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Wednesday 7 November 2018

Not much good, mostly bad and ugly......

I don't think I've stopped running, permanently, though my body is currently telling me I ought.  That persistent cold and raucous cough, coupled with rampant IBS,  have taken their toll to the point where I'm somewhat drained of energy.  But it will pass.  Hopefully.
My healthy diet?   (Click to enlarge)
My red, runny nose has been glued to a computer searching for exercises and diet that might relieve symptoms of abdominal pain and rumblings.  Salad leaves from Italy, peppers and celery from Spain, prawns from Nicaragua and wine from Chile, amongst other things, interspersed with Yoga exercises (some of which give me cramp and I've yet to master the Boat Pose) have made for some quite unusual days.  Vick and Beconase have been forced up nasal cavities to  attack and eject any nasties lurking there - and to enable me to breathe sufficiently to stay alive while practicing the aforementioned silly exercises. 
At times (well, twice actually) I've opened downstairs doors in the house to indulge in some Slow Jogging from room to room - until too knackered to carry on.  Slow jogging is not supposed to do that!

Woodpeckers, long-tailed tits and goldfinches on the feeders by the window take not a blind bit of notices of my comings and goings, probably thinking to themselves what strange creatures humans are.
In many cases they could be right!
Against my better judgement I forced myself out for two runs last week over my beloved Castle Hill.  On Tuesday I passed two teenage lads sat up there in the half light before sunrise, which I thought strange. It was half term.  They disappeared quickly as a fire engine came tearing up the hill.  A hoax call?  Maybe.  But it was no hoax four nights later when the fire brigade were called out at 9.30pm to a massive blaze that desecrated the hillside, burning grass, charring trees and destroying gorse bushes.
Much of the vegetation facing the road on the right has vanished
(picture courtesy The Examiner)
I walked up this week to assess the damage.  It's a sorry sight though it doesn't affect the paths where I run, clearly visible in the above picture, but rabbits, foxes, mice, voles and resident birds will all have been ousted from their sheltered habitat.
Such mindless vandalism.
A wild November skyscape over Castle Hill
Years ago there was a beautiful old hotel on the hill where yours truly spent many a happy Sunday lunchtime in an eclectic gathering of hunters, shooters, fishermen, artists and various trades people - before I became a runner.  It was vandalised by its new owners, the Thandi brothers, who, in re-modelling it, thought they could get away with sneakily building a structure bigger than the approved plans.  They failed and were ordered to remove every stone.
Click on the above link for the pub's history.
A final shot along the lane
testing the panorama mode of my new smartphone
Well, that's it.  Time to wash down some Doxylamine with a soporific drink and crawl into bed perchance to dream. 
Hopefully by next week there'll be a little more activity to report.
In the meantime, happy running everyone.

12 comments:

  1. Love your wine glass, and that plate of food would go down well by the Ocean with the warm evening sun only thinking about setting!

    I think the best remedy for you might just be a holiday to a sunny place.
    get well soon

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    1. The 'wine glass' is a smaller replica of ones used for Holy Communion in Iona Abbey, bought for me over 40 years ago by my old friend whose funeral I reported in a recent posting.
      You're right Coach, I could really do with some sun on my body. The older I get, the more I can't cope with winters ...

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  2. Is just plain walking to mild for you? : ) You would still get out and enjoy the countryside and is much easier on your body.

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    1. Walking has gone onto the back burner. I did lots in the Alps, Canary Islands, numerous coast to coast walks and over just about every mountain in Britain, but since beginning running at the tender age of 54, I love and prefer it. Curro Ergo Sum.

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  3. I hope the healthy diet will give you some new energy and extra stamina Old Runningfox and to bring again enough strength in your legs to be up and running again . About the slow jogging it is really what I do because the normal stride is not there anymore instead for you it will be more difficult to apply in real condition because you have got a an incredible natural posture and it will takes you some time to be modify and to adapt to a peculiar way of running. About walking , if you had seen me walking when I was in my fifty when I was strong and powerful ,I would have been ashamed and embarrassed of myself ,instead nowadays walking for me is a natural part of my daily training , I alternate one day walking, and one day slow jogging , although still doing at least 5 miles or 6 maybe 7 . Antonio .

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    1. Slow jogging is just an interim thing Antonio, until I get rid of this nasty chest infection and can resume my normal style of running. I can't just do nothing!
      When I had dogs I could enjoy walking the same old places because of interesting things the dogs got up to (?) but find it boring without them. It's different if it's somewhere new but still prefer to run. Once a runner......

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  4. Oh dear Gordon, I feel for you!
    Last year (about 5 weeks post 'flu jab) I went down with 'flu, then a severe chest infection....and THEN a urine infection - one after the other! I didn't pull my running shoes on for over two months.
    Interestingly (or not!): a week after my 'flu jab I started with a cough / cold but I had to visit Florida - I thought that a couple of weeks in hot weather would see the nasties off.
    Not so. The cough / cold certainly eased whilst on my visit, but it resurfaced on my return to Manchester at the start of December. By Christmas I was completely knocked off my feet.
    Take it easy until you're properly recovered.
    Best wishes from a sunny Florida - where it's too damned hot to run after 7.30am!

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    1. Oh gosh, mine's a different combination - bronchitis and IBS. I'm hoping the former will clear up well inside two months or I'll never get back running again!
      The latter will probably never go away and forever affect my comings and goings, but I'm learning to live with that in a sort of symbiotic relationship.
      Please, please, send me some of that Florida sunshine and warmth to rub on my chest......
      Cheers!

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  5. ...and before you ask: I can't wait to get back home!

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  6. Hope you feel better real soon. x

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