... was my official time for this year's Standard Chartered Dubai 10km run. I was a little disappointed, since the new health purge that I have so far adhered to since the beginning of the year is continuing. And yet of all of the years I have run this race, this was my slowest time, and the first time that I have failed to finish in under an hour.
Perhaps it was just the hot day. Perhaps it was because I'm a year older/slower. Perhaps it was because I wasn't wearing a stopwatch, so as to be able to track my time (and adjust my pace) as I went. Oh well. I got round, and without stopping.
And then, as before, I did the 4km family run an hour later too. Jack was off like a rocket, of course, but the rest of us more or less stayed together, and made it to the finish line in a slightly less punishing 28 mins 20 secs.
What followed thereafter was arguably the hardest part. A further 2-3km walk to the restaurant we had booked for lunch. Due to various road closures in the area, there was no 'as the crow flies' route to be taken to reach Cafe Rouge. But our walk did cause us to pass a few of the marathon tail-enders, in the face of whom my own pain was suddenly put into perspective. Struggling to finish the last few hundred yards, 6 hours into their marathon experience, and with the police reopening roads all around them, it did appear like the perfect storm of bad karma.
Still, I was able to put my feet up once we got home, and later watch the still bewildering spectacle that was the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President. A testament to the craziness that was 2016. Somewhere in the world, there are people even crazier than those who run marathons...
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Sunday, January 08, 2017
New Year, New Nibbles
Emma and Rhys's Christmas present this year, was a guinea pig.
"Nibbles" has now taken up refuge in our hallway, in a cage that is larger than we had thought it would be, from which wood shavings and hay are liberally tossed on a daily basis. Presumably to make room for the plentiful quantities of droppings that this small creature is surprisingly able to produce day and night. The kids love playing with her, but cleaning out the cage less so. Nonetheless, she has quickly become a cherished member of our family - even to Michele, who has always taken a firm 'anti-pet' stance. She is definitely thawing, and so I'm left slightly more optimistic about the possibility of a dog.... one day, perhaps.
"Nibbles" has now taken up refuge in our hallway, in a cage that is larger than we had thought it would be, from which wood shavings and hay are liberally tossed on a daily basis. Presumably to make room for the plentiful quantities of droppings that this small creature is surprisingly able to produce day and night. The kids love playing with her, but cleaning out the cage less so. Nonetheless, she has quickly become a cherished member of our family - even to Michele, who has always taken a firm 'anti-pet' stance. She is definitely thawing, and so I'm left slightly more optimistic about the possibility of a dog.... one day, perhaps.
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
The passage of time
I was listening today to Episode 126 of the Chicane 'Sun:Sets' podcast that appears weekly on my iPhone. For 60 minutes, it is a great escape from work or whatever, and it has really got me back into dance music in recent months.
I say 'back', because I know I really enjoyed my year at Nottingham Law School, when I really got into DJ-ing, and the dance music scene. This reminds me of those days.
I say also 'recent months', because Nick 'Chicane' Bracegirdle, who presents the show, mentioned in passing during this episode how the show (which was originally broadcast only monthly) had been going since 2013. So that's at least 3, possibly nearly 4 years ago then...
Whilst separately listening to another podcast over the Christmas period, Michael Palin was a guest, and happened to recollect (in the context of the deteriorating mental health due to dementia of his friend, and fellow Python, Terry Jones) the Monty Python farewell shows held recently (or so I had thought) at the O2 in London. Until he mentioned that these were 2.5 years ago. Immediately I checked and, although I never went to these shows, they were indeed in the summer of 2014. I remember listening to some podcasts at the time, building the promotion. But... seriously? 2.5 years ago???!
Time passes so fast these days. Both of the previous events happened / started whilst I was looking for podcasts, as a 'new thing', to listen to on the way to work. And here I still am, doing that very same thing, in the same way, recalling inconsequential events from years ago as though they were (surely?) mere months ago?
Time needs to slow down. Mum mentioned, over Christmas, that 27 December marked the 28th anniversary of the day her Dad, and my Grandad died. I was 14 when that happened in 1989. Meaning he's been gone twice as long as I knew him (and, given that no-one really 'knows' anyone for the first few years of one's life, arguably even longer). That doesn't seem possible. It sounds trite, but I still miss him and think of him (as with all my grandparents) often. I find it gives me comfort, even though I know that I am too often, too guilty of wallowing in nostalgia. The past, however, is fixed, immovable, set in stone. Reliable. The future (and even the present) is, by comparison, quite the opposite.
Some see the fact that the future is not written as an opportunity. I regard it with fear and anxious discomfort. This is what I need to fix.
I say 'back', because I know I really enjoyed my year at Nottingham Law School, when I really got into DJ-ing, and the dance music scene. This reminds me of those days.
I say also 'recent months', because Nick 'Chicane' Bracegirdle, who presents the show, mentioned in passing during this episode how the show (which was originally broadcast only monthly) had been going since 2013. So that's at least 3, possibly nearly 4 years ago then...
Whilst separately listening to another podcast over the Christmas period, Michael Palin was a guest, and happened to recollect (in the context of the deteriorating mental health due to dementia of his friend, and fellow Python, Terry Jones) the Monty Python farewell shows held recently (or so I had thought) at the O2 in London. Until he mentioned that these were 2.5 years ago. Immediately I checked and, although I never went to these shows, they were indeed in the summer of 2014. I remember listening to some podcasts at the time, building the promotion. But... seriously? 2.5 years ago???!
Time passes so fast these days. Both of the previous events happened / started whilst I was looking for podcasts, as a 'new thing', to listen to on the way to work. And here I still am, doing that very same thing, in the same way, recalling inconsequential events from years ago as though they were (surely?) mere months ago?
Time needs to slow down. Mum mentioned, over Christmas, that 27 December marked the 28th anniversary of the day her Dad, and my Grandad died. I was 14 when that happened in 1989. Meaning he's been gone twice as long as I knew him (and, given that no-one really 'knows' anyone for the first few years of one's life, arguably even longer). That doesn't seem possible. It sounds trite, but I still miss him and think of him (as with all my grandparents) often. I find it gives me comfort, even though I know that I am too often, too guilty of wallowing in nostalgia. The past, however, is fixed, immovable, set in stone. Reliable. The future (and even the present) is, by comparison, quite the opposite.
Some see the fact that the future is not written as an opportunity. I regard it with fear and anxious discomfort. This is what I need to fix.
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
New Year, (another) New Start
In an attempt to kick myself forward into a new phase of life - away from law perhaps, away from Dubai perhaps, into something creative (like writing) perhaps - I've made a number of attempts to revisit, restart, refresh, reboot and rekindle my blog life. Fairly swiftly the spark blew out. So let's see how far the needlessly artificial prompt of a new year might lead me...
New Year's Day is always a 50/50 day I find. It marks the day when you feel you should be doing something new, or something different. An opportunity (as if you need one foisted on you by the calendar) to make precisely what this first post of the year is... a fresh start.
But it's also the day that marks the end of the Christmas period. As a kid, I remember it being the final day for which the Radio Times listed films that might be worth watching. Because tomorrow, things would be back to normal. And within any small number of days thereafter, it's back to school, or back to work.
This year, 2 January is the day we all went back to both. The alarm sounded at 6.25am, in a way that felt like this was how it was going to be for the rest of time. Weeks and weeks ahead, of early starts, and all festive spirit swiftly blown away into the fog of the cold desert morning. Depressing.
So I've made a plan. A gimmick maybe, but in the event that the blogging dries up (again) just as quickly as it started, I'm going to try to do something else productive or new each day. So yesterday, on the first day back, and because I saw it in the paper so soon after learning from a friend about the wonder that apparently is Joe Wicks 'The Body Coach' (perhaps destined to be this year's latest fitness fad-lad), I tried out a 10 minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout. 30 seconds on, followed by 30 seconds off, of 5 different exercises (running on the spot, squats, press ups, mountain climbing on the floor, and reverse lunges), all repeated twice. Damn near killed me.
Today's new thing - getting on top of admin. So I chased up the Bank on mortgage rates, chased up our savings plan funds release, finally managed to procure the long-overdue Building Completion Certificate for our house extension (for which I builder had wanted to charge us AED 5,000).
Am feeling pleased with today's accomplishments.
Even if, at work, the work is dead. I need to get moving with an 'exit plan'. Whatever that looks like.
And, as a consequence of the HIIT, I'm stiff as a board. Might wait until tomorrow before I do it again. That's another day.
New Year's Day is always a 50/50 day I find. It marks the day when you feel you should be doing something new, or something different. An opportunity (as if you need one foisted on you by the calendar) to make precisely what this first post of the year is... a fresh start.
But it's also the day that marks the end of the Christmas period. As a kid, I remember it being the final day for which the Radio Times listed films that might be worth watching. Because tomorrow, things would be back to normal. And within any small number of days thereafter, it's back to school, or back to work.
This year, 2 January is the day we all went back to both. The alarm sounded at 6.25am, in a way that felt like this was how it was going to be for the rest of time. Weeks and weeks ahead, of early starts, and all festive spirit swiftly blown away into the fog of the cold desert morning. Depressing.
So I've made a plan. A gimmick maybe, but in the event that the blogging dries up (again) just as quickly as it started, I'm going to try to do something else productive or new each day. So yesterday, on the first day back, and because I saw it in the paper so soon after learning from a friend about the wonder that apparently is Joe Wicks 'The Body Coach' (perhaps destined to be this year's latest fitness fad-lad), I tried out a 10 minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout. 30 seconds on, followed by 30 seconds off, of 5 different exercises (running on the spot, squats, press ups, mountain climbing on the floor, and reverse lunges), all repeated twice. Damn near killed me.
Today's new thing - getting on top of admin. So I chased up the Bank on mortgage rates, chased up our savings plan funds release, finally managed to procure the long-overdue Building Completion Certificate for our house extension (for which I builder had wanted to charge us AED 5,000).
Am feeling pleased with today's accomplishments.
Even if, at work, the work is dead. I need to get moving with an 'exit plan'. Whatever that looks like.
And, as a consequence of the HIIT, I'm stiff as a board. Might wait until tomorrow before I do it again. That's another day.
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