Blogging... lack of

So, I would like to write more blogs, but I have no idea what to blog about.  I don't run all that often anymore due to a trick knee (although I did run 4 miles for the first time in ages last night); I really don't fancy smashing fencing and rebuilding it all that often and I can't think of anything else that interesting that I do.  I mean, who wants to hear about my work in IT support?  Occasionally something interesting occurs, but not so much I feel any great urge to write about it.  What else do I do?  I watch TV.  Who is interested in hearing my thoughts on Star Trek: Voyager?  I thought not.  I eat out with Sharon, but we're quite boring and go to a lot of the same places and eat a lot of the same things.  I go to the pub.  We rarely vary our routine and go to the same place and discuss a lot of the same things.  Don't get me wrong, it's immense fun, but I can't see it making for particularly good reading.  I am currently planning a wedding, well Sharon is and I'm chipping in on occasion.   Some people may be interested in that I guess, but do I want to share the details of my wedding with the world in general?  Not so much.  

So, what to write about?  I read a couple of people's columns in Sunday papers and they always seem to have something to talk about.  One of 2 things is happening in their cases: 

1. They have much more interesting lives than I.  
2. They are much better at thinking of something to write about from their dull lives and making it interesting than I.  

I'm thinking it's probably a combination of the two.

Conclusions.  I need to do one of three things:

1. Do more interesting things, so I can write about them.
2. Make a note of things as they are happening that may make interesting writing/reading as they are happening.
3. Continue to not blog very often.
4. I know I said three things, but I just thought of a fourth.  Randomly read other people's blogs on here and see what it is they write about.  It may lead to inspiration about my own life.

I have just quickly scanned a few people's blogs on here.  It turns out people are boring and interesting at the same time.  This bodes well.   From my quick random scan it appears that people blog about space; mountain biking; Michael Jackson; random doodles they have drawn; and in some cases they blog in a foreign language!?  Doesn't get me any further with ideas, but it does lead me to think that, who really gives a shit what I write about?  Not that many people (if any) will read it and as long as I enjoy writing it then all is cool.  Even Sharon doesn't read my blog.  She says, "What's the point?  I see you every day."  She says pretty much the same about why she never looks at my Facebook and why she never responds to my texts or emails...

The Saga Of The Fence...

So, I've been doing a lot of stuff in my garden of late.  Cutting back trees, weeding paths and mowing lawns and things.  This weekend I turned my attention to the front garden and something that has been doing my head in.  Round the edges of the lawn are little pebbles (pea-shingle I think my dad called it, but I could have just made that up.) When I strim the edges of the lawn, the cuttings go on the pebbles and are impossible to get off without sitting for hours picking up individual blades of grass.  And it looks shit with rotten dead grass there all the time.  I decided to move the pebbles from the edge to the main raised area at the front, which already has pebbles in.  But not quite enough and so you can see the lining in places.  The raised area is edged in by a small fence.  When I say fence, it is in fact one of those crappy ready-made things from B&Q with a couple of stakes at either end that are quite frankly useless.  The weight of the pebbles and earth had caused the fence to tilt forward.  I decided to straighten the fence.  Looked easy enough.  Rake the pebbles back, pull the fence up and hammer it back in straight.  Half an hour tops.  Half an hour later I was still struggling with the second panel, after giving up on the first as I was destroying the stake.  I would come back to that one.  With every blow of the hammer onto the block of wood I was using to protect the fence another bit of wood fell off the fence.  I was taking many steps backwards and the fence was looking many times worse than it had when I started.  Fortunately my dad decided to call round for an impromptu visit and spent 10 minutes laughing at me and my failure to straighten a small fence.  He then gave me tips on what he would do involving the words "wall" and "concrete".  As it's a rented house I can't really undertake major building operations like that, nor would I like to spend that much money.  The landlady has given me permission to make minor improvements to the garden, as I have been doing, but only to tidy it up and get rid of anything which is obviously dead, shit or overgrown.  When my dad left I decided to carry on with trying to just get the fence back to how it was.  Things did not go to plan.  The next thing I knew half the fence was on the floor in pieces and I was hitting it with a spade.  A spade that slipped out of one hand and rebounded into my arm leaving a rather nice lump and bruise.  Of course, this didn't improve my mood much and quickly led to the rest of the fence joining it's deceased brethren.  After the dust settled and Sharon deemed it safe to return, we stood looking at the place the fence used to be and a place that quite obviously needed a fence to be there again.  Sharon disappeared into the house and returned with my car keys.  We were going to B&Q.  We returned a short time later with some decking.  The cheapest wood known to mankind.  I assume it must grow naturally and abundantly in routed and treated planks, because how else can they afford to sell in for less than £2 a plank? 

So, I was going to build a fence.  Seemed simple enough.  Hammer in stakes and screw planks of wood to the stakes.  The planks are 2.4 metres long and the hole 4 metres.  A 2.4 metre and 1.6 metre run was called for.  I measured and cut everything and hammered in the stakes.  All the time I could sense the time marching on.  The quick job of moving a few pebbles, followed by sitting in the garden drinking beer in the sun had completely gone out of the window.  It was now build a fence and get it done before tea so we could maybe go to the pub after tea.  My mood had not improved much.  But it turns out that anger is quite useful when hammering stakes into the ground and it was a temporary release.  I got the 2.4 metre run up in no time.  I got the first plank on for the 1.6 metre run and the battery went on my electric screwdriver.  With the battery went my will.  Plus Sharon was making tea.  I decided to call it a day and resume on the morrow.  I was knackered.  It had taken me all afternoon to get nowhere.  Pub didn't happen.  Mood and tiredness meant it was a no-goer.

Sunday morning.  Up and breakfast ate.  Outside for 10 o'clock with a newly charged screwdriver and, more importantly, newly charged will.  It was raining, but that wouldn't stop me.  The old dear next door shouting "Get that job done before it rains" as she left for church spurred me on.  I quickly screwed the rest of the planks into place and announced the job completed.

Or was it?

As I had done a 2.4 metre and 1.6 metre run, it looked like two fences side by side.  Probably because it WAS two fences side by side.  That niggled me.  Mainly because it looked a bit shit.  If I overlapped the planks, doing long, short; short, long; long short, it would have a much better effect and would look like one fence.  It would also be stronger. It would require a couple more stakes, but that wasn't a problem.  I bought another stake and set about making the quick change.  Surely it was a simple job this time.  Just swap the middle two planks round.  Job done.  I took the middle two planks off and set about it.  They wouldn't go in the space.  Why won't they fit!?  Anger was rising again.  But I suppressed it and set about the task practically rather than emotionally, which had fueled the work the day before and obviously hadn't worked out too well.  As it was technically two fences, and they weren't quite level with each other, I couldn't botch it.  I tried removing the top planks but it still didn't help.  Basically I had started on uneven foundations and it had made the entire job a botch.  Self doubt and laziness set in.  I was a heartbeat away from putting it back as two fences and calling it a day, but renewed motivation struck.  I thought, if I put the botched one back together, every time I look at it I will think, "I could have done that better".  So I decided to do it better.  I dismantled the entire thing and started again.  This time using a spirit level, rather than just my eye.  Things went much better doing the job properly, with the correct tools and a clear head.  In what felt like no time at all I was nearing completion.  The battery went on my screwdriver again.  It had been a hard weekend for the poor little thing.  Even this would not stop me though.  I continued with a normal screwdriver and soon the job was complete.  I stood back and looked and for the first time all weekend was happy with what I saw.

Here enduth the saga.  Did I learn anything?  Don't hit a fence with a spade was the main lesson learnt.  Ouch! Don't cut corners was another.  In the long run you'll only end up having to do it properly anyway, so it won't actually save time.  I keep peeking out of the front window to look at my fence.  I think I love it all the more because of how much hard work it was.  Admittedly, hard work I created for myself.  Because when it actually came down to it, and I did the job properly, it wasn't a particularly big or difficult job.  Ah well.  I'm still proud of my little fence and the weekend it enveloped.

I never did move the pebbles...

Up And Running

It has been a while since my last confession.  I didn't want to blog on my running if I didn't have anything else to say apart from "my knee is still stiff when I try to run" or "I'm trying this and will see if it works".  Results people, I wanted to talk about results.  I also didn't blog about anything else, because nothing else came to mind to blog about.

Anyway, running and my knee and stuff.  My handy live-in physio gave me some exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee and  I have been doing them (almost) diligently, (almost) every day for a couple of weeks or more.  I also went to Up & Running in Manchester and got myself gait tested.  You basicaly run on a tred mill and they film you with a high speed camera and analyse you foot falls on a laptop.  It would appear I am flat-footed and so that is a major part of the reason my knees are feeling it when I run.  My legs don't line up properly.  My feet angle one way, so my ankles angle the other to compensate, then my knees angle the other way to compensate for my ankles.  A pretty penny for some new shoes with more support on the inside of my feet that straightens the whole thing up was called for.  I spent the said money and took off for a run.  No change.  1.8 miles and I stopped.  But it was my first attempt and I had only being doing my physio for one day.  A few days later (physio every day) and I tried again.  I also decided to run l mile laps around the block.  That way if my knee gave up I wouldn't have to turn round and walk the 1 - 2 miles back home.  Lap 1, felt ok.  So I continued.  Lap 2, still fine.  Lap 3, a little stiff but ok.  I decided to call it a day here and not push myself too hard.  3 miles was a good start.  A couple of days later I ran 4 miles.  Then 4 miles again.  Then went for a run with Rick and did 4.7 miles.  Things were looking up.  Sharon was stretching my legs out properly on my return from a run.  We're talking full on tortue, I'll tell you anything, just make it stop, type stretching here.  Really did the trick each time though.  My knee was feeling a little stiff, but the stretching would cure it.  This has lead Sharon to believe it is muscular and not joint related.  This is good.  It just means stretching whilst running if I stiffen up.  A bit of heels-to-bum running on the onset of a little knee-stiffness and I feel good again.

Last night I set off running with the intention of covering 5 miles plus.  I took it very easy.  Slower than my normal pace, but the goal was not speed it was distance.  After 3 miles I felt that good that I decided not to make the turn towards home and a 5.1 mile finish.  I felt too good.  So I continued along the 10Kish route I had devised a few weeks (but what feels like a running life time) ago.  I still felt good.  So I did the detour I like through the estate at the end to add on a little extra.  All in all I clocked up 6.7 miles.  This is close to my furthest ever (that being 7.25 miles).  Ok, the time was R-U-B-B-I-S-H (1hr 3mins 3secs), but that's not the point.  The point is I covered a distance like I was able to before without my knee giving up.  I'd say we're back on track here.

Success and hapiness to be back out there again

Keep On Running... Again

So, I trained for and ran 10K.  It was a resounding success.  But, where to go from here?  Onwards and upwards of course.  I have signed up for a half marathon in Liverpool on March 28th 2010.  That gives me about six months to get my distance up from 6.2 miles to 13.1 miles.  No mean feet!  I decided that if I dropped my running down from three times a week, to twice a week and aimed to increase my distance by a mile a month, I would be up to the distance at about the right time.  The gradual increase in distance would mean I would be better able to cope with it.  So I set out with a new plan and within a few days had pushed a bit beyond it and got up to 7 miles.  I ran this a few more times and even managed 7.25 miles.

Then disaster!  I set off with the aim of maybe doing 7.75 miles (I took my 7.25 mile route and just added a bit extra on to it).  I set off and I don't know whether I went too fast, or if the weeks of running had taken it's toll, but something wasn't right.  My legs felt heavier and after a couple of miles it was becoming a pain to run.  Nothing was agony, but my legs felt very stiff and every step was an effort.  After 3 miles I had abandoned all hope of 7.75 miles and was thinking more of 7 miles.  Then I decided to drop it down to my 6.7 mile route.  In the end I did my 6.2 mile route.  And it HURT.  It hurt a lot.  The last 3 miles were trudging pain.  And it was bad pain.  Not the pain of the wall, but the pain of something being wrong.  I STUPIDLY ignored it and pushed on hoping all would be well.  It wasn't.  My legs were stiff and the next day my right knee was still stiff.  This is the first time my right knee had had anything wrong with it when running.  My left knee had been a little clicky, but my right knee had been silent up until now.  It's worth mentioning that my right knee had been an issue a few years ago and had been the driving force in my stopping doing TaeKwonDo, but I had had no issues in ages.  Besides, this felt different.  I decided to rest it for a few days and see what happened.

9 days later my knee had started to feel ok.  Sharon had done some physioing and had said that there was nothing obviously wrong and, if I felt up to it, to try running, but to stop at the first sign of problems.  Also, to stretch better before and after my run.  I put on my running shoes and off I went.  It was glorious.  Out running again after 9 days of missing it.  The first mile was great.  I say the first mile, that should be the only mile, because out of nowhere it stiffened up again.  I ran on for a few hundred yards, but decided not to make matters worse.  I stopped and looked down at my watch.  I had been running just shy of 11 minutes.  RUBBISH!!!  I turned round and began the trudge home.  It was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E-! I felt so defeated.  This was the first run that had actually beat me.  I'd felt pain and like I couldn't (shouldn't, on one occasion) go on.  But I had never stopped before.  I cut a tragic figure walking along Brangy Road.  Being taunted (in my mind) by the runners gliding past.  I had a bright windproof jacket and shorts on.  I was obviously a runner.  But I wasn't running.  I was walking.  There is a no more pathetic figure in the running community.  I was almost hoping for a limp to manifest itself.  At least that would show why I wasn't running.

Beaten.

That was yesterday.  Today is a new day.  Unfortunately, my knee is not a new knee.  It's stiff.  Once again I am asking myself that question.  Where to go from here?  I have loved these past few months.  The feeling of really acheiving something.  Covering the sort of distance that cause people to spit their drink out when they ask how far you ran is great.  Feeling like I'm getting properly fit.  Also, vainly, seeing the scales drop by half a stone in a few weeks and then level off there because you are building muscle.  Which you can see is making a difference to your overall build when you look in the mirror is a very nice byproduct, I can't deny. To see it possibly all be for nothing sucks.  I don't want to let that go, so I did some surfing (of the web variety.  My knee certainly isn't up to standing on a plank of wood, in the ocean, at the mercy of Mother Nature).  I have found this.  It seems to make sense and is worth a try.  It means a trip to Up And Running for some gait testing and probably the purchase of new running shoes, maybe with insoles (a costly exercise).  It also means some hard work with Sharon on the exercise/physio side of things (handy having your own personal physio).  If it means I can get back to something that has given me such pleasure over the past few weeks it will be worth it.  If not, then I tried.  And the fat bastard sat on couch can look back and remember his 8 weeks of glory.

The Beatles Remastered

The Beatles remastered albums have been with us for a few weeks now. I have listened to them a couple of times and am ready to make my decision on whether they were worth the money. It is an easy answer and one I could have given almost as soon as McCartney finished shouting "1, 2, 3, 4" on I Saw Her Standing There. The answer is they are worth every penny and more. To think I have been a fan all this time and have never truly heard their music as it was meant to be. Every nuance. Every drum beat, strum, chord, harmony and mistake. Yes, mistakes. It adds character to hear Lennon start to wander on the lyrics and then be reeled in by McCartney singing the line stronger to keep him in place. You can almost hear Lennon saying, "Oh yeah, I was thinking of the last verse." Such was the speed in which the early albums were recorded, these were seen as "close enough". Now, and indeed later with The Beatles, time is taken to listen to every note in minute detail to iron out these "mistakes". I think they have a place on the early recordings and am happy to hear them.

The biggest change with the remasters over the CD version released in 1987 is the bass. McCartney was (is) a very talented bassist and now I can hear that in all it's glory. I never realised quite how much the bass drove some songs. A song like Hello Goodbye which I thought to be an average Beatles track is now a joy with it's progressive bass rhythm. The drum beats are also crisper and clearer. Giving me a new found respect for Ringo. He really did some excellent drumming and the songs are all the better for his contribution. This can now be heard.

The harmonies and double tracking of voices is now clearer. You can still hear the voices perfect blending, but tilt your head and listen and you can pick out the individual voices. That high note is McCartney. Harrison is providing the the "Ooooooooo"s. Lennon the "Ahhhhhhh"s. On a double tracked voice you hear the two voices combining in perfection. Rather than almost hearing one voice with what could be echo, or double tracking, or ?

The timbre on the orchestral arrangements is amazing. You can almost feel the bow against the cello or violin on Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby. The brass on Penny Lane feels as if the band are in the room with you, such are the quality and depth of these new remasters.

I could go on to analyse every instrument and what it's remastering has improved. To cut a long story short. If there is an instrument being played, it just sounds better. That is also true of a certain blackbird.

As a whole the entire project has been a resounding success. The music is crisper and clearer. The drums and bass are at a level where they support and drive the melody as they should. And the melody is like being in the recording studio with the band in it's quality.

So, which is my favourite album? Difficult to say. It depends what the criteria are. I would have to choose 4, each for differing reasons. I'll do them in chronological order.

1. Help!
This is the album of a pop group at the top of their game. They had conquered the world and they could do no wrong. Every song is a winner. From Help! to Yesterday. From You've Got To Hide Your Love Away to I've Just Seen A Face. There is no filler on this album (not that there is on any really). Even Act Naturally suits Ringo's voice. This is the early Beatles at their best.

2. Revolver
Everyone says that Sgt Pepper's was the album that changed the world, that it was innovative and original. Where this may be not entirely untrue, Sgt Pepper's owes it's "uniqueness" and overdubbed near perfection to a change that was conceived on Rubber Soul in part (Norwegian Wood in particular), but leapt upon with Revolver. Tracks like Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, Love You To (sitar and tabla), I'm Only Sleeping (backwards guitar) and Tomorrow Never Knows (tape loops and entire song in one chord) were the real innovative and world changing beginnings of the revolution. Sgt Pepper's was the more polished "we know what we're doing now" offering. Revolver (as the name almost indicates, but McCartney said they just thought was funny because it's what a record does) was the real change.

3. The Beatles (White Album)
After "finding themselves" in India and writing many, many songs. This album is almost a collection of solo songs. Almost but not quite. It is still The Beatles working (mostly) in harmony. Ringo walking out and McCartney drumming on Back In The USSR springs to mind. It does signal the start of The Beatles finding their own way as individual artists as they would soon become. I think this is a great thing. On no other album ever will you find so much variety and differing in styles. No song sounds like any other. This is greatly demonstrated after McCartney finishes screaming Why Don't We Do It In The Road, to then gently sing I Will. How many albums could offer the beauty of Julia, the noise of Helter Skelter, the weirdness of Revolution #9 and the poppiness of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. I haven't even listed all the different styles there either. I would have to do a complete track listing.

4. Abbey Road
This album has some stand alone greats like Something, Oh Darling!, Come Together and Here Comes The Sun. But it is as a collection that this album delivers. The medley on the second half of the album in particular. McCartney said they were simply using bits of songs that they had in a useful way. But the whole becomes so much more than the sum of it's parts. The album, quite simply, is a swan song by a band who had learned how to get it right. It says, "This is how you do an album". It is a masterpiece and about as close to perfect as one album can ever be. Any more analysis would only diminish how much it works. The first half gets you in the mood with great tracks and the second half carries you (literally) to The End.

The Big Race - City Of Salford 10K

So, the big day. Early start, had to be at the Lowry between 8 - 8:30, to start the race at 9:30. They close the roads off, so you need to get there before to ensure you get in. I was up at a similar time as on a work day (6:45am!) and had a quick breakfast of museli and a cup of coffee. I then decided this wasn't calorific enough and had some chocolate pop tarts for good measure.

We arrived easily enough and milled around watching all the much obviously fitter and more commited runners than us warm up. We pretended to do some daft stretches and then figured that actual stretching was in fact a good idea and limbered up. That hour of waiting was worse than the actual race, we were keen to get going. The start time came and we were off. Rick said to not try and keep up with everyone and just run at our own pace and let people pass us. Then when the siren went he was off out of the blocks and sprinting across the bridge with me shouting for him to slow down. I was aiming for a time of around 55 mins, that's (easy maths) 5.5 mins per km. After 1k we had been running for 4.5 mins. I continued telling Rick to ease off. After 2k and a time of 9 mins I decided I couldn't keep this pace up for the whole 10k and eased off a little myself. Rick got the message and dropped back. It was a fairly quiet affair for the first few K. It was just the sound of a peaceful Sunday morning and the footfalls of a few hundred people, indespered with the odd bit of panting. By 4km me and Rick were waffling as normal, it helps us run. We eat up the miles that way. The 5km point was marked by a water station. We wondered whether to do the classic swig of water, rest over your head, drop the cup. I managed to get a face full of water just trying to drink whilst running (it's an aquired skill I think). It was some sort of energy drink and I was rather sticky. I decided against pouring it over my head and finished it. We then had a few K of running down a straight road. This was the most gruelling bit. Just wathcing the runners and road disappearing into the distance and then seeing the leaders coming the other way on the other side of the road. You ran round a roundabout and ran back down. I particularly flagged on this bit. It was boring more than anything. We entertained ourselves by chatting to a bloke who was running a similar pace and coming up with comedy slogans about winning and losing. Some favourites were, "Winning is everything, taking part is nowhere."... "It's not whether I win or lose, it's whether I beat YOU!" and, "It's not the winning or losing that counts, it's whether you beat those girls running in tutus!" We eventually got over the long stretch and hit the 8km mark. We approached the island with The Lowry on again. Rick was keeping pace with me and it was agreed I could happily maintain my pace on my own if he felt he wanted to motor on from the 9km point. Around the 9km mark you run past the finish line. A little demorilaising to be so near but so far. Fortunately our girls were there cheering us on and that gave me the spur I needed. We even managed to pose for a photo mid run. Rick motored off and I attempted to keep up for about 2 strides then decided I couldn't do it. I upped my pace from my original pace but let Rick go. He afterwards felt guilty for this, but I was cool with it. Especially as I picked out a bloke ahead in a white T-shirt and thought, "I'm going to try and beat him." He was going a similar pace and was far enough ahead that I would have to open up a little and drive on. I caught him just before the final bend and by this point I was really running. As I rounded the last bend it became apparent that he had started sprinting too. We bizarrely ended up in a sprint finish with loads of people cheering us on. I'm happy to say I didn't look back and just kept running and came in ahead of him. The point was, of course, to finish in a time I was happy with, but that competitive streak in me got a little buzz out of it. I remembered to hit stop on my watch just after I passed the line and had finished in an unofficial time of 52 mins and 48 secs. As I was aiming for 55 mins I was VERY happy with this. Unfortunately the official time has not yet been posted yet and I can't remember the route to post that either.
Rubbish!

Afterwards I felt fine very quickly. My calves stiffened up from sittiing in the car and my knee was a little stiff later on. Although I felt nothing in my knee at all whilst running.

I managed to get £212.01 sponsorship for my efforts and would like to thank everyone for that. Good stuff people. We did well. I'm sure the kids supported by the NSPCC are grateful too.

Half marathon in March...........

Lucky Number 7

This is it. The final week (as far as the 10K goes anyway, not for my running). The schedule is as follows.

Monday: run for 40 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 30 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: run 10k race

A fairly easy going week by previous standards. Really just keeping my body used to running. No pushing it or anything. That is when most injuries happen. When you push yourself at the end of training just before whatever it is you're training for. I chose to avoid that mistake and took it easy. Not much to say on either Monday or Wednesday's run. I ran 4.88 miles on Monday and 3.4 miles on Wednesday. Pretty much stuck to the 40 and 30 mins. Both runs were fine. The training is done. I am ready!

Rick did a run on Monday where he did 5.2 miles in 40 mins. That is monsterously quick! We have agreed to run the big 10K together at whatever pace we can both manage. From Rick's much faster time that means we run as fast as I can manage. I am aiming for 55 minutes.

You may have noticed that I am writing this before the end of the week. It is now Thursday. I will write another blog after the big race. I just wanted to get down my thoughts before hand.

So far my sponsorship is going great. I am up to £192.01. I really want that £8 to push me into the two hundreds. Come on people, get me past that mark http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks