2011 Streak: A sense of ending

2011 Streak: A sense of ending

Not with a celebratory burst through the finishing tape, nor with a retirement forced by overwhelming odds,  the 2011 Streak ended. I cannot give a precise reason why I could not carry on but rather it was an increasing weariness and a fading of enthusiasm. For sometimes the whole enterprise had felt like going through the motions rather than something fresh.

I missed the day of my return from France. The shipped docked in the morning and I still had most of the day in front of me but I did nothing. No exercise, no photograph, no notes. After a streak is broken you cannot put it back together again. 

When that happened I felt a sense of relief. A voice in my head said "300 days is not too shabby and anyway what about all those other jobs you have put to one side. Eh?" (You can never escape that voice that tells you you ought to be doing more).

"Yes" I said "it will do. I need to get on and regroup"  A sigh escaped my body and that was that.

The picture of a fizzled out firework is probably appropriate

2011 Streak Day 305 (Friday Nov 4th): Going home

2011 Streak Day 305 (Friday Nov 4^th): Run- 3.1 mile, Time - 33min, Weather - a bit overcast

Again the routine of running before breakfast. 

There is nothing much to report about the run except that it was slow but with a low heart rate. As this was my last run here I was determined to make sure it was easy and enjoyable - a chance to look around and appreciate.

Instead of the the ferry going from Caen, this time we went from St Malo, which is a much more interesting port. When we arrived there were bright lights and a milling crowd as amovie or TV programme was being filmed on one of the old sailing boats and people gathered to watch.

The action was to the right of the photo (you can see the glow from the lighting on the side of the boat). I took the photo mainly because of all the yellow lines but the kids also looked rather cute discussing the finer points of filming.

Whilst waiting for the ferry we went to a bar. A cat was sleeping on one of the bench seats. There were two other people huddled over their drinks at a corner table, speaking softly. A girl came in sat at the bar and over her drink chatted to the barman, they were friends. I thought that if this was one of the last experiences in France on this trip, then it was a good one - bars are meant to be like this.  

2011 Streak Day 304 (Thursday Nov 3rd): And then there was lunch

2011 Streak Day 304 (Thursday Nov 3^rd): Walk - 2 miles Time - 40 min, Weather - a bit wet

This was the last full day of the break. All the planned work had been done and it was a day to celebrate by having a very long lunch. After all this is France and it would be totally wrong to ignore the culture.

I can honestly say that I have never had a better value meal - ever! In fact I find it hard to believe one exists. €19 for 5 course meal, including a bottle of wine, at a good quality restaurant is quite amazing. The most amusing course was probably the cheese. The waiter wheeled in a huge trolley full of cheeses I had never seen or heard of before. I could only make a random pick and hope but it worked. I was just amused at the collision of so much choice and so little knowledge.

When we finished we walked out, looked around and thought "Well that's that then.  Tomorrow is the journey home. The interlude is over." 

We had had a civilised lunch in a restaurant in a small town. As we left there were few cars on the road and all around were views of rolling countryside. I suddenly realised why I am always slightly discombobulated when I get home - I miss the emptiness. Here there are enough people to make the place civilised but there is also space. You don't feel crowded-in. Home though is southern England, one of the most densely populated corners of Europe, where there is always the pressure of others.

Anyway the picture the picture was taken outside the house in Gourvillette. Its purpose is to show the steel grey skies and dampness. I was a good day to eat and not run.

2011 Streak Day 303 (Wednesday Nov 2nd): habit

2011 Streak Day 303 (Wednesday Nov 2^nd): Run - 3.11 miles, Time - 31min, Weather - cloudy but mild

Again another run keeping the heart rate down. I am beginning to enjoy this routine of running every other day before breakfast. The mystery is why I can never do this at home.

Here it feels easy to wake-up put on running kit and leave. Once I am out of the door I walk for a few yards, gentle jog and then get into a rhythm of slightly more active plodding. I am on quiet lanes with no one in sight and the sun coming up. It feels just right and for this house it is my habit.

Back home I can never maintain the pattern and it does not feel the obvious thing to do. I have tried but after a few days the effort peters out - perhaps after many years my morning routine is so ingrained it resists change.

One of the strands of the Mindfulness book is to become aware of ones habits and try to break them: do things differently. On the whole I like that idea. I like, for example, to randomly take a different route or doing something new but it has to be after breakfast. Everything before then is a matter of waking-up and sorting myself out. And breakfast, well breakfast is the most habitual thing I do. Almost every morning I eat exactly the same thing. 

I actually don’t know if this is a good or bad. It is what I do and it is comfortable but that is not the same thing at at all. 

Today’s picture comes from Cognac and shows that the tourist season is over. La Dame Jeanne takes groups of people up and down the river but is now undergoing maintenance. I suppose I should not have been surprised at how shallow the draft is and that it is flat bottomed but I must admit that was my first reaction. A couple of moments thought though and I realised that was the appropriate design

2011 Streak Day 302 (Tuesday 1st Nov): Open skies

2011 Streak Day 302 (Tuesday 1^st Nov):Walk - 5.23 miles, Time - 1hr 39min, Weather - walked after the rain there were dramatic grey clouds but they passed and then the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds.

Although my average pace was just over 19 minutes, the first mile took me 24. I stopped many times to take pictures of the dramatic sky and bare fields. it is probably the section of the walk I enjoyed the most as I was paying attention to the surroundings. After I had put my camera away the pace increased and I trudged along. Often my mind was elsewhere as trains of thought were followed. The pleasure was then  in the exercise, pumping my arms and keeping-up the pace. 

The great feeling was in not having to go anywhere to appreciate the surroundings. One step out of the door and there were beautiful views, peace, tranquility and a sky full of birds. I love the raptors in these parts, especially the buzzards gliding in the skies of sitting on the wires.

The great thing about an open rolling countryside is the skies. Vast and dramatic all you need to do is look upwards and appreciate the majesty of the clouds. Sometimes the weather fronts move amazingly fast and today produced one of my favourite effects, where if you look in one direction the sky is steely grey and oppressive but if you turn around it is blue and sunny. Heavy grey clouds, streaked with sun light look fabulous and foliage seems to glow.

Sometimes being outside, slightly raising your breathing but being well within exercise limits so that you can sustain activity without stress, looking around, appreciating the landscape, feels like the most enormous privilege. If this blog is about anything it is about that feeling.

2011 Daily Streak Day 301 (Monday 31st October): Contentment

2011 Daily Streak Day 301 (Monday 31^st October): Run 2.5 miles Time 25min Weather - the most glorious warm sunny day

The run was mid way between the last two both in terms of speed and heart rate. Interesting how direct the relationship was.It actually felt quite comfortable most of the time but I got out of breath going up hill. 

The weather was so good though, with the sun rising in a clear blue sky it would have been hard not to enjoy a run in open rolling countryside the the early morning light bringing out the texture of the landscape and burning off the overnight dew. I felt lucky to be here on this particular morning.

Inspite of the run being enjoyable I was not tempted to extend it. the distance felt about right. It was refreshing and set me up for the day. I did not want it to be tiring.

I spent part of the day in Jarnac - walking in the park and by the river. The town itself was quiet (it was Monday) with very few people about but a café was open and that is all you need. 

It was just peaceful and I felt amazing contentment looking at the river and trees. At one point I sat down and listened to all the sounds around - the rustle of the leaves when the wind got up a little, the mixture of bird song, cars in the distance.

I often talk about how part of the pleasure of running is being a figure in the landscape - the appreciation of your surroundings through effort. As you are sensitive to gradients you are very aware of contours and shape. You feel the land under your foot. But in some way you are fighting it. Your satisfaction comes from covering the ground, doing, achieving.

Sitting still, listening and sensing your surroundings is very different. The very reverse of doing. But in those few moments I felt an enormous sense of contentment. 

The photo marks the time of year. The 1^st of November is La Toussaint a public holiday where it is traditional to remember the dead with chrysanthemums. In the days beforehand the flowers are for sale everywhere. Never before have I seen so many bunches of one type of flower

2011 Streak Day 300 (Sunday 30th October): Easy day

2011 Streak Day 300 (Sunday 30^th October):Walk 3 miles, time 1hr, Weather - mostly overcast

Sunday and time for a day sight-seeing - going somewhere new. Confolens is a medieval town on the confluence of two rivers that has retained the narrow, jumbly street structure and many very old buildings. In the 19^th Century it was, apparently the administrative centre for the surrounding agricultural region but it has not grown since then and has the atmosphere of being stuck. The population has declined as people have moved from the land and despite its beauty it does not have the tourist infrastructure of cafés, bars and shops. 

It was all a bit weird to go somewhere that felt quite so shut. The plan had been the obvious one of wandering around, seeing the sights, taking photos, eating and then going home, which worked just fine except for the eating. There was nowhere.

We asked around and were told about a place a few miles away by an old railway track. It looked like the functional shed of a traditional truck stop but of course the food was nothing like and so all was well.

All in all it felt like a easy paced day off - something that needs to be built into every schedule

2011 Streak Day 299 (Saturday29th October): Going slow

2011 Streak Day 299 (Saturday29^th October):Run 2.53 miles, Time 27min 44sec, Weather - grey, overcast, slight breeze

Yesterday I ran with my heart rate monitor for the first time for ages and was horrified at the reading. I was about 10 beats above what I would have expected for every speed and it conclusively proved what I already suspected - I am far, far away from any decent level of running fitness.

It cannot be denied. Reality has to be accepted.  Plan have to be made from where I am, not where I want to be.

Patience, Patience, Patience! will have to be the three watchwords. It will take time to build back up. To do so I must accept a slow pace and run to my heart rate and build a base. It is difficult because part of my mind will not let go of a false pride that tells me “I should be better than this!”, or “ surely I am faster than them!”  (whoever them may be). Part of the training is learning to ignore that voice. A little humility never hurt anyone.

On today’s run I cut back on my speed, paid attention to keeping my heart rate down and started the process. When I got back I ignored the average speed (delicately averted my eyes, if you will) and concentrated on my average heart rate, which was 18 beats less than yesterday. Huzzah! there is always something to give satisfaction.

My French observation of the day concerns design, thinking through a workflow and cultural differences: 

We had to take some rubble to the tip. At my local tip, and every other English tip I know, there are big skips with steps you have to climb up. If your load is heavy or awkward then too bad, it something you just have to manage. This local French tip was much smarter because it was on two levels. The higher level was where you drove in. The lower level was where the lorries delivered and took away the skips. This has two advantages: the first is that skip lorries can go in and out of their own gate without obstructing the cars and causing the tip to temporarily close; the second is ease of use - as the skip is below you, all you have to do is drag the rubbish to the edge and let go. 

However I don’t know if it is an example of something being better thought-out or diferent design priorities. With the French design it would be much easier to topple over the edge when letting go of your load. It could be that in England we are more concerned with health and safety and aware that there will always bee the idiot user who must be protected from himself.

The picture of the day comes from Matha. I only went there to pick up the day’s bread (there is a particularly good bakers/choclatier in the town) but was fascinated by the towers of pallets piled up beside the distillery. 

2011 Streak Day 298 (Friday 28th October): Misty grey

2011 Streak Day 298 (Friday 28^th October): Run - 3.4 miles, Time 33min, Weather - soft grey, slightly misty

The day feels very soft and quiet as a light mist lays a thin blanket over everything. Not a fog, the visibility is good but everything is cloaked in grey. It did not feel oppressive or gloomy. The number of grey days in Hemel over August and September were much more lowering. Instead today feels  gentle.

The great pleasure of running here is feeling alone. The land is well tended - so it is not wild - but you can run on a road and not see another soul. There was just me and the bare autumn landscape, alone with the sound of my foot scuffling on the road and a heaviness of breath. In the background I can hear birdsong.

Of course my running is still rubbish - I am in no great shape and cannot expect a magical transformation just because I am in perfect running country. I have to accept that and do the best I can

Afterwards it was a day of little activities. I went to Matha to buy some bread and was again struck by the rhythm of a small French town. People were out and about, stopping to chat or quietly going about their business but all at a comfortable pace. It felt human in scale as there were not the crowds of people pressing against each other, as happens in cites or bigger towns.

Also (and this was probably a freak of timing rather than a general rule) I saw nobody walking around with a phone to their ear. Sometimes I am minded to sit on a street corner at home and survey the percentage of people using a phone. I’m sure it would be large.The consequence is that many people aren’t really present - their body is there walking about, occupying space but their mind is elsewhere. 

Here in Matha today, everybody was in Matha.

2011 Streak Day 297: (Thursday October 27th): Travel

2011 Streak Day 297: (Thursday October 27^th)

Walk 3 miles, Time 1hr, Weather - dark and wet when I set out bright when I arrived.

The picture is of people milling around Paris Montparnasse station. It is like any station: so many people, so many reasons for travel. My reason is pleasure. I am on my way, once more, to the Charente and am catching the train to Angoulème. A couple of months from the summer holiday and I am going back again but this time I am going there to offer a little help to my brother-in-law with the eternally ongoing building project that is his french house.

I take a childish delight in long training journeys and almost like the prospect of arrival as much as actually getting there, especially if you have to get up early and the day stretches out before you - it seems more of an adventure. For this journey I had to get up at 4:30 (plenty early enough) and set out in the dark and damp to walk to the station (pleasure doesn’t come from things being easy). As I walked I thought myself lucky because serious rain and soaking trousers would not a happy rail passenger make.

On the Eurostar I sat alongside a grandfather, father and child. All three were train enthusiasts, something I gathered from the adults reading railway magazines and having the odd conversation about high speed points and the boy getting excited about seeing a TGV painted the wrong colour. It was reassuring to see a family sharing an interest, a reminder that the world was still a decent place. 

The bit of overheard conversation I liked the best was not about trains at all. The father was showing the grandfather a GPS app on his iPhone. “Look”, he said “it shows you exactly where we are on our journey.” “Well where are we then?” “In the middle of nowhere.”

I sometimes feel like that when collecting stats about my runs. The technology is all very clever but all it shows me is that in running terms I am in the middle of nowhere.

2011 Streak Day 296: (Wednesday October 26th): Attention

2011 Streak Day 296: (Wednesday October 26^th):Walk 3 miles, Time 1hr, Weather - sunny and bright

I regularly walk to past the parish church on the way to the park, sometimes I look at it sometimes it is just another part of the familiar landscape and I pay it scant attention. 

Walking and running are like that - the mind can drift in and out and  attention swings between the sharply focussed to the fuzzy. Sometimes on a familiar path you can drop into a reverie, snap out of it and, for a few moments, not be sure of where you are. “I don’t remember passing the bridge/building/bend/tree”,  you say to yourself, spend the next few moments puzzling how you could have been so unobservant and then miss the next landmark.

Bridges puzzle me the most because there is such a transformation when you pass under them but I have been known to run a familiar section of the canal and lose count. That should not happen - my senses are meant to be alert!

It is an indication of my low level sporting mentality. The difference between me chugging along and a top sportsman is indicated by an anecdote of Jackie Stewart’s (related in the film about George Harrison, ‘Living in the material world’). Apparently when he raced his senses were incredibly heightened, so much so that he could remember an occasion when coming into a bend he smelt grass; instinctively he backed off, knowing there should be no fresh cut grass on a motor racing circuit, and avoided problems from an accident which had churned up a grassy area. To notice grass above the engine smells, whilst all his other senses were being bombarded meant he was completely and utterly in the moment.

I would love to have even a hint that such awareness was possible but sadly all I can say is that I have read about other people being ‘in the zone’ but have no recollection of it ever happening to me. All I get are little flashes of attention, like when I walked past these trees and realised, as if for the first time, how beautiful the colours were and what an exceptional month it had been.

2011 Streak Day 295 (Tuesday October 25th): Going backward to go forward

2011 Streak Day 295 (Tuesday October 25^th): Run 2.75 miles, Time 26.08 Weather mild but the sky is a mixture of different types of cloud

The sky behind the tree is not blue- it is slate grey however it is lit up by bright sunlight. It is a day that does not know its own mind. Is it a pleasant, sunny day where you can relax and feel happy about how mild the weather is this late in the year, or is it overcast and threatening serious rain. In the end it did a bit of both (though the rain was not serious).

It went out when the sky was light grey. Good running weather but that did not make any difference, I am still running through treacle. I don’t know what to make of this. Should I be worried or should I just carry on in the belief that persistence will bring its reward and I will get fitter. One of my underlying principles, and one I have constantly repeated on this blog, is that consistency is everything and you have to keep on keeping on. But, and this is quite a big but, another underlying principle is that you should listen to your body and at the moment my body is telling me something is not right.

I will think on this but my feeling is that I will have to swallow some pride. I will have to admit to myself that things are not as I would like them and for the moment I am only able to run very, very slowly. If I want to maintain consistency I will have to use my heart rate as a guide and ensure most of my miles are easy.

2011 Streak Day 294 (Monday October 24th): Walking with a purpose

2011 Streak Day 294 (Monday October 24^th): Walk 9.26 miles Time 2:56 Weather overcast but pleasant enough

This was another example of us trying to not use the car whenever possible. it would have been very easy to have hopped in and driven the 4.6 miles, looked at floorings and then driven back. But no! We decided we were made of sterner stuff and a walk by the canal would be much more enjoyable; and so it proved.

There is nothing to beat the warm inner glow (or smugness, if you prefer) that comes from feeling you have done something virtuous. 

However the downside, and there is always a downside,  is that it takes a chunk of time and when you get back you feel a little weary and less inclined to get going on other things. After sitting around for a short while thinking about what should be done, the virtuous glow soon fades.

The picture is of something that amused me on the walk: two ducks, side by side, preening themselves. When I started to watch they were in synch with their movements, lifting one foot then putting it down pretty much at the same time, but when I reached for my camera their choreography had become ragged. Nevertheless it shows how different types of duck are relaxed in each others company, something I never cease to marvel at when I see them on the canal.

2011 Streak Day 293 (Sunday Oct 23rd): On memory and truth

2011 Streak Day 293 (Sunday Oct 23^rd): Cycle 19.8 miles, Time 1hr 25min, Weather lightly overcast to start but it lifted to become a really nice autumn day

There were alpacas. I haven’t passed the alpacas for a long time so there needs to be a picture of them grazing (though because they are quite a way away they look more like odd shaped sheep). nevertheless you can see how at home they look in the English countryside.

It was a pleasant ride with the built in concept of a leisurely sunday morning. I took a book with me and ended up drinking coffee and reading  memories of Samuel Beckett. There was one section that brought home how unreliable any one witness is to an event. (Being there doesn’t necessarily mean you know what happened).  For a short time the young Beckett was a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, and many years after the event his students were asked their recollections of his teaching. He did not enjoy his time there and thought of himself as a failure so it is unsurprising that many of the students didn’t rate him highly but the pictures painted differed wildly. Some people described not only his lectures but him as being boring whilst others were inspired by the quality and originality of his thinking, recognising the brilliance of his mind,  even if his presentation style was reserved and inhibited.

My guess is that he did not make any compromises, or try to reach out. Those who were not very interested in the subject would not have been offered much and would have been bored. Others, for whom the subject was alive, would have found insights enough to trigger their imagination.

But I would not have recognised it was the same man from all the accounts. As I said you cannot take any witness statement at face value. We all do our best to report the truth but we all have our prejudices, a mental framework that forms what we see. 

In these blog posts I do my best to be truthful about what I see and think but I know I am no more reliable than anybody else. However all I ask you to believe from today’s ride is that there were alpacas and it was a nice day. Both of those statements are verifiable, other observations you can take or leave according to your taste.

2011 Streak Day 292 (Saturday Oct 22nd): Changes

2011 Streak Day 292 (Saturday Oct 22^nd): Walk 2 miles, time 40min, Weather - sunny and remarkably mild for the time of year.

Busy all day until I realised I had time to either go for a walk and take photographs or run and not take photographs. As the sunset light was bright and beautiful I went out looking for pictures.

Gantries and power cables of the West Coast Main Line railway might be an unlikely subject for a picture but they glinted yellow in the setting sun.

It is here that the mainline canal and railway run side by side. Now they occupy different worlds. The canal is mainly for leisure with its attraction being its relaxed pace. The train is rushing people to Birmingham, Manchester or Scotland. 150 years ago the contrast would have been more poignant with the old method of transporting goods being superseded by the new. The longboatmen would be able to see the trains pass by and with them their trade.

2011 Streak Day 291 (Friday Oct 21st): Traces

2011 Streak Day 291 (Friday Oct 21^st): Walk 2 miles, Time 40min Weather  - slightly more overcast

Another minimal day because I was mostly occupied with decorating. But I did get out and on my walk I saw this wall where a creeper has been removed yet left a trace that is probably impossible to remove.

This got me to thinking about how everything we do leaves some sort of trace. Where would detective fiction be without that idea? It is the entire conceit behind the character of Sherlock Holmes. 

You can see this with sport - someone who was once proficient in a game, even tough they are older and out of condition can sometimes be surprisingly good. i have seen games of squash where a wily old player has seemed to move very little whilst his fitter, younger opponent has run himself into the ground. It is to do with skill - which seems to have a long half life.

Unfortunately the strength and weakness of running is that there is a low skill level. The benefit of this is that anybody can do it without a long frustrating period of incompetence. The downside is that training effect does not linger like an acquired skill. You start to lose muscle tone after only a few days.

This is why if I have a gap and allow myself to lose condition it feels like starting again. However I still have a knowledge of what worked before and a memory of how things might be. As I said - everything leaves a trace, even if it is very faint. 

I remember a conversation from long ago when a work colleague was talking about how people’s faces looked more interesting when their character had been imprinted. He used as an example a young girl in the office, who had a very pretty face. “But”, he said “it is not yet old enough to show her character, that will only come after experience and only then will we know if she is beautiful or not.” 

I don't think she was too flattered.

2011 Streak Day 290 (Thursday Oct 20th): On minimalist shoes

2011 Streak Day 290 (Thursday Oct 20^th): Walk 3 miles  time 1 hr, Weather autumn is proving to be surprisingly nice

The reason for the picture is to show the way the shadows lengthen as the sun gets lower in the sky. It makes for some lovely patterns.

Otherwise the main event was the arrival of new running shoes (which I wrote about). The shoes in themselves are standard running shoes with a built-up heel and lots of cushioning. The type of shoe I mostly run in (not the particular model, it is only my second pair of Vomeros).

It used to be so simple. There were basically three types of shoe, neutral, support, and motion control and you looked for the ones that fitted you feet the best in the appropriate category. Now however there is growing interest in barefoot running and the shoe manufacturers have responded  with a range of minimalist and lightweight shoes, which adds a complication.

My problem is that I do not face the radical divide of heel strike and traditional trainers, or  minimalist trainers and a forefoot strike. I have always landed on my forefoot/midfoot but done so in normal trainers.  In fact I like having a degree of heel because after the initial strike my heel drops and I find it more comfortable if it is then supported by the shoe. 

Because of all fuss about barefoot running I felt obliged to try some minimalist shoes with zero heel drop but did not find them particularly comfortable and certainly there was no moment of revelation where I thought I had discovered the proper biomechanical way to run. So I gave up. However I do still have a problem in finding shoes with the right amount drop between heel and forefoot, i.e. something between nothing and normal.

There are possibilities: Newtons, which look interesting but have a price that puts me off, Nike Frees, which are shoes I should have probably tried before now, and Saucony and Brooks who are introducing shoes with less drop. There is scope for experimentation but it is an example of why we need running shops with a good range as I need to try them on before buying. Unfortunately my local running shop does not stock these sort of shoes so I probably need to travel further afield.

However it is not a big problem. Although I would like to find the perfect pair of shoes, I am happy to run in just about anything. My main problems have nothing to do with my trainers and everything to do with lack of condition, sticking to a proper training regime, and carrying too much weight. Fix those and everything falls into place.

This means I am remarkably feeble when people debate forefoot vs heelstrike. I really do not have a position. I tend to believe that everybody should run in the way that feels most natural and that most injuries come from training mistakes rather than failures of style. However if anybody does experiment by switching to minimal shoes and finds it enhances their pleasure and performance then I am happy for them. If however someone heelstrikes and feels pressure to change because of all the talk and books such as Born to Run I would advise caution, if there are no other reasons. In other words there is no reason to fix what isn’t broken.

This New York Times article on the fashion for minimalist shoes has some interesting comments.

Another Short Break

I have been valiantly trying to catch up with myself and am now only one week behind. Huzzah!
But it is not good enough.
I am going away again to France and for 10 days I will be without any internet connection.
As always I will keep daily notes so that I can maintain the project but 7 days will become 17 on once more it will feel like pushing a rock up hill.
Eventually it will happen: there will be a day when I can write about the events of a day on that day.
I will then let out a long, slow sigh.

2011 Streak Day 289 (Wednesday Oct 19th): Planning

2011 Streak Day 289 (Wednesday Oct 19^th): Walk 3 miles, time 1hr, Weather - blue sky pleasant temperature

Another post about local government but this is much shorter because all it really says is Boo! and Hiss!:

The photo shows the way the Old Town ends.  There is a house and then some green space, which is as it should be. There needs to be a buffer to give the old buildings some visual breathing space. 

But the council does not agree. It will allow this land to be used for housing. Buggeration! 

Our council is run by the Conservative majority - a party that somehow seems to have lost contact with the meaning of its name

2011 Streak 288 (Tuesday Oct 18th): Fearful of drunkenness

2011 Streak 288 (Tuesday Oct 18^th): Cycle 13 miles, Time 1hr 5min, Weather clear and bright

The day was beautiful and I went out for a spin. No specialist cycling gear (apart from shoes), just out for a nice relaxed pootle, breathing deeply and taking-in the fine autumn views. There are some days when it is a privilege just to be able to get out and enjoy these moments.

There is a pleasure in cycling this way - head up instead of down. The only concession I made to the concept of fitness was a hill but apart from that it was all about looking around, not sweat.

The photo is of a pub called Martins Pond, and to show it is appropriately named it is viewed from across the pond. It is in Potton End, a village close to Hemel, which has recently offered a wonderful example of how small scale local government works - or rather doesn't work. (As it is to do with public health and exercise it is relevant to this blog, so I can talk about it).

The parish council put in a bid for funding to buy equipment for an outside gym (newspaper report).

However the the council later withdrew their bid because councillors later discovered that not many villages wanted it and there were fears that it would be used by drunk people coming out of a nearby pub. In addition several councillors said they were unaware of the original application. (Report here)

It is the last bit that amuses me. The council applies for something and then councillors deny they knew anything about it. It is wonderful how consistent politics is from national down to microscopic local level. if something blows up and becomes unexpectedly contentious, then if you can't blame the last lot you say you weren't there and didn't know anything about it. Brilliant.

It actually has all the hall marks a good idea thwarted by by people playing on general fears of rowdiness and the misbehaviour of drunks. My guess is that the councillors who made the initial application did not see it as at all controversial (in fact thought it was rather a good idea) but people living close to the site thought they might be inconvenienced and took against..

It is wonderfully easy for everybody to agree that we need to  encourage more exercise for the population as a whole. I don't think there are any dissenters. But attempts to actually do something are fraught with difficulties as there are always conflicting interests. This is a small example. 

For me the biggest example is the reluctance to do much to make the roads safer for cyclists and walkers, so that more people can incorporate physical activity into their normal getting about. Getting people to exercise is always difficult if it requires special equipment. clothing and arrangements but if it is something that can be done as part of the day or casually there is a much bigger chance it will happen.

2011 Streak Day 287 (Monday Oct 17th): The Canal

2011 Streak Day 287 (Monday Oct 17^th): Walk 2 miles time 40min Weather there was a wintery bite to the air

Swans always look as if they own the canal. On the water they are serene on the bank they look fierce. Although I have never heard of a specific case where someone has had their arm broken by a blow from a swans wing, I still remember, as a child,being told it could happen. Such stories stay with you and I give them a wide birth. 

But there is another reason for swans to think canals belong to them: this new logo shows it must be the case.

In April British Waterways will cease to be. The canals will no longer be a government responsibility and will instead be run by a charitable trust: The Canal and River Trust (people have already made a lot of fun of the use of the singular - which canal and which river will they look after).

 I don't know how I feel about the change.

The only thing I care about is that canals are maintained and developed. All across the country they are a fantastic resource for walkers, runners, and cyclists, as well as boat owners. They provide a  ribbon of tranquility and beauty linking towns across the country. Fantastic places that also tell you about the history of the country and the pattern of the industrial revolution. 

You can tell how important they are to me by the number of times I walk or run there. They have to flourish.

If the new Trust can do better than the old Board, then fair enough. But if they struggle for money and maintenance is cut back and fees go up then I will worry. The competition for charity money and volunteers is fierce, especially as more of them are now expected to move into more areas that were once the responsibility of the state. And with most of the population now facing an economic squeeze, who knows how it will work out?

One immediate consequence will be reduced transparency. As a charity there will be less requirement to make information public as the Freedom of information Act will no longer apply. The problem with privatising or hiving off services is that it will be more difficult to find out what is happening and challenge decisions.

2011 Streak Day286 (Sunday Oct 16th): Warthog

2011 Streak Day286 (Sunday Oct 16^th): Run 2.85 miles Time 27min 38sec, Weather sunny morning, cloudier later

The weather is extraordinary for October. When you go out, just after day break, there is all the promise of a clear sunny day - summer like but a few hours later .

Looking up and seeing the moon in the morning sky gives me pleasure. Seeing it so clearly in a blue day sky might be common but it is still slightly magical. It feels like an omen that the day will be good.

However it only goes to show that you cannot believe in omens. 

The run was not fast but felt hard. I really do not know what is happening. I am not so much running as lumbering - related to the warthog rather than the gazelle.

The only thing to do is not get down hearted. Keeping on is the only option but aside from that I need a plan.

At the moment I am not in serious training. I will run this loop a few more times to see if it begins to get easier. After that I will take stock. The most likely option is that I will get out my heart rate monitor again and have a period of base training i.e. always running below a fairly low heart rate and being slower than a slow thing.

We shall see.

2011 Streak Day 285 (Saturday Oct 15th): Mind body

2011 Streak Day 285 (Saturday Oct 15^th): Walk 1 mile Time 20min Weather beautifully sunny October day warm enough for T shirt

The role of the mind in running is is fascinating because it is not a neutral observer of the feedback from the body - it conditions those messages.

You can see this when you have good and bad days. There are times when you go for a run when you feel weary from the first step to the last, even though there is nothing physically wrong (i.e. you are not sickening or injured). Your mind is tired and so are your limbs. 

That is a fairly common example but fascinating nevertheless. 

What causes a bad day? I have never been able to isolate an answer but I keep on trying. I always start by looking for simple physical explanations: was my nutrition or hydration good, was I still tired from previous sessions? I rarely think about my mood or mental outlook. Perhaps I should. 

But if my outlook is wrong is there anything I can do about it?

Another simple example of the way the mind can affect you performance is the difference between running on your own and running in a group. With a group you are often stimulated to run faster or longer than you would normally because of the others. You adapt to the norms of the group and your expectations change.

When you are by yourself you often head the signs of distress earlier or you just fall into your normal comfortable pace. You more easily stay within fairly soft mental boundaries.

This leads to an interesting question. If your mental outlook is limiting how fast you go what can you do to change it. Would fooling yourself work?  This article from the New York Times suggests it might.

P.S. The practical response to a bad day is not to worry about it and try to find a cause. You should shrug your shoulders and carry on, knowing the general statistical rule of 'return to the mean' will apply. So if you have had a bad run the chances are your next one will be better but sadly if you have a good day it is likely the next will be worse.