DECEMBER - well, you have to start somewhere . . .

[Sweder]

OK, having received fair warning from SP about Andy Admin's expectations for regular diary notes,
I'd best catch up on the first 2 weeks of training.

Friday December 3rd 2004 - Day One
Got back from a trip to New Orleans yesterday. Visit to Nawlins far from healthy - smoking, drinking, staying up all night . . .
back to Earth (well, Blighty) with a bump; no smokes, ease back on the beer and dig out the trainers.

Contacted co-sloggers Simon and Tim and arranged to hit the streets at 9 am today. Tim cried off, but Si seemed juiced and ready to roll.

Nice gentle 4-miler to kick off with, starting from Lewes Prison (somehow apt), a nice 3/4 mile downhill to the A27 and a flat(ish) lope out to the Texaco garage between Lewes and Falmer. Not the prettiest route, but one I had measured before.

The thing about starting a round trip circuit with an easy 3/4 mile downhiller is you end up with a tasy 3/4 mile UPhiller to finish. This proved testing (for both Simon and myself). I pride myself on handling inclines well, generally attacking them to keep my pace at least equal to the flat if not slightly increased. However the last time I had rocketed up this particular slope was some 7 months previous with plenty of mileage in the bank and considerably less lard around my waist.

To Simon's credit (and my chagrin) he coasted to the finish barely a few seconds behind me. Hand shakes and stupid grins all round - we're off the mark! Lets do this again on Sunday . . .

Sunday December 5th 09:00 - 4 mile loop
Coaxed Tim out with us this time and repeated the 4 mile loop with a nice uphill finish. Impressed by Tim's performance - he won't need much time to get up to (my) speed. Simon found the going a little tougher - I suggested this is because the memory of the uphill finish from Friday was still fresh and he probably expended as much energy worrying about it as he did completing it.

All in all a good second outing. I'm feeling fresh and hopeful that it won't take as long as I'd feared to get back into the swing of things.

Monday December 6th 19:00 - 4 mile loop
Yet another of the same - remember, we're just spending time on our feet now, no need to worry about routes and directions. Simon is apprehensive after finding Monday tougher than Sunday. Tim is relaxed. A good pace on this run, although I don't plan to get the stopwatch out until the end of the month. The strategy is gentle intoduction and turn on the heat later when they're hooked.

Nice smooth finish and Simon is less worried this time. I soon change that by announcing that they will both enter and compete in the Sussex Beacon half in Brighton next February. We agree to change the route for Thursday morning's run.

Thursday December 9th - 09:00 Lewes Loop
We met outside Circa resturant. I planned a 4 mile loop through the town centre with a 3/4 mile uphill climb to Malling, cut across the playing fields, across the river and uphill for another 3/4 miles to the Victoria hospital with a gentle jog back down the high street to complete the circuit.

I am feeling somewhat jaded, having returned hom at 4 am from a Girlschool reunion gig in North London and also having taken on board a reasonable quantity of Guinness.

Surprisingly I feel good in the crisp morning air and we set a fair pace through the town. The first climb proves tough for Simon and I rebuke him at the top for not packing in the smokes. He vows to 'look into it' and we continue.

The second climb is very tough and I come to realise more like a mile and a quarter. How can you run a circuit that is 75% uphill and yet finish where you started? Tim has kept pace easily and I can see him becoming competitve over the next few weeks. Simon finished well, but I am worried about his problems with hill climbs.

I decide we need to change location for our Sunday run, and although Simon is hosting a serious party on Saturday, we agree to 09:00 Sunday meet for a 6 mile tour of Seaford. I leave them and, feeling far better than I had any right to, complete a further 2 mile mini-loop through the town. The legs feel good, so why not?

Sunday December 12th - 09:00 Seaford Slog 6 Miler
The preamble to this session is documented elsewhere (Time for Tellytubbies) so I'll cut to the chase. 100% turn out - I'm proud of the lads! - and a good start. Cool conditions but virtually no breeze. We start at the foot of Seaford Head - the start of the Seven Sisters, home of the Seven Sisters Marathon, one of the UK's toughest I hear - and set out West along the seafront.

Everyone appears to be fine despite all three of us carrying a little excess fluid in both belly and brain. We cut inland after 2 miles of flat and hit the first incline, about a half mile, quite steep. Right away Simon drops back and Tim & I slow the pace to keep him interested. At the top we rest briefly and I suggest to Si that it is vital he finds his own rythmn for the climbs and sticks with it.

We're off again, into town and up through the other side. SP will know this section well, a meandering climb up through the town and beyond, around a mile and a half. Tim is raring to go but I hold the pace to keep us togther. A mile into the climb Simon hugs a lamp-post and calls for a rest. We jog on and wait for him at the turn towards the sea. To be fair, as host last night Simon put away the sauce on about a 2:1 ratio to myself and Tim, and I tell him he's doing remarkably well considering. His slightly green complexion suggests otherwise, but he perks up as we start the gentle descent towards the seafront, and we finish three abreast, justly proud of our exertions.

Monday, December 13th - back to start
I call the lads but both have separate badminton dates. I tell them not to worry but to get 4 miles in between now and Wednesday when we will repeat the Lewes loop. I decide to go back to the 4 miler with the hill finish (in truth I love this finish - I can play the theme to Rocky in my head as I thunder up the slope to the prison!). This proves tough (alone) and I realise I need to get some additional solo work in to strengthen my resolve as well as my legs and lungs.

I walk back home from the prison a little deflated - this run was tougher than it should have been. I'm missing the company of others and this is dangerous - I need to be able to drive on without them if they get sick or have to miss a few sessions, and I need to finish positively each time.

I kick my own arse for being negative and jog home, resolved to better efforts in the following days.