Opposites make the perfect match....

My wonderful partner, the one who shames me into doing all sorts of things I'd never do under my own volition, is looking for a new project.  Something to keep her occupied through the winter months.  Parish Clerk duties, secretarial work for a local Trust, zumba, yoga, U3A walks, theatre visits, National Park volunteer ranger duties - not to mention reading half the books ever written - still leave her with far too much time on her hands. 

Oh, and she runs too...   (Click to enlarge pictures)

She gets bored if a few seconds drift by when she isn't actually doing something.  When I left this morning she was preparing to treat her living room ceiling with half a gallon of Cuprinol in case there might be the odd woodworm lurking up there in the boards.

They create dust and it might fall into our sherry.

On my longest run last week - 4 miles   

Come winter, I'm exactly the opposite.  Shorter days are a wonderful excuse for doing as little as possible; longer nights mean more time tucked up in bed, something I regard as perfectly natural for homo sapiens.  Especially those of my vintage.   Besides, being a Yorkshireman, I long ago discovered it's  a good way to limit gas and electricity bills!

Long nights are OK for owls and fornicating foxes, or those bloomin' badgers that scrat holes in the lawn.  But not for me. Between sunset and sunrise lethargy rules.  Sometimes for a little longer....

So, whatever new project my wonderful partner finally decides upon to while away the woebegone winter I pray it's nothing remotely energetic or, more importantly, nothing to disturb my semi-hibernation.  I have a book on 'Up Country Swahili'. That might keep her quiet...

Dawn sky and mist in the valley

Many would think I was preparing for winter last week with my pathetic 10 miles of running.  But it rained every day, it was windy too and on Monday it appeared the end of the world was nigh when sun and sky took on a strange, dark orange glow weathermen said was due to clouds of dust from the Sahara.  I stayed low for three of my short morning runs, each just two miles of hill reps in the local cemetery and home in ½ hour.  A fourth run, 4 miles around Castle Hill was interrupted by various people who wanted to talk!  I got home just as it started to rain again.

Mist before the rain

I'd an MOT at the local surgery on Friday, the usual urine, blood and blood pressure tests, and mentioned to the nurse about a Personal Trainer putting clients through their paces in the cemetery - skipping sideways for 10 paces, then back again; then doing step-ups onto a 4" kerb, all the time chatting away. 

 "How can that do them any good? Surely they need to be doing something that doubles their heart rate. I probably treble mine in the short efforts I do. I reckon they're wasting their money". I said.

"Yes, but paying money probably gives them incentive to get out there and do it" she replied "and that's a good thing".   

Well maybe, but it sure wont make them into sub 3 hour marathoners....