Author: MarathonMannUK

In the immortal words of VIctor Meldrew: “I don’t belieeeeeeeeve it!”.  First, I got diagnosed with hypothyroidism (don’t ask), then paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (trust me to get an unpronounceable heart disease), then hypertension (don’t know where that came from), in February of this year I ended up with a chest infection and now, wait for it… I’ve got flipin iron deficiency anaemia!

No wonder I’m not getting any faster despite the training and I’m jolly glad I smelt a rat and went to the doctors!  So, I’m on industrial strength iron tablets (presumably made in Scotland from girders) and have  the prospect of them sticking things up various parts of my anatomy to try and find out the root cause.  Great!

But I’m thankful for the good news: firstly I’m not going mad and I haven’t messed up my training despite all the experience I have and secondly, my GP says that a few weeks of these pills and I’ll be right as rain as far as red blood cell count is concerned and hopefully as far as running’s concerned as well!  At 55 (or nearly) WITH my current low blood count, I can still get round the famously challenging Temple Newsam parkrun in just under 27 minutes so I’m thankful for that.

So ever optimistic I say watch out, Marathon Mann may be back soon!

“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

http://bible.com/113/1th.5.18.nivuk

One of my favourite episodes of Some Mothers Do Ave Em was where Frank created havoc when attending a PR course.  He annoyed the host with the mantra “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better” which curiously is a real creation of the French self improvement guru Émile Coué.  While I couldn’t claim that all that applies to me, I do now have the feeling after scaling back my training, I am making some progress.

This evening I ran the fun-packed “Flat Cap” 5 mile trail race.  It starts near the Leggers Inn, Dewsbury and there was pie and peas together with great ale on offer afterwards.  You get extra kudos for running in a flat cap.

While I wouldn’t claim my time as fast, it wasn’t bad for the challenging terrain and more importantly I felt good.

Onwards!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

http://bible.com/113/eph.6.10.nivuk

I love the sequence in Toy Story 3, where Buzz Lightyear has his “factory reset” button pressed in order to make him think he was a real space ranger again and turn against his friends.  While his friends tried to get the real Buzz back they accidentally switched him into Spanish mode and the resulting sequence was halarious!

I have occasionally used a factory reset on my Garmin Forerunner to get it working correctly and the ability to restore any complex gadget to the state it was when it left the factory can be really useful.

I have pretty much decided that what I need in my running is a factory reset.  For whatever reason, all my intensive activity during June and July has really sapped my fitness but the decision I have come to is to simply adapt and train sensibly based on where I am.  This might sound obvious and of course I have always known this but it didn’t stop me from thinking that I was ready to do 200 miles in June (which I wasn’t) and that I could do ridiculous fell running exploits in the Alps without consequences (which there obviously are).

So what does a “factory reset” mean for me?  Firstly, reset my training to something more sensible and secondly, have realistic expectations so I’m not beating myself up after each training run or race.  After all, I’m injury free and can run; 2 blessings to start with!

Im signing-off July after running a total of 71 miles which ain’t bad and I had an amazing time in those mountains so I have no complaints.  In August I have a 5 mile race (the Flat Cap 5 on Wednesday) which will be great fun and an allegedly dead flat 10K (Escrick) on the 21st.  I’ve also signed up for the August 100 mile challenge with Awesome Running Events and I think that’s realistic given where I am.  There is also the slight detail of the Great North Run in September but since I managed to train for the London marathon in a very similar time period from practically nothing then the GNR shouldn’t be a problem unless I set my sights on a PB (which I won’t).

So reset pressed, batteries charged and ready to run!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

http://bible.com/113/2co.5.17.nivuk