Fearless February

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A shaky start to the month, with a family medical scare (turned out OK but was a bit nerve-wracking for a few days), an unexpected four consecutive night shifts at work (these 6:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. beasts are so efficient at turning grown men into weeping wrecks that we normally work no more than two at a time) and house re-decorating duties ensuring run-busting turmoil was the plat du jour.

Despite the night shifts ensuring I had an unplanned step-back week, things are still looking good and more-or-less on schedule. I’ve three runs to report, although the last two should have been one – I was half-way through my planned long run when I had to attend to another important family matter. A few hours later I resumed my run and finished with 25km for the day. However they had to go in the log as two runs, and so it is. Even so, it’s 25km in a day, and they felt strong too, so I’m not unhappy with them.

The rest of February looks as uncertain as the first part, so it will be a challenge to stick to my schedule, but I’m equally determined to at least get the kilometres run, even if it’s not quite in the format I had hoped. Distance covered is the key, and I’m finding my overall pace is increasing just as result of the miles covered, which is just as well as speed work has been well under the amount planned.

I can’t sign off without mentioning the ‘dark days’ sports scandal that has erupted here in Australia. There’s been lots of bluster and claims made, but as yet no charges laid or names named. It’s caught us all rather by surprise and it’s hard to know what to make of it. As a senior sports journalist told me this morning, this will either be ‘the greatest sports story ever told in Australia, or the greatest beat-up ever’. Given the meteoric rise of sports betting in this country in recent years, I’m tipping there’ll be some ‘substance’ to it, but it’s such a bolt out of the blue that no-one’s sure where or what the real story is. The only thing we know for sure is that all professional sports people here are now suffering guilt by association. Charges need to be laid quickly or the authority of those making the claims will be diminished. We shall soon see. Or at least, we hope so.

15.4km 1h39
12.2km 1h15
12.8km 1h17

YTD: 247.8km