TheyPod IRun

A la Kath I have been oft pounding the treadmill of late. So rather than actually write something, I'm going to tell you what I have been listening to:

Walk Away - Dropkick Murphys
That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
Debaser - Pixies
Tundra Rap - from The Mighty Boosh
Farewell Rocketship - Children Collide
Fruit Machine - The Ting Tings
I'm the Hitcher - also from The Mighty Boosh
Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys
Jungle Drum - Emiliana Torrini
Polka - Yves Klein Blue
Casino - Philadelphia Grand Jury
Stop the Rock - Apollo 440 (I don't care - this is a great running song)
Know Your Product - The Saints
Orgasmatron - Motorhead
Dead Cities - The Exploited

Quasi folky punk seems to feature quite heavily.

Also, I ran 12k in 50:26 yesterday. Which was nice.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Running Man

Ever since I returned to Adelaide in 2000 I've been telling people I'm going to run the City to Bay in less than an hour. That means running at at least 12kph for, well, one hour.

I've had two tilts at it, the last being maybe four years ago, and the goal still stands. My training regime then was less than ideal though. As the days counted down I kept revising my fitness plan until it became a 4k run today, tomorrow off, then 6k on Friday and the race on Sunday. Of that attempt I can only say that I managed to run, Cliff Young style, the whole way; and that there is no shame in being overtaken by female walkers who started 1/2 an hour after me.

Things are going to be different this time.

God knows we can't afford it, but we bought a treadmill a few weeks ago (what would Peter Singer think?) and nearly every second day I've been firing it up and pounding out the days frustrations; after the frustrations have been put to their respective bed and crib.

I used to be a treadmill cynic. When I lived in the Territory I used to run regularly on bush tracks. Those tracks provided privacy for my red-faced endeavours, fantastic scenery and the odd adrenalin burst when I encountered a snake or a water buffalo. The hard straight lines of the suburbs are comparatively dull and I hate having to straighten up, hold my breath and pick up the pace every time I pass a pedestrian or fellow jogger. Pride does indeed come before the infarction. Anyway that, and the control a treadmill provides, made me agree to the purchase (although my agreement was purely decorative) when Knickers suggested it as a means for a post baby fitness kick.

I'm alternating a slow one hour run with a faster paced interval run for between twenty and thirty minutes and making some improvement in my fitness. The best I've managed is 11k in an hour, so Istill have to squeeze in an extra k somewhere over the next four weeks.

While the fitness is improving, the ageing body is packing up. I had to run for the train this morning and the pain in my cold knees and ankles was near crippling. I fear one of these days I will find out that stretching before and after exercise is not just another lie brought to us by the 'don't eat and swim' people.