Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Still Alive
by Russell Turner - 17:18 on 21 April 2019
Yes, it’s been a while: running, a poorly cat, laziness, the band and even a bit of work have all contributed to lack of blog. So, a brief summary.
London Marathon training is all done bar two teeny runs next week, one of which might not happen because of travel to the southlands. I’ve got through without injury or niggle but am still undecided about my tactics on The Big Day – just seven days away. Will I go with the 8:2 run/walk? Or attach myself to the 5:15 pacer? (Or even the 4:59 pacer.) I suspect I’ll decide on the day when I see how I feel and what the weather’s like.
Today’s final long run of the taper – on a still, humid, warm and slightly misty morning – was for 70mins, in which I covered more than six miles. If I can do that three more times, plus a bit on the end, I’ll be very happy.
One definite decision is to wear the Asics shoes I’ve had for a few months. I was tempted to use the shiny new Brooks GTS-19s but the mileage I’ve done in them is too low for me to be confident I’d be happy for 26.2 miles. Better safe than sorry.
Fundraising is still a slight concern (will Cats Protection set the attack kittens on me if I don’t fulfil my £2,000 pledge?) but my giving page is at 74% and I’ve at least another 10% to be collected that I know is definitely out there. And I’ve two months after the run to keep fundraising, so I’m confident I’ll make it. Maybe donations are being held back until I’ve succeeded. We’ll see.
As for the poorly cat, of whom I know you’ll be far more bothered than about my marathon worries, the moggy in question is Maia, who went off her food for a few days. This was a previously unknown and barely imaginable occurrence.
Matchgirl, of course, considered kidney failure, system breakdown brought on by long-term medication, and several other apocalyptic possibilities. Fortunately, the patient recovered quickly, although she did suffer the indignity of being locked up for a urine test and the trauma of an unscheduled visit to Dr Death’s.
The cause of her malady remains a mystery but a severe bout of flatulence and some unusually colourful poo suggests that she’s been raiding bins again and picked up something that disagreed with her. She never learns.
Entertainment Update: In the year when I’ll see my music hero Rick Wakeman complete with all the whistles and bells, I’ll also get to see my comedy hero, John Finnemore, whose tour just happens to start in Newcastle the night before the Great North Run. It must be fate. If you’ve never heard of him, shame on you. If you have, how exciting is it that Arthur Shappey of MJN Air will make a guest appearance? Listen to Cabin Pressure and you’ll understand everything.
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