Running brings people together

A busy life can sometimes tempt us not to make time to spend with people we should.

My best mate Marlz and I have had this problem over the last 15 years.

Even though we lived relatively close for ten of those years (I in Windsor, he 15 minutes away in Glossodia) we didn't see each other as much as you'd expect. For a couple of years we ran a business together, which meant we got to tool around a bit together, but since it failed (without a harsh word between us, which is testament to the depth of our friendship.

Several years ago Marlz split up with his wife and became a single dad, so it's hard for him to make time. His boys are about the same age as Em and Bop, and they get on well together, so over the year we have been able to coordinate a couple of good outings, but several months ago something really great happened.

Marlz took up running.

By the look of him he has lost about 20 kilos and he's in the best shape I've seen him in the 20 years I've known him.

He works in the suburb next to where I live, and on Fridays his mum has the boys, so Friday after work has become our training run. Just over an hour of quality time with Marlz, and another quality run in the schedule. I struggle to maintain his pace, so it's a good hard session for me and a bit of a pacing lesson for him.

I love this sport of running. Life is sweet.

Factoring in one's life

Life can quite often become a series of compromises, trading the time
you spend on one thing off against others things.

The last couple of weeks have been an exhausting example of this, and
I'm happy that I've dealt with the curve balls that have been thrown up
appropriately.

In brief, a summary of the week goes like this:

Tuesday: DJ gets the results of tests and is diagnosed with gestational
diabetes.

Wednesday: DJ receives a heavy letter from her ex-husbands lawyers which
could make life a bit more difficult for us on an ongoing basis.

Friday: My brother returns home to Argentina after two months in Sydney.

Weekend: DJ and I take a previously booked trip to Melbourne (a city in
the grip of a heatwave).

So I had a lot of shit going on in the week. I'd already started to get
nervous about Weston Creek - my form has dipped since the 10K PB in
December. How did I deal with it?

Importantly I spent enough time with Clint and I ensured that all of my
girls knew that they had my love and support. The running had to fit
around this.

I ended up taking two consecutive rest days late in the week when things
had got really heavy, and made it a light training week. I engaged in
some ludicrous self-beating after the consecutive rest days. It's
amazing how wrapped up you can get in making sure that you do all of
your scheduled training even when life, your body and common sense is
saying something else. The lesson from this week is one I'm going to
have to take very seriously - when Digger is relying on DJ and I to be
there I can't just piss off for a run because it's on the schedule.

I ran my long run on Saturday morning, and it was noteworthy. Being in
Melbourne I decided my run should incorporate as many landmarks as
possible. From my hotel in Richmond I ran up around the MCG, took a lap
of Fitzroy Gardens, back down past the Rod Laver arena and on to a lap
of the Tan. I then ran back down along the Yarra River and back up into
Richmond. It was 16.8K @ 6:30 pace - dreadfully slow, but it was late
morning and already ridiculously hot. I felt like I'd run a hard half by
the end of it.

We had a real blast in Melbourne. My favourite record label (Candle
Records) is closing down, and we went to a two night show featuring all
of their acts, including Darren Hanlon and the Lucksmiths. It was a
tiring but enjoyable way to finish a heavy week.