All posts by AKMA

4 degrees, legs a bit tight, 10:31.

I’m going to the GP this morning after Morning Prayer for a look into my ear, which has been popping ever since the holidays. I flew with a head cold, and the ascent out of Indianapolis caused me agonising pain. Since then, the ear has been mostly all right, but has unpredictably popped, making vowels…

Heavier, more blustery winds than I’ve experienced on the ‘official’ storm days. Consistent light rain, 11°, 10:17.

I took some extra time limbering up this morning, which paid off. I felt much more loose-limbed than I did yesterday morning. The temperature is all right, about 11°, but the winds are strong and gusty — some steps, I felt as though I were being pushed backward. Still, it must have provided a less…

I gave myself yesterday morning off, but it’s against my new rule of running that I take two consecutive mornings off. So I’m back to my mile this morning, however chilly the weather. It felt as though I were running through waist-deep treacle. 4°, breezes (including an unwelcome headwind on the Cowley Road), 10:42.

2°, mostly calm, no particular stiffness nor breathing troubles (apart from my customary gasp-iness). as I was running, a younger man sprinted past me in the opposite direction, and was not breathing heavily at all. The more I see other runners, the humbler I am about my own paltry efforts (and the more envious of…

4°, light breezes, 10:14.

Yesterday, Margaret was asking me about insect extermination companies, and we mused that this was another area in which the familiar brands from our youth in the USA probably didn’t carry over to the UK. ‘What was that company,’ I asked, ‘that had a big model roach or something stuck onto the roofs of their…

I didn’t run yesterday because of the high winds and heavy rain Storm Dennis generated, but I challenged the fading effects of the storm this morning. 4°, gusty winds (head winds on the short first leg of the run and on the long way back), and much of the way I felt as though I…

I prepared a full, short paragraph explaining that I felt unaccountably tight and sluggish this morning. I was resigned to having fallen back to the 10:30-ish timing, and in the home stretch reminded myself that the slow days aren’t a problem, because they helped my body get in better shape to run faster the next…

Another morning, another 2°, but better warm-up stretching and a pleasing possible improvement to 10:19 (I’m not entirely certain of the magnitude of the change, since I took the slightly different route that may be a bit shorter than my usual mile).

May I just say: it would be all right with me if the weather turned warmer? I know, it’s not even halfway through February, and it wouldn’t bother me so much if I weren’t determined to go out running in the early morning chill, but honestly. 2°, very gentle breezes (not enough to slow one…