2123 miles

2123 miles is how many miles i have run since i have been here in the UK. somewhere around 58 a week. if i was as fast as i used to be when i trained for marathons, the time it takes me to do the 58 miles a week no would be more like 75. never really had that kind of time back then. basically averaged 52 a week for the last 30+ years.

the one exception was the time i wanted to break 3 hours and the running store owner (and great runner) bruce robinson told me to add ten miles a week and do more long runs including one really long one 4-6 weeks before the marathon. that turned out to be a 36 miler. nice and easy and was actually pretty easy.

so i wrote up a little schedule that included getting up at 4:30am and running in the dark. did speed work twice a week- short and fast on tuesdays and long and just a little slower on thursday. ran 16-20 miles on saturdays and a shorter harder 12 miles every other wed. figured i could hold that schedule for the last 5 months before the marathon and ran 2:56 to go under 3 hours. only went under 3 hours two more times.

with a previous best of 3:03 at the time (boston), it doesn't seem like much of an improvement, but the seconds and minutes get harder to find as you get faster. a golf comparison would be that many get to a twelve handicap, but far fewer get to 8. or something like that; what do i know. sometimes when i think about having run 184 marathons i wonder if i should go for 200. but that is just a number right?

i do know that it felt really nice to be in that kind of shape, but also that i could not maintain that level of training and do much else. but for a few months i could eat everything. and i had a really good marathon plan for the day of the race which i went on to use another 150+ times. running is one of the things you can do that you can get better at just by doing it, doing more of it and doing it smarter.
people tell me that is true of golf; sure!

brings me back to reality and today. went out with gail and up towards st margaret's and our little measured telephone poles. gail had taken yesterday off so she ran the longer poles and i ran the shorter poles, just working on form and stride rather than speed. i counted twice to make sure i was going about 90 rpm's and then stopped and just ran close that feeling. think of it as swinging at 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock.

a nice sunny start to a cold and sunny morning. rain and hail would come later along with heavy winds. the cows and sheep were in the lower pasture and missed out watching the fun we were having. being careful not to hurt anything i tried to work the right leg and kept a close eye on legs that had already run 15 and 14 this week. seemingly ok afterwards and we headed down binsey lane towards the grocery store for potatoes and veggies and bread and yogurt.

eventually gail and i headed out. she was off to school and i was off to the bank and post office to mail four years of amended tax returns. the last couple of days could have been more fun and my current state of mind didn't help it at all.
but $30 later and three long lines down the stuff was on the way. never mailed tax returns with custom forms on them before. putting that stuff into the hands of the 6th worse post office in the UK was not that comforting and i will be interested to see what actually gets there. would not be at all surprised to find them delivered to me as other stuff has been.

then decided to try one more time to learn how to hit golf balls. cold and very windy there. place was empty. started out ok and then had ups and downs. am just not getting back to what i was for sure. i figure i can regain some short game again with lots of practice, but i have yet to find a swing that is as consistent as i was the past two years. today i just focused on keeping my right knee flexed and finishing the swing with the club over the shoulder. balance was ok and i actually had fun trying. attitude adjustment had kicked in. and i am learning things as i go. will see. didn't hit anything above the 6 iron though i tried a friend's cobra rescue 3 iron club at the end and actually hit it straight. where that came from after the balls before it i don't know.

anyway- went to watch the pro hit as he gets ready for the next tournament. as bad as i have been he actually trusts me to watch his swing-which i know by heart now- and i can actually point out some things. one thing i find interesting is that i almost always know- about 97% of the time- where the ball will end up by where his club is at the top of the swing. it is fun to watch him hit and he has been working on his swing change for a year now. high, long and straight must be nice.

i hit like the 20 handicapper i have become; bye bye 11; but it was still fun and in a very small way gave me some hope. not asking much actually. erased the next 5 sentences. no whining, but hard to write what i want to and make it sound understandable. got to hit a few chips in the pasture and that felt nice. eventually i will be on a golf course again. four more days of rain ahead won't help.

and so life goes on here in the UK. a good day i hope. ran, mailed and hit. ate some and read some. funny how into watching the master;s gail is while i don't watch at all. have boycotted that tournament for a few years now. they don't miss me.

oxford folk festival this weekend and maybe we'll get to hear some good music. stay well world out there.