Nose to Nose

I like Winkwell. On one side of a very narrow lane is a boatyard always with a number of narrowboats either moored or being worked on, on the other is a pub snuggling into the landscape, with plenty of seating alongside the canal. What can be finer than sitting out on a summers day drinking beer and watching people at leisure passing-by on the footpath or in barges. The bridge adds to the fun because it it is electrically operated and swings open to let the boats through; and there is nothing like a piece of working machinery to awaken little boy within.

However the road is problem if there are cars going in opposite directions as passing is either impossible or awkward and the bridge is definitely only wide enough one. Today the problem was dramatic.

It started when I was crossing the bridge and I had just about reached the other side when I was met by an on-coming car. It did not slow down in the slightest, or make any other adjustment but carried on, going just a little bit too fast. I had to move quickly to one side to avoid being squished and as I was thinking dark thoughts about the manners of the driver I heard the crunchy tyre-noise of cars breaking very hard. The car that had passed me was stopped with its nose level with the other end of the bridge, two inches away was the nose of another car, which must also have been going too fast.

The driver of the car that had passed me (lets call him Fiat Man) jumped out and started swearing saying that he had the right of way because he was on the bridge. The other one (Chrysler Man) responded by saying that was stupid and it was more difficult for him to back up to the main road. They faced up to each other ; swearing. Chrysler Man was about 60, with grey hair and leathery skin and tough looking. He was solidly built with a gravelly London accent - imagine him being played by Ray Winston.

"If you want to fuck with me then you'd better be prepared to be wet. Because that is where'd you'd be - In The Water!" he said with utter conviction.

Although Fiat man was probably twenty years younger I didn't fancy his chances. He was agitated rather than threatening - all over the place. His clothes were odd , a polo top over what like his pyjama bottoms, and all in all he had the look of someone for whom life was becoming a bit much. He turned round took the keys out of the ignition and for one hugely pleasurable moment I thought he was going to hurl them into the water to spite everybody. Instead he just leaned over the railings and looked at the water - who knows what he was thinking.

The stand-off continued. Cars drove up and then turned round as they realised it would be quicker for them to take a loop. I had a brief chat with one of the nearby householders who shrugged his shoulders and went in. Everybody else alongside the canal was just looked-on, as I did. Then the running instinct cut-in and told me I couldn't be hang around any longer as I was only halfway and so I toddled off. For all I know they are still there.

When I started I was vaguely amused but after a couple of miles or so I started to think about my reaction and how it had been inadequate. I ought to have made some effort to mediate. The situation was stupid and eventually one of them would have to reverse to let the other through. It was only a matter of time and finding a way so neither of them would lose face. Perhaps I could have helped; perhaps not. I will never know because I did not try. This stems from a character trait - I am not much of a participant and do not instinctively rush forward. I do not involve myself enough with others. Much more I am the detached observer.

Running throws up many things and it shows you things about your character: how you face challenges, endure and overcome difficulties. In this case it put me in a place and showed me how I tend to react, or not to react, to things on the outside of my bubble. It gave me something else to think about.

(PS The photo is one from last year. This year the pub has a different sign)

Shoe review - Saucony Xodus

The exposure of the way MPs have used their expenses system shows how we all need to be very open about our dealings. So in that spirit I have to report that the shoes I am reviewing were given to me by the friendly people at Fitness Footwear.

Actually a review would have appeared far earlier if I had been compatible with New Balance but I don't think I am. The first pair of shoes I ordered arrived and looked rather handsome but were about half a size too small (At the time of ordering I did not know that New Balance come-up a little short). I sent them back for replacement only to find that that not only was that model was no longer available, neither was my second choice of model (I must have minority tastes). Luckily Fitness Footwear had started to stock Saucony and I have run in their shoes before and liked them.

I chose the Xodus multi-terrain shoes and as you can see from the photo they are also rather handsome, especially if you like bees. You can also see that the soles are not as aggressive as some tail shoes but as they are made from Vibram they are plenty grippy. In fact they are probably perfect for someone like me who is not an extreme fell runner, but justspends about 30% of running time off-road.

So how did they work out?

The answer is very well and I would give these shoes a big thumbs up. In fact I will pay them the highest compliment I can -when running, I completely forgot about them. Running is for thinking about other things. If you start to think about your kit it means there is something wrong and so far I have found nothing wrong with these shoes.

They manage a very good compromise between the cushioning required for running on the pavement (to reach the off-road bits) and the grip and responsiveness useful for a trail. Quite rightly the balance is more in favour of off-road and they are at their most comfortable on twisty rooty tracks and lumpy paths, where the footfall is very secure but they are also fine for a few miles on the road. Although I would not want to run a half marathon in them, that is not what they are designed for.

If I was to sum up: about the shoes I would say that they are very good at doing what they are meant to (I wish I could say the same about me). About Fitness Footwear I am very pleased that they have broadened their range. Each of the brands have a slightly different fit and feel and I think it is important to have the range from at least two manufacturers. For me Saucony fit just fine.

Compared to This Man I am a Bit of a Wuss

Well compared to a lot of people really, as I don't think I have more than a modicum of fortitude.  here the person in the photo (Andy) is showing-up my lack of endurance. He is one of the competitors in the Grand Union Canal Race from Birmingham to London -  145 mile long  to be completed within 45 hours.

I have no idea how they keep going for that amount of timewith no sleep. I'm sure I would start hallucinating or stumble into the water in the middle of the night, providing that I could reach the middle of the night (which I don't think I could). Yet these people just keep on going, putting one foot in front of another  not letting up.

This year must have been very. very tough because of the heat. My run was only 12 miles but I struggled towards the end, yet compared to these competitors I was doing no more than a jog around the block.

How do they do it?

Reviewing Resolutions

Now is the time to look back at my objectives for the year to see if I have made any progress. If I am on target then I can feel pleasantly smug but if not there is still time to stiffen the sinews and try harder.

Damn! I have just looked at the list and found I have done virtually nothing. I might have kept running but for the others there are just the teeny tiniest signs of progress. This is not good, especially as I really wanted to find some reason to feel the warm glow of self satisfaction. Instead I will have to look for a hair shirt in the wardrobe and sign up for an evening class in self mortification.

So I have not entered any races nor have I lost weight – then plans need to be made. The sad thing is I am already too late for booking a place in a couple of marathons I fancied. Both the new Forest and Abingdon are full already. This just shows the difference between me and a properly organised runner. A proper runner will sit down at the beginning of the year, pick out a number of races and then schedule the year around them. Me I have a vague idea that I will do a marathon in the autumn and will only think of the actual race much later. It never occurs to me that other people get up early and put their towels on the sun loungers

Nevertheless there will be a marathon and the shorter distance races can be worked around it. However losing weight requires a bit more resolve as it is all about attitude of mind. The principle is very simple: control of portions so that I only eat a moderate sized plateful at each meal, with a piece of fruit being the only snack allowed between meals. Eating slowly is one of the keys and if I do that I am more likely to feel happy with a smaller plate.

I believe in a gradual approach and only want to tweak quantities not exclude any type of food. After all eating is a sensual pleasure which should be celebrated. As a consequence I am prepared to take a long time to lose a stone. All I want is eat slightly fewer calories than I use each day. Sounds easy but it is actually quite difficult to do when training because the temptation is always to eat for 10k when I having run only 5. Nevertheless it can be done and now is as good a time to start as any.

Running in Literature iv: Mohawk

I had an idea for a series of posts called 'Running in literature'. Whenever I found a novel running was significant, or a non-running book that made some point about running, I would note it and make some comment. Unfortunately the weakness in this is the random nature of my reading and a lack of effort in searching out running references. As a result the series is sparse. Nevertheless things sometimes crop up especially if I can stretch the criteria a little to include small descriptions of someone running.

He is a large man, and while his movements are efficient in the narrow space behind the familiar lunch counter, he's lost and sluggish in open spaces. H runs the first fifty yards to the base of Hospital Hill, but when he starts up the grade he slows like a swamp bound dinosaur. .. Harry imagines that he is still running, but only his crazy arm jerks suggest rapid motion. Otherwise he looks like a fat comedian doing an impression of an Olympic walker, all hips an elbows. He thinks of all those childhood dreams where he was pursued by something nameless and fearsome, his legs heavy and rooted like tree trunks.

From Mohawk by Richard Russo.

I like the small observation at the beginning that Harry could move efficiently, and was perfectly adapted, in his day to day work but was lost in open spaces. I like the insight that we become moulded by our every day activities and specialisation, which makes us efficient also confines our abilities in other circumstances. I also like the observation that running is about being in open spaces as this is at the heart of its attraction for me. I love open spaces, hearing the birds, feeling the wind seeing the green of the trees and dark of the water, and most of all being surrounded by the variety of life. It is this reimder of life that makes me feel most alive.

Swine Flu

It is outside the scope of this blog to write about swine flu. I know a serious pandemic would have a great effect on running and that races and group runs would be cancelled. But the effect on running would be meaninglessly trivial compared to everything else, when all of our efforts would be concentrated on just trying to keep going.

That is why I am impressed by the efforts of the WHO and various governments to try to contain or minimise the effects of the disease. It is important they are monitoring the situation and have plans of action and that what they are doing is based on scientific work. It is not the overreaction of self-serving bureaucracies, as is asserted in this very depressing article by
Simon Jenkins.

Some of the endless speculation in the media might be a little hysterical but that is another matter. Their difficulty is that although there is a very clear risk of a serious event we do not as yet know what will happen. If we are lucky it will fizzle out into nothing but at the moment we do not know enough to make accurate predications and so we have to wait and watch and evaluate - the very things our 24 hour rolling news culture is ill equipped to do.

But there are good sources of information. There have been considered reports in the broadsheets and interesting programmes on the radio. However, for the first time, I am using a blog as my main source of information on a major story.
Effect Measure is written by senior public health scientist in America - let me recommend it to you