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.

The Yawning Man

by Russell Turner - 20:19 on 21 February 2022

My hopes of an untroubled 10 miles today, after last week’s hilly horror, were shattered before I even started thanks to a dismal night’s sleep. I reckon I got about two hours in total. I can’t even blame cats. Such is life.

Despite the temptation to stay indoors, where it was dry and windless, I set out as planned, realising only when I began running that I’d forgotten to pick up the water bottle. If I’d gone back for it I might have stayed home so I just kept going – my plan was for a 6:1 run/walk so I probably wouldn’t need it anyway.

I’d no pace in mind, except something undemanding and comfortable. It turned out to be a modest one, although still needing more effort than I’d expect for a flat 11:04min/ml average. Maybe I peaked last year and my sporting progress will now be a sad tale of decline and lack of achievement. Or maybe I’ll perk up when spring appears and this rubbish weather is behind us. Or maybe it was just lack of sleep.

One positive was that the second five miles were all faster than the fastest in the first five (not deliberate) so I wasn’t slowing down – to my great surprise when I checked the Garmin stats.

My ankles were again sore by the end so I’ve done what Matchgirl’s been advising for weeks (months?) and booked an assessment by a physio. It’s £55 for 45 minutes. I’m definitely in the wrong job.

Add your comment

Your Name


Your Email (only if you are happy to have it on the site)


Your Comment - no HTML or weblinks


Enter this number in the box below and click Send - why?Unfortunately we have to do this to prevent the system being swamped by automated spam