Reverse taper being very slow in starting

I've attempted a couple of longer runs since the marathon. But getting back on track is proving harder than I'd hoped.

Last Sunday was glorious weather (here's a beautiful scene of the Surrey hills – not mine but rather like what I saw) but I couldn't really enjoy it, as after half an hour of gentle running (chest still not properly cleared) my ITB started complaining of tightness.

Tonight I dusted off my gym card and tried things differently. A few revs of the bike, some proper stretching, a gentle 2km row, then 15 mins in and out of the sauna. Aah, that's better!

Oh, if the leisure centre people are reading this, it was me who removed the ridiculous "swimwear must be worn in the sauna" notice.

Peak District catching-up

Just got back from the Peak District, where I met up with some old friends from ... too long ago. The Cliff Road boys are scattered all over the country so it's rare that we all meet up. We Stayed in Longnor near Buxton (in this fine pub), and had far too much to eat. After breakfast, we waited in the slanted, stony High Street for the local brass band to greet each other, assemble in ranks, and march off, with the Brownies in tow.

We then drove to Thorpe, up and down dale. Thorpe is another village within the National Park, where another old uni mate lives. He told us about mud a-plenty in the Dovedale Dash (his missus does fell-running too - must visit them again and bring my trainers!) and snow in the harsh winters. Today, spectacular low sunshine picked out thousands of details during our walk in Dovedale and around. We sat outside the pub (the Izaak Walton hotel, Ilam) in strange November sun.

As we laughed and joked, well-dressed gentlemen and their ladies returned from participating. from one of the thousands of remembrance services that were held in the UK today. Years ago, gangs of lads from all over the country went out together on sunny mornings like this.

Superglue ... suprglu

The thing about Super Glue, I suppose, is that it sticks anything to anything with mimimum fuss. In theory, a universal attaching device.

Here's a new webservice that bolts your web stuff together: Suprglu.

In my case, delicious tags, flickr phots and a few blogs.

It's all done with feeds, the new string – the universal connector – of the web. It's a shame it doesn't emit feeds in of itself, but I hear that's coming.

Let's hope it doesn't stick your fingers together or go dry in the tube.

Finish medal

DSC00572.JPG
Originally uploaded by Drift Words.

At last! After the finish and the walk back to the hotel, I was able to take this picture before having a shower (aah warmth!) and a quick nap. The in-run photos are available now at Action Sports, though they are not especially pretty.

This was quite a tough run, more so than any of my rather sunny London efforts. So much so, I think, that this weekend has been more or less written off by me having a cold.

And so to bed.