Great relief on Sunday when I made it, with no increase in pain, through the Bath Half Marathon. My time of 2 hrs 35 (yes, 2’35 and yes, you did hear correctly: it was a half marathon not a full one) may not instill much confidence about my capability for completing the MdS, but it was a start. We were running on behalf of Access Sport and, in their hospitality area, I was very impressed to see footballer David James giving up his Sunday to chat to kids and talking knowledgeably about development of Malawian farming techniques. I spoke to him, very briefly, as he is considering competing in this summer’s Tough Guy race (I guess England’s footballers have all got plenty of spare time this summer…) Naturally I told him that the summer one was for wimps and that he should do the winter event.
I got my silk gaiters sewn onto my trainers, courtesy of Andy’s local cobbler. (The guy on my street had looked me up and down, decided I was a mug, chatted with his family in some far-flung tongue, tapped on his calculator and quoted me £89.82 for the work!)
Anyway, so things are looking up for the MdS (except for my plane tickets currently being in an empty house in Yorkshire, me being in London and the flight next Thursday).
Things were not looking as promising for this weekend’s canoe marathon. The Thames is in flood, we had no boat and my partner dropped out. No boat, no partner…
A quick trawl through my phone book saw me getting an ex-Para and a Commonwealth rower (aka the London Gladiator) interested. Next morning Lucy phones up to say she’s back on board. A mate heroically finds a boat that is not an instant death trap. And we even had a practice this morning! Bring on the race!
Finally – an enjoyable pub night last night with a bunch of aspiring or nostalgic cycle-adventurers. The Thorn Tree really is a great place for anyone dreaming of a bike expedition to learn more.