BLOG THREE: LETHARGY RULES
LYRICS SUNG WHILE RUNNNG:
“Candy came from out on the island,
In the backroom she was everybody’s darling,
But she never lost her head
Even when she was given head - she said
Hey Babe, take a walk (run) on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk (run) on the wild side.”
In the backroom she was everybody’s darling,
But she never lost her head
Even when she was given head - she said
Hey Babe, take a walk (run) on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk (run) on the wild side.”
(Lou Reed, walk [run] on the wild side,
1972)
MONEY RAISED FOR BRATHAY TRUST TODAY: £100
SOMETIMES, running is a walk in the park (by this I mean it
is as easy as ABC). You run like a gazelle
and you suddenly feel liberated from life’s issues, life’s tedium, and life’s countless
problems. It’s only happened to me sporadically but it’s orgasmic when it
happens.
Today, I ran as if I was Atlas – carrying the world’s
problems on my shoulders (and doesn’t the world have problems in this point of
time).
I panted, I puffed and I screamed out for a bit of ‘oomph’
(energy) to get me out of neutral. I failed and must admit that by the time I
got my fifth mile under my belt in London’s
Hyde Park I was kicking Egyptian geese out of my way in order to speed up (they
were waddling quicker than I was running!)
Why the lethargy? Why the lack of zest? Maybe, a little bit
of fallout from last weekend’s Brathay 10 marathons in 10 days initiation
weekend. After the high created by the weekend, I’m now beginning to realise
the scale of my challenge. It’s a monumental task which I underestimate at my
peril.
Since doing the marathon around Windermere on Saturday (in a
modest four hours and ten minutes), I’ve run every day (four consecutive days)
clocking up more than 20 miles in the process. I’ve run when I haven’t wanted to
run. I’ve run after a marathon when in past marathons I’ve given myself at
least four days rest before running again. I’m breaking habits but I HAVE to. I’ve
got to be able to run when I don’t want to. But it’s not easy and my body is
telling me so.
Today’s running wasn’t helped by a lunch I had to attend in
the City of London on the virtue of bonds. Although I stayed off the alcohol, contenting
myself with a tonic water (a gin would have helped), the salmon mousse and lamb
did lie quite heavily in the stomach. And even a brisk after lunch walk from
Gloucester to Kensington didn’t allay the feeling that the lamb was quite happy
to stay where it was:
“Jeffrey
had a little lamb,
his fleece was white as snow,
everywhere that Jeffrey went,
that lamb was sure to go.
And you could hear them singing:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.’
his fleece was white as snow,
everywhere that Jeffrey went,
that lamb was sure to go.
And you could hear them singing:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.’
(Mary
[Jeff] had a little lamb, Wings, 1972)
A few energy sweets
were consumed before the run – as was a protein drink. But they didn’t seem to
work. Lethargy ruled.
Maybe tomorrow will be better. Maybe I will be the gazelle I
hope to be. I’ll let you know (don’t hold your breaths – just donate via www.justgiving.com/jeff-prestridge
)
No comments:
Post a Comment