Series Leaderboard !

I'm in the strange parallel universe between marathons again ! 10 days since number 4 and 10 days to go until number 5. It's weird how you can tell the body is busy repairing itself, and it doesn't take much for strange aches and pains to appear, from what would have normally been a straight forward training run. I had a strange knee pain the other day, which seems to have now completely gone, and shortly after it appeared on the other side of my knee. I rested it, and when I woke up in the morning, my knee was completely fine. Apart from my left hamstring is now complaining ! It must be a mobile spot of pain which just wanders my body randomly. Or perhaps a cell-workforce which mobilizes to various regions performing repairs, a bit like the council. Only more efficient, as this one must work at night, and without countless tea and fag breaks.

I had a loose idea of what I wanted to do in this middle week, ie a lot, but with the various messages of pain ringing loudly in my legs I have decided to do less and instead have been to the gym. This for me is a painful experience, as I am not a natural gym-goer. For that, you need a grunt, a vest, some food supplements, and to enjoy comparing muscle dimensions with your gym buddy whilst scratching your arse.

I, of course, do none of these things. And I cannot, repeat cannot, run on a treadmill. Just can't do it. My record is two miles. And it was agony. I think it the fact that it faces a whitewashed concrete breeze block wall has something to do with it. And there's no wind. Or rain. And it's infinite !

A treadmill does indeed go on for infinity. It has no defined beginning or end. It is quite simply a one-dimensional rotating universe of complete boredom. It just goes to show how much of running is all in the mind. In my distorted universe, running has a purpose which involves a journey. A challenge of me against the road, the trail, the hills, the wind and the rain or whatever it brings. And the rewards are the joy of the journey, the sights, the sounds, the sensations and the satisfaction of completing the course. Without that, you are reduced to the clanking mechanics of running for it's own sake - which to be honest - is rubbish.

To demonstrate even more my point that I am not a gym person, I also inadvertently turned off the running machine whilst somebody was running on it. Oops.

As you can imagine, I am a gym goers worst nightmare. But I did a bit today (not the treadmill) and hopefully it will have strengthened me in some way for the skeletal battering that will come from the Cornwall and Exmoor marathon monsters.

So far, after four marathons, I am somewhere up in 6th place in the Leaderboard, which is a combined table for all the runners attempting all 7 marathons (of which there are 38 brave souls). One of which is Malcolm Brookes, who in the 60+ category is also steaming through the series.

Now That's awesome.

Series Leaderboard here