Another week gone and another step closer to spring, not that it feels like it this week, but we must be getting closer as there’s lots of Daffodils in full bloom and I notice that the Roses and Clematis in the garden have got fresh growth on them, so it must be getting warmer, even if were having a bit of a relapse this week.
The days are drawing out too. It’s just about light when I set off on my daily commute to work now and it’s still light gone 18:00 which means there’s a bit more time for getting out and about and sorting out all those jobs at home that I’ve been avoiding all winter. Having mentioned it last week, I finally got my seed order for the allotment and gardens in last week too, which arrived at the start of the week. I’m starting to think that I might have overdone it a bit though. It all looks so tempting when you’re flicking through seed catalogues on a dull winters evening and there’s so much promise in all those little packets. I’ll give it another week or so for the current cold snap to end and then it’ll be time to start getting the greenhouse ready and sowing seeds. I really can’t wait!
All that’s to come yet though, so more importantly what have I been up to this weekend? Well, for starters you’ll be pleased to know that the little Bangernomics Peugeot passed its MOT with flying colours, which makes the bit of work I did on the brakes worthwhile. On the downside, the possible head gasket leak that I’ve been monitoring for a while looks like a definite case and will need some attention in the very near future.
When I mentioned it to “The Emma” the other day she said, “That’ll give you a nice little project to think about then” and I suppose she’s right. I don’t like making work for the fun of it, but I do like something to get my teeth into and even more so if it makes me think a bit. Hopefully it’ll limp on until the weather warms up a bit but watch this space for a bit more car tinkering at some point in the future! Sunday saw my now annual outing to the Steyning Stinger, a cheeky little marathon length romp up onto the South Downs, by way of a couple of cheeky little climbs, and to that end I loaded up the van on Friday evening and set off into the unknown, planning on a bit of cycling Saturday morning and a quick visit to “Kathryn Stinks” for tea on Saturday evening before the running fun on Sunday. With Saturday dawning overcast and cold, but dry, I managed to get in a few miles (67 to be precise) to add to the years tally. Nothing special, or overly taxing, but it was a nice little route along quiet county lanes, all of which were well adorned with Catkins dangling magnificently from the roadside Hazels, and the odd spattering of wild daffodils and Snowdrops all standing proud against the chilly wind. Sunday looked even better weather wise and after a quiet night I was up bright and early, ready for an 07:30 Marathon start. As I mentioned earlier, this is a run that I’ve done a couple of times now (2020, 2022) and I’m pretty sure that this is the best weather I’ve had so far. Previous years it’s been windy or misty, or both, but this year was just about ideal running conditions, and a distinct lack of mud, making for some predictably fast times (not from me though!). It’s a lovely route too, despite those couple of ferocious ascents to get up onto the South Downs ridge line, the views from the top more than make up for the effort of getting up there though!
Unfortunately, I haven’t got much to say about the actual run, which is probably a good thing. Taking it slow and steady I didn’t push particularly hard and must admit that I probably enjoyed myself more than those previous times.
The slightly slower pace left time to take in the views and enjoy the running, instead of constantly clock watching and fretting about the odd lost second here and there. And with it being pretty much ideal conditions, I know that I can’t compete with the fast guys (especially not having put 60 miles into my legs yesterday on top of a full week’s training) so why punish myself for a fast time? There’s a time and a place for that lark and this wasn’t it. That’s not to say that I spent the morning dawdling along. Somehow, I still managed to cross the line in 4:03, which considering the terrain, is a time that I’m more than happy with. Yes, it’s not the fastest I’ve ever run, in fact I’ve done the same route 20 minutes faster previously, but as I said before, I certainly enjoyed this year’s more than those fast ones. And to top it all off, the customary cooked breakfast at the end tasted just as good!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
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