Author: Jeff

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Run, run, run

Pic of the week 28/1/18

When the new year dawned, I hit the roads, but slowly. I knew Christmas, and my pre-Christmas injury (pulled left hamstring) would have taken their toll, but I must confess that I was surprised as to how slow I was running.

Four weeks on, and that has significantly changed. Today I ran 9K (my typical 7K loop, with the extra 1K from the Hinhayes loop added on, but continued onto the High Street to push it up to 9K) and I ran those 9Ks quickly.

To be fair, last week I was fairly swift around 8Ks, but today I logged PBs for 7K, 8K and 9K:

  • 7K 32 min 3 secs
  • 8K 36 min 48 secs
  • 9k 41 min 27 secs

I’m impressed with myself.  Next step must be to start making 9K the standard Sunday run (although, ironically, shan’t be running for next two Sundays: refereeing next week, Legends game the week after) and then push it up to 10K.

And  the pic of the week? Nothing to do with running, but Becky’s been painting the bathroom. Today we ordered the lino, so in three weeks time, it’ll all be done.

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Motorcycle Emptiness – Manic Street Preachers


Track of the week 21/1/18
Always liked this.  I think it marks the passing of my engagement with the “current” music scene – much music from the early nineties onwards is a void to me and I have tended to look backwards from about this point.

Of course, Scouting for Girls have proven to be the exception to that rule and I was not deaf to Oasis, Blur, Pulp etc., but much after this song and I would start to lose the chronology of what came when.

Anyway, not a bad track.

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Rainy days and Sundays

Pic of the week 21/1/18

It’s been a wet old week, and today it has not stopped raining at all.

What do you do with grey January days? Not a lot. Get up, go to work, come home. At least the evenings are noticeably lightening – on a bright day its still light at 5pm, but on another, when the clouds cover the skies, its just damp and gloomy.

Went for a run today in the incessant rain. Perhaps it was the desire to get back into the dry and warmth, but I’m covering the k’s quickly – did 8Km in 37min 00 secs, a personal best. Chuffed with that.

Was due to referee today, but the game was called off yesterday – must admit I was pleased about that. I enjoy refereeing, but it takes up too much of my Sunday when it is my only day off.  Have settled into of a nice routine of getting up, running, stretching, showering and then enjoying my breakfast, before just loafing for the rest of the day (which will include reading & snoozing in the afternoon) Have just been appointed to ref a cup game in a couple of weeks, which I’ll do, but don’t think I’ll offer many/any other working week Sundays to the whistle.

On a side note, just been out to do the compost and noticed that some of the daffodils are starting to show their flower heads.  Still sometime ’till they’ll bloom, but a sign of promise of what is to come. So here’s a pic of some daff’s in the house:

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Insanity – Oceanic


Track of the week 14/1/18

Another one from the spinning stable. Heard a  snippet of this track on some spinning mash up on Friday night’s session.

A great bit of early ’90’s House.

Glad I’ve been true to myself – nearly fifty and still pumping away to tracks like this on a Friday night whilst clad in day-glo lyrca (albeit pumping the pedals on a static bike alongside 12 other middle aged men and women fighting the battle of the bulge, more like the winter of our discontent than the second summer of love.)  🙂 🙂 🙂

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January Blues

Pic of the week 14/1/18

So its mid-January (already!) and the time that we should be wallowing in the mid-January blues. Tomorrow has been nicknamed “Blue Monday”, supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

Well, not for this boyo.

Term has begum well – although hard to believe I’ve only been back a week – busy but fulfilling, getting back into the groove of regular routine. The skies have been largely leaden and white, but this afternoon the sun begun to peek through the clouds, revealing a smudge of blue sky and the light was definitely different from a month ago – just a hint that the back of winter has been broken and that, one day, Spring will come.

Ran this morning – split times a bit suspect (1st 3 k’s called too soon) but on the whole I think I was quite quick. Did a little bit of marking, and then spent a relaxing afternoon just reading, snoozing and listening to music. Quite pleasant to fritter away a Sunday afternoon, even if it does leave little to report in my weekly blog post.

(The pic this week is the kitchen looking bright, airy & welcoming. Perhaps a visual metaphor for the months ahead?)

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Dreams – The Cranberries


Track of the week 7/1/18
Following rave reviews on Radio 5 Live, on Friday night I tuned in to watch a new Channel 4 series – Derry Girls, which, I was promised, would as funny as The Inbetweeners.

It opened well, with this track (not all of it) as the backing to the opening scenes. Must confess, did have to use Google to remind me who it was, but a great track and, coupled with fact that Derry Girls was pretty funny (although still some way to go if it is going to reach Inbetweeners status), it became an obvious choice for track of the week.

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Hols End

Pic of the week 7/1/18

And so the Christmas hols draw to a conclusion.

It seems a long time since we broke up in December (that’s a good thing!) and I’ve enjoyed four weeks of family time. Nothing major to write about – no trips up the Nile, no major milestones, but also no calamities or catastrophes, just plenty of time at home with the three most important people in my life.

A week ago – new year’s eve – we settled down for a game of monopoly, great fun and no (major) fallings out!

Back to school tomorrow and I’m quite looking forward to it.  Would quite happily have another week or seven of holiday, but knowing that I’ve got to go back to work holds no dread or fear for me – I shall embrace it and enjoy it, after all, in five weeks time it’ll be February half term …

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Goals, aims and targets – 2018

2018 has arrived, so now it’s time set my goals, aims and targets for the next twelve months.

  • Run 10 Km in fewer minutes than my age in years. This one is my “biggie” for the year. Its doable, but by no means a given. Am targeting the Glastonbury 10K – conveniently after my birthday – but there are other events if I fail first time round. Will need to average 4 min 53 sec per Km – achievable on the flat, but on in an incline …
  • Run 400 Km. Nearly hit that total in 2017, should be able to do so on 2018, particularly given the goal above.
  • Swim 100 Km (3,000 lengths). An achievable, but not a given. If I swim regularly should be no problem. Swim at least once a week.
  • Spinning. Spin for a total of 2 days (48 hours)
  • Weight. I finished 2017 with a long term established weight of 12 stone 9, and I have allowed it to creep up over the Christmas period into the 13 stone bracket. Need to get that down. 12 stone 6 as my long term established weight is the goal.
  • Garden. Enjoy it! Less construction and landscaping required this year (but some still needed) Grow sunflowers and sweat peas (in addition to some basic veg)
  • My maths blog – keep blogging. Write a new post at least once per month, and write a minimum of 15 posts over the course of the year.
  • Sleep. A somewhat nebulous aim, but when I think about it, sleep – or perhaps I should say tiredness – is the thing I’d like to change most about my life this year. No target, but I shall aim to think about my sleep, my patterns and routines and what I can do to improve it/get more of it/reduce/manage my tiredness.
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2017 – A year in pictures

Some of my favourite pictures from the year just gone, in vague chronological order.

Sophie passed her driving test

I built a new deck

The Nissan Almera died, so we replaced it with a convertible mini. Practical? No. Cool? Yes.

dots and spots closed

I took up yoga (loving it)

Finished fourth in my predictor league

The weather wasn’t always wonderful, but the garden grew

That was then …

Love this picture – but from ’87 not 2017, but came bout because of …

… our 30 year reunion.

A day in the sun at Burton Bradstock with Becky

… and a few days en-famile in Cornwall.

The birthday boy (age 15) is now taller than me

My Legends team finally won a game (and drew another!)

Sophie turned 18

Hard to remember them both as young as this

A warm, dry, colourful autumn …

… and I discovered napping as a new hobby.

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2017 – How did I do?

So how did I do?

At the start of the year, here, I listed my goals, aims and targets for the year. 2016 now draws to a close – time to review how I did …

  • Run 300Km – a much lower target than I set myself last year, but not a target I met, completing 296 Km in 2016.  Should be do-able despite the demands on my time from other physical pursuits (swimming, spinning, referee-ing and who knows what for 2017) Smashed it. Ran 390 Km, running for 1 day 7 hours and 15 minutes. My only disappointment was I didn’t break the 400K mark. Was all set to do so, when on the Friday before Christmas, I tore/pulled/tweaked my hamstring refereeing and I haven’t been able to run since.
  • Run up the Tor. In the summer of 2016, when I was regularly running, I set myself this goal for 2017: to run from home to the tor, run all the way up the tor, and then run back again. This is a tough ask, particularly as I am not running as much as I did last year. Would be a real achievement to do so. If I don’t write it down, it wont happen.  Think I’ll have to target the summer hols to do it, if I’m going to do it. Not even close. Didn’t even contemplate this once during the year. Perhaps a goal to keep on the back burner?
  • Swim 150Km (4,500) lengths.  Toyed with putting in a higher total – I did 200Km, 6000 lengths in 2016, but don’t think I’ll be swimming as much this year as last, so have given myself a very achievable target to ensure that I do make it. Swam much less this year, probably falling into fourth place as activity of choice, after referring, running, and spinning. However, still managed to swim 2244 lengths – 74.8Km – over the course of 1 day, 4 hours and 15 mins.
  • Gardening: 2016 was all about the structure of the garden, this year I hope to focus more on the planting. So this year I want to: plant raspberry canes & rhubarb, grow and eat runner beans, peas, courgette and onions and grow some sweet peas and sunflowers. Raspberry canes and rhubarb planted, along with beans, peas & courgettes which were all grown and eaten. No sweet peas or sunflowers, though.  Need to make them a target for next year. Built the deck where the old summer house was, really enjoyed the garden this year: creating it, tending it and just sitting in it.
  • Refereeing – enter the promotion programme from Level 7 to Level 6.  Promotion year runs from March to Feb so won’t be able to clinch promotion in 2017, but hopefully will be a significant way down the track. Decided against entering the promotion scheme, it would have been difficult to have got in the required 20 Open Age games as I’m not normally available on Saturdays.  Refereed circa 60 games and 7 as Assistant Referee. Did a couple of cup finals.  Have continued to enjoy it, but not so sure I want to give up every term time Sunday to the whistle, have started to limit my availability.
  • Weight: before the Christmas excesses, I would say that my “normal” weight was 12 stone 7 (today its up around 12 stone 12).  I aim to be back at 12 stone 7 within 3 weeks and establish 12 stone 6 as my “normal” weight (normal weight: allows a swing of 3 lbs each way, so range between 12 3 and 12 9 following a festival of feasting) Weight has crept up, and needs to be kept in check.  Quoting my TwiXmas weight as 13 stone 0 and my long term weight in the last few months of the year was 12 stone 9.
  • My maths blog: this was an aim I failed last year, and want to rectify again.  Write at least twice a month on my maths blog – A Maths Teacher Writes Not bad – 15 posts this year, so not twice a month, but a good healthy number of posts.

Another successful year. Other key highlights from 2017 include:

  • Attending school reunion. Hard to believe it was 30 years since we left, was great to reconnect with so many from my formative years. A highlight of the year. Blogged about it here.
  • Sophie passed her driving test in March
  • Becky shut up shop, closing her dots and spots business in April
  • The silver Nissan Almera died, and we replaced it with the soft top Mini – our mid-life crisis car.
  • No mention of spinning in my targets for 2017, but I pushed the pedals for just shy of two days: 1 day 23 hours and 15 mins in the saddle, burning a total of 38,901 calories.
  • YOGA – took up yoga this year. One of the best things I have done in a long while. I’m far more supple than I was this time last year and, despite being a big cynic when I first took to the mat, I’m beginning to see the benefits of its relaxation and mindfulness. Meditate on that!