THE GOOD BUCK

It’s been an odd month. After the marathon I had 3 weeks of recovery training, then I started the Camille Herron training plan. I’ve been on that for 2 weeks. It’s the last day of May tomorrow, so it’s been a quiet month.

I’m not sure about the new plan. It’s 6 days a week training, about 8 mile every day, with a specialist day (intervals or hills or whatever) midweek, the rest all easy runs (some with strides) and a long run at the end of the week. My problem with the plan (apart from having to get up to do an 8 mile run before and 11+ hour shift) is it just doesn’t feel like I’m pushing myself. With the Advanced Marathoning one you bloody well know you done a bit.

It’s a 16 week plan so I don’t officially start it for another 5 weeks. I’m cycling through the first 7 weeks then I’ll do a test half marathon. If I’m making significant gains I’ll start from week 1 again. If not, switch back to AM, it’s brutal, but I know it works for me.

I’ve been getting a bit frantic lately. As usual. I’m in a bit of holding pattern at the moment. I’m still on the recovery phase of my training, work are still only giving me 2 shifts a week, and I don’t need to buy anything so I’ve nothing to obsess over/ fixate upon. I’ve got all this free time while I’m not doing much training, next week I start a 60 mile, 6 days a week training plan and work will be kicking in very shortly. They put up a sign in the office about new procedures that are going to be implemented as the new machinery comes online, and the agency have sent a text asking for anyone with holiday plans from July to let them know now. So they are clearly expecting to be snowed under with work. I was looking at it, it’s only been 5 weeks of 2 shifts a week. It seems like forever. I was talking to one lad about it and he said he’s had a couple of weeks with no work at all. When it all kicks in and I’m trying to fit runs in around shifts this will seem like a great time.

I was bored and looking at other work today. To my surprise there are other jobs out there now. There wasn’t anything comparable to my current job a few weeks ago. There was one by which I was really tempted. Monday to Friday, 09.00- 11.00 starts, trunking to Bridgewater (Somerset) and back. But it runs from Skelmersdale. So, buy a motorbike (yay!) commute 40 minutes in, 12 hour shift, 40 minutes home… Oh. Damn. No training, no life, just a good start time and a nice trunking run. I did that for Booker when I was on the Didcot run. Tons of money but I was getting literally depressed, it’s just not worth it.

I’ve bookmarked the site that’s advertising the good jobs, just in case, but I’ll wait it out at my job. As the manager said, they didn’t spend all those millions of pounds for the machinery not to have it running flat out. When it goes online, and they start importing more and more work, I reckon I’ll be fighting with the agency to get my days off again.

Not being able to see the ‘phone I’m just guessing here, but here’s a few things to try.

Get to the part about the Wifi.

Turn it off and on again as described, wait for a second and your Wifi should appear at the top of the screen, make sure you are clicking on yours, not “Grogu is a Sith”. Yours should be written on the back of your router.

I’ve given up on motorbikes.

There. I’ve said it.

I had the urge to change to a cheaper bike. I was thinking a Honda VFR750, I’ve had a few of them. They are relatively cheap, brilliant handling, very comfortable and have an absolutely bullet-proof engine.

I’ve been putting off updating my blog because today was the test, the proof of the pudding, Blackpool marathon. I went with my latest trainers. Nike were having a sale of the original, benchmark, super trainers so I thought I’d give them a go. They don’t spin my legs up but they are very springy and the reviewers said they leave you feeling fresh at the 20 mile mark so you can start to push on. I only got them last week, when I was already in taper, so I was taking a gamble on them as I hadn’t tried them over any distance.

Weird looking things, but feather light and very springy.

Since ASICS have messed their sizing up I’ve gone from one pair of trainers at a time for all these years to this: