Less than a month to go

Ok, it is really starting to get very real now, and it is coming round very quickly.

Before too long my training is supposed to start tapering, can you believe that, the last 2 weeks before the run and I'm supposed to taper my training, there are those out there who think I started my tapering around about 12 weeks ago, but I can assure you I have now logged over 250 training miles (unfortunately an ipod malfunction appears to have lost some of my runs including my 16 miler last weekend).

I have also had some criticism from some regarding the content of my blog, and that it had originally started out to be a window onto the sole of a man undertaking the hardest phyiscal and mental challenge of his life, and instead (although very interesting) has become a window onto one mans view of the England Rugby Team - GO ON ENGLAND.  But I feel I can draw a number of similarities from my running and the England team, no one thought they could get this far and it is sheer determination rather than form and prearation that is keeping them going.

So apologies, but I will try and get the blog back on topic for those that prefer to read about my physical and mental anguish and pain.

South Africa 36 - England 0

I couldn't believe it, I know we haven't been good lately, and I know that we were without some key players, namely 1 in Wilko, but seriously, we were really bad.  I honestly thought that we might have a chance, and as I took my seat in the fantastic Stade de France, amidst 000's of England shirts and plenty of Green (including the 3 blokes directly in front of us with painted green heads). I felt proud.  

As we stood to sing the National Anthem (my first on foreign soil) the England faithful belted out God Save the Queen with great gusto (compared to the SA boys who had the words written on a little piece of paper), I even started to believe that we were going to do it.  The underdogs come good, I mean, this certainly seems to be the world cup for it, what with the Argies beating France, Ireland almost losing to Georgia, Tonga beating Samoa, the stage was set, the atmos electric, and the crowd fuelled on non-alcoholic beer (only in France).

The game started and for the first 3-4 minutes I felt that the £10 bet I had was safe, oh how naive! 

I know we didn't have a flyhalf (and a special thank you to the South Africans in front of me for reminding me of that at every opportunity), but for me the problem was not that Mike Catt was playing out of position, or his age, but mainly the fact that the players who should be stepping up aren't.  I would like to take this opportunity to remind the forwards that they are wearing an England shirt and playing for our country, this should be done with pride, passion and desire, and I would suggest that all our forwards watch and rewatch the France v Nambia game from Sunday night to see what they should do when they get given the ball and space.  Chabal, took the ball in his own half, and had only one thought on his mind, get to the try line, and over 50 yards later, he did, he didn't look around in a panic for a back to pass it to, he didn't try a ridiculus chip kick 5 yards from the line with only 2 men to beat and a winger on his outside, he just ran, hard and fast, and direct, full of determination, and he scored.

The backs hardly ever got the ball on Friday, and Jason Robinson was the only sharp looking back (mainly because he got the ball as the Boks continued to pepper him with the high ball), and then Matthew Tait looked sharp when he came on, but everytime he took a good line off the ball carrier, the carrier took the contact and Tait was left as the first man at the ruck trying to win the ball back.

Any way, rant over, it was a fantastic night, an embarrasment of a game, but a few beers later it was becoming a memory and as the night drew on, the singing started and at 5am as I wound my way through the streets of Paris to my hotel, singing "I know a bear that you don't know" to myself, a sudden thought hit me, bollocks, I'm supposed to do my long run this morning....

.....I didn't!

The old fella still has it

So, my schedule had me down for my 3x8 minutes hard with breaks, and well, I didn't do it. I know what you will be saying, "that boy can't stick to anything", but before you cast me aside, hear me out, as instead I went rugby training with Southgate RFC, and worked really hard.

At the moment the training is a mix of fitness, skills and fun, with some core strength work at the end, so trust me it got me out running around and out of breath. I also felt that as the schedule had me down for shorter harder bursts of running, that the training would fit well and it did.

It also finished up with the customary game of touch-rugby, again lots of explosive sprinting (not a term often used in the same sentence as me), and well, what can I say, there are a couple of the Southgate backs that are looking a little shame faced this morning, having been sold dummies and stripped for pace by the big fella.

Roll on vets rugby.....

Back to schedule today.