Well now. W5R3. Where men are bold and sheep are nervous. 20 minutes of putting one foot in front of the other for a very long time. Yes, I know I've done this before. Yes, my re-juvenated legs feel pretty good now. But on Tuesday I ran 5 minute intervals. It's a big jump. So yes, I'm a sheep and I'm nervous. I'll try for the 20 minutes, but any signs of discomfort and I'll stop and regroup. No competition, no race.
Not in Crawley today (hoorah); I'll miss the cracked pavements smeared in dog poo. Or maybe I won't. A bit of taxi-ing around first thing. My eldest has settled into her first week in a "proper" job and is excited about billing clients in 6-minute increments, plus 15p per photocopied sheet and £100 per letter. Bloody lawyers. I mention a bit of a sore shoulder blade to my poor wife who says that getting out and moving will do it good. Wise lawyers.
Up to Bedgebury. My old haunt. I know every step of my route and it's good to be home. A bit later than normal. Maybe I'll make new friends.
Blimey it's green. And there's a veritable forest of trees. Teched up and I start my walk up the hill. A smiley lady goes past with two bouncy dogs. We all say "Hello" for a while and sniff each other. Apart from the smiley lady. She doesn't sniff me. Maybe next time.
I've got my original playlist from May. When we got everyone on here who was doing W5 and we all pulled together and praised and cajoled and saw each other over the line. A post that broke records and was much more exciting than That Wedding. Happy times.
A bit of Bach to warm up. The closing chorus from BWV 198, courtesy of Philippe Herreweghe. Not as fast as Gardiner, but it's a jolly thing and I grin as the walk along. Laura tells me that I'm about to die of exhaustion and should have ensured my will is in order. Check. She counts me in and we're off and running.
The slow movement from Beethoven 7. Bruno Walter who paces it just so well. My feet do their thing. I keep an eye on my pace. Keep it nice and slow. Down a hill. Up a hill. The hill that caused me such grief a few months ago. It feels a bit hard but I dig in. Don't stop. You can do this. Keep moving your feet. The Beethoven absolutely works. I brush away a discreet tear and keep going. No-one around. Just me and trees and Ludwig.
Beethoven gives way to more Bach. The opening glorious bookend from the St Matthew Passion. Rene Jacobs in glorious SACD sound. The (terrible) French author Colette famously described Bach as "The Divine Sewing Machine". He starts up an engine and just lets it go. Glorious fantastic stuff. I keep going. The steady beat matched to my heart rate. Sort of. I think about performances I've sung in over the years. Raymond Leppard in Lincoln Cathedral under hot TV lights as a nipper. Having to sing it from memory (no scores please) with the brilliant and frightening JE Gardiner. Happy times.
Laura gives me another time check. 10 minutes in now. Am I tired? Maybe. But I'm not giving in and my legs feel okay. I can do this. Up to the Green Gate and make a right turn. A Bedgebury pickup truck slows down and the driver says "Hello" and waves. "Nice job, mate." Nice thought. Nice slow job anyway.
More gentle up and down inclines and a final puff uphill to my next right turn. The big bass aria from the end of the SMP, "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein". Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau at his youthful, honeyed, golden, peerless best. Everything beautiful and shaped and completely glorious.
I've had my 15 minute check. Now it's downhill to the finish. Through a clearing of coppiced fir trees. Trotting along, the smell of pine and DFD soothing me along. Does life ever get better than this?
And I'm done.
Laura says "Well done". I have a hanky (of course) so I can have a bit of a celebratory cry. Not the big emotional thing like the first time. But, yeah, a bit weepy. 20 mins is a big deal, whether it's your first time or whether it's trying to get back on track.
A suite of daft chipper Lully Ballet music cues in. "Stick Insect Music" as a lecturer of mine once described it. But it's oomphy and it swaggers. So I swagger too. I feel like a runner again. Trees and ferns say a virtual "Well done". So I swagger a bit more.
Job done. Nice and slow. Legs feel a bit tired. I'm more than a bit sweaty. The EJBs have nestled down and are having a bit of a snore in my pocket. All is well with the world. Week 5 revisited and put to bed.
Roll on W6 and 25 minutes. Time to put away the app now. Just me and my HRM and faffing with earbuds that fall out. And maybe some music that's a bit pacier. Only a bit tho. I'm still in rehab and next physio appointment tomorrow. But I'm feeling a whole helluva lot better now.
Bach and Beethoven got me through today in style. They're good blokes. And maybe they were looking out for me this morning. Hope so.
Happy running to everyone. Keep at it. It's great out there. xx
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sallenson
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Felt good out there today. Not full-on "kissing the tarmac" (I did that the first time around lol) but proved I'm not completely broken any more. I'll catch you up soon enough xx
What a lovely post. So well-written. Thanks and happy running!
Lil x
PS - not a religious person but I found another appropriate bit of the SMP for you - "Befiel du deine Wege... Der allertreusten Pflege... Er will auch Wege Finden, Daß dein Fuß gehen kann. " - "Commit your path... to the most faithful caretaker... he will find ways for your feet to follow as well."
What a fantastic post from you Stephen, I am very happy to now know that you completed week 5, run 3 in 20 minutes without any problems regarding your legs apart from being a little sweaty. I like that warning post above saying stay away.
Love your music choice for running, nice to know you sang in Lincoln Cathedral with Raymond Leppard conducting with ("with the brilliant and frightening") John Elliot Gardener directing the choir, and on the television as well, wow. At the time your post came through to me I was listening at home to Brahms 2nd Symphony with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowski, good for listening to at home but I don't think running to that music would be advisable. I bet you are now looking forward to the 25 minute run of week 6, you will just miss out run 1 and 2 of week 6 and go on to the 3rd run.
I remember the Group The Sweet from the 1970's, they had great hits like Blockbuster, Sweet Fanny Adams, Ballroom Blitz, Rebel Rouser and a really good hit for us runners called Fox on the Run, I still hear some of those being played on those 'Gold Oldie' radio stations from time to time.
It was a very funny time but although I liked the music of the Bay City Rollers and another group from Edinburgh area called Pilot, I never wore a kilt (except when I was 5 and at Sunday School) at that time and certainly never wore a footie scarf or shirt ever, I am not into football, I prefer to watch athletics or cycling on TV.
Hope your week 6, 25-minute run goes well for you. Once you do that run I would just miss the 28 minute one and go for week 9's 30-minute run, graduate part 2.
I’ve seen Quo! My son thought it would be funny to get me and his dad standing right at the front 😁. Crikey, they don’t mess about. No wonder i have trouble with my ears.
I run to The Oriental. Terribly un-pc but the driving beat is perfect 💪🏃♀️
Fantastic Stephen! ‘Classic Sallenson’ I’d say! And really back on track now. Good memories that when we had run 20 mins we all thought the program was possible. Congratulations! Surely the physiological will be pleased with you.
I didn’t you you are in a family full of lawyers - I wonder if you can help - I’ve had an accident at work and wondered if I can claim compensation on a no win / no fee basis? The accident was I became a teacher - please help! 😂
Brilliant! Sounds like niggles are banished and you’re fully back in action again now, Stephen! Well done on the big 20, and good luck with Physio tomorrow. (Will be disappointed if Andrew doesn’t give you a 10!) 😃😃🏃♂️❤️
(Give the EJBs a gentle kick from me and tell them they’re going to need to stay awake for longer... 😂)
Cheers, hon. I'll let you know what Andrew says tomorrow. Feeling a lot better now, but have an un-related ache between my shoulder blades caused by inadequate chairs in Crawley and probably sleeping funny. These old tired bodies eh? :-
Well done! 👊 It’s an emotional milestone that one, onward and upwards - hope physio goes well - I put a couple LZ on my 160bpm playlist- they push you along 😀
That sounds good. Given that The Divine Andrew wanted me out and running again and I'd only had a few weeks of IC I reckoned that doing one run from each week (at least the early ones) was okay. But if I'd been any longer or hadn't had Andrew I'd be doing it a little step at a time. But I'll see how it goes. In my head I've got W6 tomoz (25mins), W8 on Monday (28mins) and W9 on Wednesday (the Big 30).
I'll see what that looks like and if I can do 30, what the distance is and then apply the 10% Rule for distance on a week-by-week basis.
Unless Andrew tells me something different today.
Keep running around, eh? We'll get there babe xxxx
Excellent! Glad to hear you managed the 20 mins run - that really does feel like the turning point. Hope Andrew is happy with your progress and gives you a 10!
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Hail.. techno hitch... but w9r3 done🤗
Freaking out about W5!
W5 R3, I was so close...
W5R3 conquered!🏃♀️🏃♀️🏅🏅
