Going for the Jungular

Something in the way they move
- the shimmy lights through them -
The sheer density of sound
a wall of wound rhythm
Wind 'em up, 'way they go!
Syncopated heart
full on from the fore
Captivated caricatures
all slaves to the beat
All beat but beat...
struggling for that look
A loc'd tone, tonal, low
hi high lo and lo!
Gyro scoping all
under an even sky
Playing for the part
plying, shaking their art
Amusement abounds
in arpeggiated sounds!
Minefields or mindfields often bungle
in this urbanest of city jungles.

SiKee 0809

Raintracks and tail lights

Raintracks flow to wash away
careless thoughts on this drab day -
a passing route of hurried haste
douses sides with much distaste.
Sly cones stare up: "They're just like rods
from stairs, falling, skyscape's sods."
Compounded murky musings leer:
"Where are you really going here?"
Lost in thought and word and deed
all fog, miasma - mine indeed.
In distance all eyes fixed upon
where fast fading tail lights lead on:
blurred images too oft retained
of things pursued but not obtained.
SiKee 0709

In the long run

Well, I did it. My time was 05:02:14 and, despite my finishing a little later than my goal of 04:30, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment in the tremendous hot weather we have enjoyed. I owe a lot to SJ for her help and support, for my friends and family for their thoughts and generosity and to the memory of my mum. Macmillan looked after her and it's for them that I decided to opt when choosing a charity.

I have mixed feelings - I'm heartened by the tremendous feelings that a marathon engenders. I made a couple of good friends who also ran for this charity. One of them, Stu, was a real rock who propelled me forward to the end, after I'd flagged. The organisation of the course was a little lacking - there were no less than three stations where water was not available to runners. I read in the press, two days after the event, that supplies had been stolen from the course and that this had been reported to police. I am interested to note that the police report was made the same day that I saw the story on the BBC website and that the supplies were left in such a position that they could have been stolen or even tampered with.

All things considered, Edinburgh was a fantastic place to run. The city is beautiful and the surrounding countryside, indeed the coast road, was idyllic. The camaraderie among the runners was palpable - everyone was supporting others. I encountered a 98-year-old Sikh gentleman and his supporting runners (who were all older than I, incidentally) on the way, cheering him on, only to hear him exhort me too, quite effortlessly, as I went past. A troop of 5 runners in parachute regiment t-shirts, carrying bergens, soldiered on, giving me a thumbs up when I shared a few words of encouragement. The team bearing a wavy Nessie was an amusing, if humbling spectacle!

If I can do it, so can all of us. Even a man of 98! I look forward to the next mad effort with glee!

Bangin' the drum... again!

Well, I did it. A fantastic long run which has set my sights firmly on the goal!

Sarah's battling well, overcoming a pesky knee injury which is hopefully only temporary.

We're on course. If you've not done so, please, please sponsor us and help us achieve our target!

Not long now!

Bye for now!

Your kex is on fire

A hot chilli (non) carne and running make a strange mix.

Still, it didn't put me off doing a PB yesterday. Felt good, bit of a nosebleed again, but not as much as last time. Shins ache now, despite all the stretching, but I guess it's to be expected at this stage.

This run was an extension of the usual one to Finsbury Park - I just built in some laps around Ally Pally and Highgate Wood. I can boost the same run perhaps by building in laps on the return, which is nice, since it's familiar ground and away from the traffic fumes.

Saw lots of other runners about too, enjoying the weather and mild temperature.

Onwards and upwards!

Note to self...

always take care when opening bathroom door. Especially if your (long, kind of useless) toe happens to be in the way. Slight graunching noise and a bit of blood, which I absentmindedly mopped up (owing to the fact I was swearing like Roy Chubby Brown and concentrating on the pain, rather than the task in hand). Took some Ibuprofen (which worked surprisingly quickly - there must be something in one's genetic makeup that specifies that toes get treatment first) and went (gingerly) to bed. Toe was fine today, though, if a little sorry looking, so I went for a run.

Silly arse.

Toe felt dodgy all the way round. I personally think it took umbrage at my making it bear the brunt of my weird loping run and decided to take mutinous action upon my nose, which chose to bleed quietly for the first few miles. Cause and effect, see? Sophistry, what sophistry?

Still, had a nice little sweat round. Got home in plenty of time for dusk and a nice pint of nuun. Great stuff, that.

The stats are here, for those who wish to peruse 'em.

Anyhow, muchos ta to those who've sponsored us so far. We're very grateful for the amount we've received and would love for people to help us meet our target still, so, if you've not given, please drop a few quid in the tin here

Bye for now!

A new PB for SJ!

Well, she's into double figures now, as we did just under 11 miles yesterday (telemetry here). Amazingly, we're both walking around today with little ill effect. Roll on tomorrow's run, when SJ tries out her new Forerunner with her own telemetry!

Onwards and upwards! Half marathon by the end of the month... Film at eleven...

Today's sweaty little jaunt

Bleary-eyed, again woken by the blasted trio of cockerels (cockatrices?) held captive in the pub's menagerie next door, I decided it'd be a capital idea to venture forth, again sporting such ludicrous vestments as I and other certainly certifiable lunatics are wont to wear. I took the rubbish down, taking a moment to glower grimly at the avian annoyances and then hot-feeted it (I used both, see) up the alley and round the Pally. 'twas brillig and soft underfoot. Or was that the stuffing in my trainers finally giving way?

Besides which, here's more telemetry and, oddly enough, a damned lie that I managed over 10mph in the course of my puffing and wheezing. Stupid electronica - never trust bits and bytes, only sharp, controlled licks. Of speed. Ahem.

Stay tuned and, if you've not already supported the delightful SJ and me, please visit our sponsorship page and dig deep: it's for a really good cause and I'm sure the nice ladies and gents at Macmillan would really appreciate it!

Thanks
Si

Why I like Germany

I went to Germany and got drunk on cheap, excellent beer with some good friends. Here is the evidence.

I'm going back again next year, too...

Tee hee!

A Belated Hello 2009

Well here we are again, at the start of another roller-coaster year. I hope to take this one more sedately and actually enjoy the journey, instead of arriving at the destination, without having seen much of the passing scenery and saying "it seems like only yesterday!"... I wonder if this is a myth of getting old: that we perceive time passing by more swiftly. Is it perhaps more a case of taking less time out to smell the flowers?

I chose to go out and take some time for myself the other day and, feeling out of sorts, decided that the most natural pick-me-up (in my case, a run) would do me good. I ran an extended route to Finsbury Park and have included a link to the site with the telemetry, for those who are interested.

In short, I had a great time, watching the equally motivated runners as they passed me by, regarding the walkers, the people enjoying the snow, the motorists struggling through the poor road conditions, the quite unusual scene of London beset by funny white stuff, which, no doubt, the majority of small children had never seen there, perhaps never seen ever, before.

The tonic worked wonders. I think I shall have more like this very soon!