Cross Country Running

Back in blighty.

I arrived back from Australia on Friday lunchtime. It is so nice to look down on the English countryside as you fly into Heathrow and feel the crisp air as you get off after being cooped up for 25 hours on an aircraft or in a terminal in Dubai.

Actually I was very lucky and got upgraded to First Class on the 14 hour leg from Sydney to Dubai. I can recommend First Class in Emirates. In First Class you get your own little cabin, flat bed, personal mini bar, 23 inch television and food cooked on demand. I got a good 6 hours sleep and watched some films – I can thoroughly recommend a film called “The Children of Huang Shi”. It is not yet out in the UK but was a good film of a true event.

The upgrade was probably to make up for my stationary bag mysteriously disappearing from my luggage on the outward journey and just as mysteriously appearing in someone else’s bag. When the other passenger arrived home in South Africa he opened his bag only to discover my stationary bag containing my business cards, memory sticks, keys to my desk, best pens and computer peripherals. Fortunately he has contacted me by email and hopefully Emirates will arrange for the stuff to be returned to me at some point.

Anyway, TRAINING!!! As I am going to be unable to get some cycling in over the next month due to family commitments I have decided to do some running as this is something that can be fitted in easier than cycling. As an incentive to run I have entered the Interbank Cross Country event in Richmond Park in November. I have previously run this event for Barclays, TSB, and Chase Manhattan. This year it will be for HBOS.

I used to be a formidable runner with a 10 mile PB of 59:50, 10K of 36:20 and half marathon of 1:23, but that was when I was young and 20+ lbs lighter. Eight years ago I managed a 39:50 10K and two years ago I managed a 44 minute 10K so I am getting somewhat slower over time.

I have'nt done any running for a while so I need to get back into it. My cunning plan to get fit is that if I run three runs a week until the event I should be able to finish but I accept that I will struggle not to be last. Fortunately all the fast runners in HBOS are based up North and won’t want to come to London for the day which means I should get on the team (not guaranteed). My motivation is that the more I run the easier the event will be and the better I will do.

So far this week I have done two runs.