was [to my mind] a superb scat/vocalise rendition of “Salt Peanuts” by Dizzy Gillespie.

No doubt some people look forward to the arrival of my post holiday blues and a return to morose, sullen, grumpy silence!

CARFRAEMILL

Did one of my favourite runs last night. Haddington and East Lothian Pacemakers annual Carfraemill to Gifford race (sorry run).

25, or so, runners boarded the bus in Gifford on a beautiful evening to be taken to the start line. Once we got off the bus, stretched the legs and offered up the traditional runners blessing to the local hedges and shrubs we were off..

The field split up fairly early on and, given the fact of my current “niggly rib”, I probably set off a wee bit too quick. Just before the start of the climb at Dodcleugh we had to duck under a one wire electric fence, and it was here that a sharp pain in the rib reminded me that I’m still not race fit.

To be honest though I felt that I was able to work fairly hard on the climb but one concession I made to my ribs was stopping at every gate to open it and go through rather than climb over and jump down. Though even that only cost me a few seconds.

For most of the first 4 miles or so I was at the front with Ian Sills (or to be honest I was near the front trying to keep up with Ian). However, he started to draw away and when I was passed by Ian Rowland and Brian Marshall I realised I was going to end up on my own.

Another concession to the rib was for me to take the downhill section even more gingerly than usual (which is usually “girly” at the best of times). This was in part due to fear of falling.

By the time we got to Long yester however and back onto tarmac roads I was able to open up a wee bit and even managed a sub 6 mile.

I keep saying this isn’t a race and the more I say it the more I try to race it! J However, one year I am determined just to go along for the fun and take a camera, because some of the views out over the East Lothian countryside and coast line from the top of the Three Law are really spectacular. Especially at that time of night (8ish) at this time of year – when the sun is starting to get low and the light just seems to wash over everything.

Managed to get round the 10.7 miles in 1:14:52 which was 40 seconds slower than last year – so all in all, I’m happy with that.

However, while we were having a post race meal in the Goblin Ha’ my ribs and back started to hurt quite badly – so perhaps I was being a bit adventurous (and perhaps the brufen and paracetamal were wearing off).

As for the meal.. Well it’s always nice to sit and blether with everyone after this type of event and I was certainly hungry after the run. I had pasta which I have to say was a work of art! Though, given that I suspect the “mushroom sauce” was actually condensed soup with some spinach added, then poured over the pasta I’m in agreement with Ian R, who stated that it was probably inspired by Andy Warhol.

WAS IT IN TAHITI? WERE WE ON THE NILE?

Today’s workplace run was a gentle trot down to Portobello beach and back. Nothing too strenuous as;  “a” I’m at the club tonight and “b” I’m going to try and do the Caerfraemill to Gifford run tomorrow.

Anyway, other than the fact that the “art” has been removed from the beach it was a nice run. All was well with the world.

That and the happy fact that this is the second week in a  row that I haven’t been through in the D.G.P. resulted in what can best be described as a state of “contentment” settling over me (two weeks working in Edinburgh! No train journeys and no “selection ramp” at Queens Street – fantastic). Impending holidays might be adding to the feeling of well being as well to be honest.

Quite a strange feeling though, this brief oasis of joy in another wise miserable desert of existence. I know it may come as a surprise to some, but I’m usually one of life’s malcontents. I’m a “glass half empty” type of a bloke (could that be one of the reasons I gave up drinking? Remove the half empty glass and there’s one less thing to moan about! Could be – but it wasn’t).

Anyhow, the mood of good cheer found me post run belting out what I thought was a blinding rendition of “I Remember You” a la Chet Baker while in the shower. A rendition that, to my mind, captures the soft fragile quality of the young Chet’s voice quite well.

Now… It could be my imagination, or it could be my bad ear playing tricks on me, but I’m pretty sure that just as I was getting to the bit where “the angels ask me to recall…” I could hear a voice in the distance calling “shut the F*** up”!

Not very angelic language that! But it did remind me that the shower is located in a little walk in cupboard type area just off the corridor that runs through a vast open plan office.

I came out of the shower (after changing obviously) determined to face my critic – but the looks on the five or so faces that greeted me suggested it could have been any one of them.

That’s the last time I share my joy through the medium of song in the workplace (I might even go up or down a floor for my showers for the next few days).

LOU

Influenced, as were most of his generation, by Charlie Parker, Lou Donaldson started playing bebop, but digressed from the bebop movement and really made a mark for himself with a string of hits for the Blue Note label that showed off his real bluesy/funky sound.
Always a little tongue in cheek there is a real sense of fun in his playing.
Saw him live a few years ago and even then, when he was approaching 80, he played with the enthusiasm of a man a quarter of that age. His live performance was liberally sprinkled with humour and showmanship but managed to steer clear of overstepping the mark and ending up in vaudeville territory (with the possible exception of his vocal rendition of "Whisky Drinkin' Woman").
This album is one of his later offerings (from 92) and has a reworking of the theme from one of his most famous Blue Note albums "Blues Walk" - here reworked as "Walkin' Again".
Old Blue Note stablemate Kenny Dorham also gets a nod with a cover of his "Blue Bossa".
While Donaldson's made his own mark with the alto sax and moved on from those bebop days, when everyone wanted to sound like Parker, the uptempo "Birdseed" offers a sense of tribute and aknowledgement of where it all started.
I think this is pretty much the quintet line up I saw Lou with, though sadly without Dr Lonnie Smith on Organ (here the organ is by David Braham).
A lovely, sunny, happy wee album - made all the better for finding it for £1.99 in a charity shop.

PLAN B

The "thwacked" rib still isn't 100%. To be honest I still don't really know if I've cracked it or just bruised it.
It's OK(ish) if I don't push the pace too much and it's certainly a lot better if I remember to "pop" a couple of brufen before the run.
I did 16 miles yesterday and felt tickety boo. But then did 11 today (without brufen) and definitely felt a twinge.
I'm sure proper advice would be to do nothing at all for a few weeks - but I just cant bring myself to do that. I'm just going to try and find a nice balance between doing enough and not doing that much that I risk exacerbating the injury or prolonging complete recovery. Probably a "choice" that's faced loads of injured runners:
Option "A" Do absolutely nothing for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks or so "recovery" and back to race fitness in 6 OR Option "B" start running after 1 week, but prolong the full recovery to about 10 weeks. (these figures are not precise - it's just an example).
I know which one I'd go for.


Looked back at my training log and was surprised to see that the mileage I did last week was pretty high by my standards even when I'm not nursing an injury. So perhaps I should at least try and have a couple of easier weeks. Nice in theory, but I'm off work for two weeks soon and would hate to miss out on quality time.

Anyway. Yesterday was the Haddington Half and just because I couldn't run it that was no excuse not to go down and will on the rest of the club to do well. And well they did...with Rhona and the two Ian's picking up East District "masters" medals and Brian slicing a good couple of minutes off his PB time.