Author: Buck

You know the running battle I’ve been having with ‘phone and it’s dying on me? It has been instructive in many things. I’ve upgraded the O.S., ironed out a glitch with my Gmail, and worked out how to ‘sideload’ Adblocker again. The latter not being as impressive as it sounds. Apparently to sideload is just to enable downloading and installing from the original site, not from the approved google apps store. Anyway, before I went in and wiped everything, again, I tried googling the problem. The first hit, top of the page, said “if you’ve used a non-standard charger swelling may have occurred in the battery”. I had a look, my battery is no longer flat, it’s now sort of elliptical. Oh. Oops. It could be as simple as that. I hope so as I ordered a new battery on the 4th, (still not arrived).   In other news work seems to have sorted itself out. The new/ old run to Aspatria is as I thought. It’s about 9 hours 15 minutes, to 9½ hours (paid, that is. Another 45 minutes for break). I wasn’t cancelled on any days this week. That’s a good sign. Perhaps that’s the way it will stay.  The run through Cumbria on Friday was a white knuckle affair. It was blowing a gale, so going up with an empty trailer I was worried I was going to get blown over. Then the snow started really coming down. It wasn’t so much that it was landing on the motorway, that was getting crushed by the traffic, it was the wind was so strong it was blowing whole layers off the embankments. That chucked thick blankets of snow across two lanes and blew up a snow storm. I got down from the hills and back into Cheshire and relaxed, only to pass an artic that had somehow turned around and was driven up the embankment at a 20 to 2 position. I don’t know how. it wasn’t jacknifed or pointing forward, it was straight as though it had driven head on to the traffic then pulled off. That was a nasty surprise. I didn’t want to be that guy.     Also this week I’ve had a dose of man flu. It started on Wednesday night, I just came over all weak. I’ve been dosing myself up with paracetamol and ibuprofen and I seem to be alright with it. Each morning I wake up and think it’s gone, then after an hour or so I feel lousy again. Buggery bugger. So I’ve still not started my training in earnest. Not that this weather helps.   That diet of which I spoke a few weeks back lasted all of four days. Then, in a moment of weakness I had a Mars bar. More accurately, I had three Mars bars. The first was so good I couldn’t help myself. The only reason I didn’t eat more was because that was all the money I had on me. #fail Which […]

Two weeks ago I was whining because it was all work and trying to get a little sleep and that was all. Then last week I went in on the Thursday, as they were sacking all the full timers, and should have been cancelled but accidentally screwed some lad out of his shift. Friday I was cancelled. Great. Feet up, long weekend. Then Monday. Getting nervous. Tuesday and Wednesday. A full week I should have been cancelled. Oh dear, oh dear. I was really getting worried. I mean, the very day they sacked the full timers it all started. I was wondering if they’d got the remaining full timers to cover my shift and I was a gonner. Then I got a text saying I was back in Thursday and Friday, doing a run to Glasgow. Not my usual, but easy enough. A two day week wouldn’t pay the bills though. I asked about it when I went in. Apparently I’m back to five days next week on a different run again. I’m to take an empty trailer up to Aspatria in the Lake District (turn off at Carlisle, spitting distance from the Scottish border) do a trailer swap then run back with a load to Crewe, get tipped (unloaded) or do a trailer swap there, then back to Irlam. Not too bad. I’ve done the run before, when I was a lot crapper, and managed OK then. It’s should be better for me. It’ll be about a 10 or 11 hour shift, starting at 1500hrs, which means I should be able to get enough kip to train and have a bit of a life. The worry about that is, if I only get 10 hours (9 hours 15 minutes paid) per shift, then it’s going to be piss poor if I lose one shift a week. Perhaps, now they’ve sacked the full timers, they won’t be giving my run to other people. Perhaps they won’t have the people to whom they can give it. We’ll see.   In other news, I know you were all growing weary of my piffling achievements in running. “A mere hill marathon? Pfft!” I heard you mutter. So I’ve upped the ante. A 50 mile race! Who’s with me? *tumbleweed* Oh. It’s in September, so plenty of time to prepare/ stick pencils up my nose and say “wibble.” Here’s the website.  http://www.enduranceevents.co.uk/ladybower-50/ It’s worth clicking that link just to remind yourself what dial-up was like. A picture appearing line by line. Hilarious. Anyway, £31.50, who could resist? *looks around* Oh, everyone. It’s a 5 mile loop, then three 15 mile circuits of a reservoir. There’s a 13 hour cut off. I’m thinking 10 hours maximum. That’s with the slowing of pace required for the distance, and the fact you have to carry your own supplies; water, gels, coat, crash helmet for the scooter I’m hiring, etc. I was commenting on the Bolton Hill Marathon on Runners World website and had a look at future […]

Holy crap, that was tough! Think of a tough thing, then times it by several orders of sadism and you are in the ball park. First off it was goddamn freezing. Apparently the wind chill had it at –3C. I thought it was colder. The wind was howling a gale on the hill tops, the telephone wires were bowed horizontally instead of vertically. Literally. I’ve never been able to wear even a really thin running baseball cap on a run. After a mile I’m always too damn hot. This run I was wearing a cycling thinsulate bob-hat for all but the few miles we were below the snowline. My hands felt like I’d been been snowball fighting; the pain of getting cold then the misery of returning circulation, and repeat. Then there was the course which perversely managed to remain deeply muddy. I lost my footing and fell over twice, and turned my ankle once. Luckily, after the initial pain, I was able to continue running. I was worried as it happened. Finally, there was that killer hill at 21-23 miles. So, so bad. Your legs are shot, foot sore, willpower flagging then you are faced with that.   So, all in all, quite a fun marathon.   I was hoping for 4 hour time, but came in at about 4.15 Given all of the above I was OK with that. The main thing by then was just finishing, and I managed a good, strong finish.   I missed Kung Fu this afternoon though. By the time I’d got home and had a shower I should have been going out the door to my class. I had to eat before I did anything else, so the Wing Chun had to wait. Then I had an hour’s kip. That’s how much it took out of me. Lightweight.   …(Monday) Here’s a picture. It’s when we were below the snowline and I’d taken off my hat. I’ve just zoomed in and was surprised to see I was sweating. I was that bloody cold I didn’t think I’d got a sweat on the whole race. There was another set of pictures as we were running through the snow over the top of the hill but I had a right gawpy expression on. Probably trying to get my breath back after the ascent and concentrating on not falling over or dying of hypothermia.   The stat’s are up on the site. I finished 34th out of 212 entrants, 150 finishers. I don’t know how many of the missing 62 didn’t start (too sensible to get out of bed in that weather) or were outside of the 8 hours cut off, or gave up/ got injured. My time was 4.14:49, about what I thought.  The best time was 3.22:34, which shows how tough it was, the first place at last year’s Chester marathon was a 2.28:46, so roughly an hour slower. Which makes my time a lot less shameful. They said on the website to […]

That’s it. My blog for this week. Worked, did big run. Note to self; must try harder!   Last weekend I did bugger all. I was so knackered (and lazy) that I just loafed around and then it was Monday again. Bah. A few days ago I started feeling chesty. It felt hard work to breathe and I felt a bit washed out. I took some paracetamol and was OK, but it kept coming back. That put me in a bit of a panic as it’s the Bolton Hill Marathon next weekend. I’ve had one race cancelled and didn’t go to another recently. I don’t want to miss this one. Anyway, today I dropped some more paracetamol and set off to Bolton.  The guy said the lap we did on the taster run was nearly 8 miles long so I thought I’d do three laps. I start off a different way as I couldn’t find the proper way last time. Mine is slightly shorter but so much bloody steeper. Here it is if you want a nosey:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5836818 Anyway, the ascent is 38 minutes of pure uphill slog. It’s hellish tough. Then their is an up and down route back to the beginning. I did one lap and I was done-in but OK. I was trialling a new thing; as they’ve stopped selling my energy gels I’ve bought an energy powder (no, not *that* energy powder) which you put in your drink.  I grabbed a bottle at the end of my first lap and it did the trick, carried on with new legs. By the end of the second lap, 2 hours 20 in, I was really struggling. Not physically so much as mentally. The thought of that ascent, as it was getting dark, and I was footsore, etc, etc. I was really having to fight the voices in my head that were saying I’d done enough and that I should quit now. Luckily I had the terrifying prospect of the marathon next week and the knowledge I’ve done hardly any training to motivate me. I manned-up, grabbed another bottle and my torch and carried on. The third lap, mostly in the dark, was a bit tough. Still, I did it. Three and a half hours of pain.  Gmaps pedometer say it was 21.7 miles. I don’t know for sure as that is tracing the route on a map, when you run with your ‘phone connected to satnav you get every inch of travel. My battery is giving me grief on my ‘phone. I had it on satnav the last ten minutes of my drive to the run (it was fully charged when I set off) it was down to 77% when I got there. I turned off the satnav (hence not knowing the distance for sure) to save my battery. I went for my run just using it as an mp3 player. It still died completely a few minutes before the end of my run. I suppose there are […]

…destroyer of owls.  I forgot to mention, a week or so ago I was tootling along, minding my own business, when one of those flat faced owls swooped across the road, noticed me trundling towards him (grammatical ‘him’, couldn’t guess the sex) and instead of carrying on out of my way braked in mid air and started dithering about. I whacked straight into the poor bastard. I was gutted. Not as much as said owl I’ll wager, but pissed right off none the less. Poor little sausage. That’s a pigeon (don’t care, stupid birds) a suspected bat (bit miffed, I like bats – if it was one) and a lovely fluffy white owl.  According to Chris Packham that’s one of the reasons why they are planting all those trees alongside motorways; so the owl’s hunting glide will be above the level of the traffic.  Eyes like a hawk, ears like a bat, brains like a penis.   In other work related news, that is about all I am doing. I rode in for three days last week. This means I set off at 1400, work until 0300, ride home, strip wash, have a brew and get in bed for 0430. On a good day sleep till 1230 (eight hours of interrupted daytime sleep), get up get a shower, make my dinner and butties and set out to work. On Thursday and Friday I had to get up at 1130 (Kung Fu and big shop respectively) so seven hours shitty daytime kip. But both events made me too late for the bike so at least I got home a bit quicker in the car. All I’m doing is literally work and sleep. From Monday at 1400 until Saturday noon. I see Wendy for half an hour on a Monday morning (when I run her in to work) and about an hour or so (as I’m doing other stuff) on Wednesday, then it’s Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Bag. Of. Shit. Today I got to bed at 0500 and was woken by a neighbour’s yappy dog less than five hours later. Then the neighbour’s grandkids. Not only loud but high pitched. I got another hour or so (dragged a mattress into the hall and shut all the doors) but I’ve been half dead all day. I’ve bitten the bullet and applied for another job! Go me! That one with Hermes I wanted before I got this one. Their website says they are after 12 drivers. Watch this space.   I finally got to fill the car up again on Friday. Real world figures make it 49.56 miles to the gallon. There was some experimenting with acceleration in those figures so 50 mpg is not too shabby.   That fiasco with the bank has ended up with us being spanked fiercely. They cancelled the 2k overdraft down to a 1k without notice then charged us for 9 counts of ‘unauthorised overdraft’. £161. Ker-Ching!  Bastards! I’ve just paid the tax man his blood money for […]