Bin bag

I tend to only read autobiographies, mainly sports-related and of celebrities I've taken an interest in. A bit like running, it's a hobby I'd like to say that I enjoyed but the time (or rather lack of time) I've dedicated to it over the years means that they'll both only ever be on the 'Other interests' section of my CV to impress in the absence of anything noteworthy.

Maybe it's because, whilst I love to learn little known trivia (for which www.songfacts.com is fantastic, but you can click on that later) about subjects I'm interested in, I'm flawed by having a notoriously crap memory for that type of thing. Equally, if ever you hear me start a sentence with "Oh it's like that joke..." don't ever expect to hear the original punch line recited to good effect.

But there are a few bits I've retained from my reading. Like the struggle Tony Adams (former Arsenal footballer for my international followers*) went through with alcoholism. You'd never have known the extent of his drinking from his performances on the pitch because he'd get to training early, cut holes in a bin bag and wear it to sweat off the hangover. Incredible really that he was able to achieve so much in spite of the condition. Of course he's done sterling work since, setting up a charity and refuge for sportsmen who also suffer from addiction.

I'd intended to go out for my 3rd run in a week this evening but was having doubts this afternoon when I realised how much I'd indulged from my own form of addiction this weekend. Bacon sarnie, barbecue, lager, dessert, crisps, chocolate and my old nemesis cookies (about which I could write a whole other blog) were all on the menu at some point. But as I sat watching my 2nd game of football this afternoon I decided to put the effects to the test. What would it be like if I went out running feeling full, having been drinking Coke (zero, the guilt-free version) and without stretching or warming up. After all my father in law (formerly a very good marathon runner) had told me just last night that chocolate was good for training and that I wouldn't need to diet if I was running regularly. So off I went....

By way of quick background and to underline that I really am starting from scratch, I'm in week 2 of a training schedule, helpfully provided by the MS Society as part of their assistance to people who volunteer for them. That is, week 2 of two separate 12 week programmes, one for beginners (which I'm on) and one for intermediates. So this week I'm running for 2mins, walking for 2mins and repeating that 4 times i.e. a total of 10mins running, 10mins walking.

By the middle of my 2nd running interval, I was regularly burping from all the coke. Despite my running top feeling a little more streamline from being bloated I was running at a slightly improved pace. Ok it was slightly uncomfortable, but maybe the carbs & sugar were working?

If that was the case my performance dipped as quickly as it improved. Whereas in my last run I got a stitch just a few yards from the end of my 5th and final running stint, this time it came at the end of my 3rd, making the final two sets much tougher and consequently slower.

So lesson learned. I'll spare you the body being an engine/temple metaphors but simply conclude that I may have used the advice as an excuse to try and get away with old bad habits, only taking it too far.

I did run long enough to have another realisation. The autobiographies that I look back on and rate so highly are the ones where, cliché as it is, triumph overcomes adversity. I vividly admired and still recall Richard Branson's struggles to build an empire and Lance Armstrong's gruelling description of each stage of testicular cancer. Nick Faldo on the other hand shot 82 in his first game of golf at the age of 14. Just as impressive in it's own way, but not awe-inspiring.

If I can apply anything I've learnt from Tony Adams to my own life it's that I don't want to have to do all that running dressed in a bin bag. Not least because if I carry on indulging like I have this weekend it might in time be the only thing that fits me!

MM

* note the naive confidence/expectation levels of how widely this will, in time, be read