Run run run!

As some of you have noticed from my Nike widget just over yonder, my runs have recently gone from a gentle, relatively normal 'hmmmm, that looks like a decent jog' to 'WTF YOU CRAZY BITCH?!'

This is because my third Dysart Dash 10k is coming up and I'm going all out to be awesome. 

For my first Dysart Dash I was just pleased to have actually finished the thing without wheezing my way to the finish line like an oxygen-deprived speshul, although truth be told I felt like one. My second Dysart Dash was an altogether more troubling run, because I'd buggered my knee up a few months beforehand and only really got to do a couple of practice runs before the actual day; perversely, my knee actually seemed to click back into place during the 10k, and felt awesomely better afterward. 

My times for the last two years were a remarkably consistent 55:55 in 2006 and 55:56 in 2007. My initial multi-year plan (yes, I actually had a plan) was to cut a couple of minutes off my 2006 time in 2007, but of course that knee injury put paid to that – something I plan to rectify this year.

Rather than just run my usual route around the roads near Sparky Towers I've recently been jumping in the car and driving to Richmond Park for ludicrous runs amidst the deer, squirrels, rabbits, cyclists, and other stupid runners like me who've managed to convince themselves that this kind of thing is actually fun.

A quick aside - I've noticed a design flaw with bunnies. When they run away from you they flash a brilliant white patch of fur that is kind of a like a homing beacon for predators (of the winged variety, not the Arnie-battling kind). Seriously, one was sitting perfectly still last night, then it moved, flashed it's white bit, and I was immediately drawn to it. Someone needs to go back to the drawing board there. Or at least get some Garnier Nutrisse Cream.

Anyway, I digress. So yes, I've been doing this other route, and quite frankly it's great. Sweatband did it with me the first time, but has subsequently bottled it. After years of staggering along behind her while she shouted "C'MON!" the pupil has become the master, and she's certain I'm going to beat her in the 10k. I'm not so sure, however, mainly because she's a wily devil and is probably trying to lull me into a false sense of security before pushing me into a bush or the River Thames on the day.

Still, she did send me a text after seeing my Nike Plus data that just said "I'm scared of you!" so I must be doing something right.

The only thing that is troubling me a little bit is that my iPod Nano is playing up a little bit, and has started threatening to bugger up all my running data, as shown by the fact that it conveniently forgot to record my calorie count last night. I really don't want it messing things up on the day, because my Nike Plus running data and that crazy green graph have become vitally important to me. All of which means I might just have to buy a new one. 

Any excuse, huh?