Training for a 95 miler

longest I done was 35 miles on a bike.
not funny, next a.m. I am out again with no ill effects. real u.s.a dirt
rods, bumps ruts road in real year round weathers.

feasting shaghorn sumac for tea filling my u.s.a. ranger carfare back
pack. all mine.
and cat tails for indian flour. and then a 20 miler from there. this man
here can fine something wrong with an ice cream cone... anyways. he is
me so then his trip to of 2 miles a week well then need I say more. he
well fine the one Gods law truth to make me burn in hell because I am
here......use to it.
so 2,473 miles for 2004 so far.
again he starts up..........he can't lose you know, because all his
friends out there for his whole life well find something two to down
size my being evan to a living hell and more. because they some has
all most made 2 miles in a month. butt they work and pay taxes, so with
the u.s.a. and all political backing they are god and has to be all
might beings, and I m full of shat and a loser........
both being true........I .am.........
raining and ice, no job and still o money.
and maybe when he yells of said jedi asters of what this world (you)
read./.his all mights tells of your tails. and other member of my family
should be here and I am destroying his career and every thing he work
for.........sounds like normal... for a chronic.......butt as I was
trying to say..... oh hell. I should just go out in this 20 m.p.h.winds
gust of 30..... and 34 high about snow ice and now mud roads. and just
bare truth to eat and pick up 10 cent cans to have some meat..unless I
want to eat, pop corn, or noodles from wing or yang 10 for a $1.00
per 6 month old...
that be 10 packs for 1/3 pound there in brit land.
love the Diana show yesterday and all.

maybe to the best so this old man can relax and have (w) a day off......

I out in the rain snow ice high wins. or Thunder snow......I gone.
p.s. good luck in the high lands for next 6 month to do ultra 95..tim
rich man who I could not paint your barn sash.
I am sure your treadmill can reach as high as a highlander should
go......with central heat, needle point showers, and wall to wall carpet
lest not forget the full mirror and all your gay friends in tights pink
and bloomers blouse.....(and that is just his men folks friends)
maybe......(god) can make a fine day for you to do your 95 miler in
thee high lands in 6 month..Tim pooe.
Hay tim, maybe you and all could get in your dress and take a pic with
Bill and all and put on rr.and all.....or was bill the one who doing
time for 2 years and your P.R. man had to cover his butt......
love you on lenno.
or I know the truth is you all 2 skinnie and the highland winds might
put you into the sea. leno and all. the tonight show. I out of here.

Tim Downie said:

As far as fixed commitments for next year go, I've got a 1/2 marathon in
March and the London marathon in April. In an ideal world I'd like to do a

Not sure how practical this is in a race as big as london, but how about
"warming up" for a marathon with a training run ? Just a thought.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Donovan Rebbechi said:

Tim Downie said:

As far as fixed commitments for next year go, I've got a 1/2
marathon in March and the London marathon in April. In an ideal
world I'd like to do a

Not sure how practical this is in a race as big as london, but how
about "warming up" for a marathon with a training run ? Just a
thought.

Not absolutely impossible I suppose, but you know how it is, I'm probably
only going to do London once and I'd like to give it my best shot.

Tim

Tim Downie said:

I know training for ultras is a very individual thing and I'm not going to
follow anyone's training schedule slavishly but I'd still like to hear from
any old hands here about training distances, monthly mileage, long run
strategies and that kind of stuff in the build up to a long race.

The one thing that helps me the most is back/back long runs. A couple of
these to get the legs to feel what it's like to run on dead/tired legs.
The idea is to do enough the first day that the thought of running the
next day really blows. But you do it anyway. The second day you'll find
that after about an hour you begin to feel OK. Don't stop there though,
do a few more hours and you'll probably begin to really feel it. That's
when you have to fight through it. In a race that long, the first half
is run with the legs and the second half with the mind. You have to
train the mind as well as the legs. This is also a good way to work on
eating/drinking. You will likely be somewhat depleted the second day and
eating/drinking will not be as easy. It's a good time to learn how to
force yourself to do it and learn what your stomach can handle.

--
- The Trailrunner

Anti-Spam Alert: If you wish to reply, cut the *BS*

Trails of the Diablo Valley
*Running - Hiking - Nature*
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/trails/6016/

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My current plan is to work on a 4 week cycle for the next few months
with one *long* (25 miles +) run, one intermediate and 2 shorter long
runs per 4 weeks. ( long/short/medium/short & repeat). My longest
runs would be done on parts of the West Highland way itself.

Miles? I know we tend to fixate on miles because they look good in log
books down to two or three decimal points( <G>😉 but I would start to
think in hours and even more importantly ELEVATION hours. I looked at
the web page but no summary elevation numbers for the 152K.

My 100 has about 14-15k of accumulated elevation. I draw a line in the
sand and work myself up to about 8 hours which is approximately 10k of
elevation over 40 miles. Yes, steeper than the actual race. Of the 40
miles, 1/2 of it is run up and the other half is hike up and all is run
down. About 3/4 of way into my training I try one or maybe two
back-2-back runs. That might be 20-25 miles Sat and 10-15 on Sunday. As
trainrunner said these teach you to run on tired leg and spreads it over
two days rather the all in one day.

Unlike Dan I'm not into big miles per week. I may hit 60-65 yet they are
high quality. For me to add more miles/hours would have me visit my
podiatrist in his office rather that running with him.

I tend to go long every other week but I've been doing it for years and
know my recovery. My off week stuff is about two-three hours and gentle
undulation or tempo/fartlek type work. What I do depends on where I am
in the cycle

I'll be starting my training this month. In march I'll do a 50k and
April a 50 mile. The are races but building blocks for my July race.

I'm being intentionally vague because my specifics pertain to me and
likely do more harm than good. Going from 43 to 95 is large jump but
very normal. Most people will do a 50 miles race and then jump to a 100.
There are not many races in the 70-75. The overall secret which isn't a
secret is the long run which emulates the terrain conditions of the
race. You also practice the usual eating, drinking, salt. etc

-DougF

Doug Freese said:

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My current plan is to work on a 4 week cycle for the next few months
with one *long* (25 miles +) run, one intermediate and 2 shorter long
runs per 4 weeks. ( long/short/medium/short & repeat). My longest
runs would be done on parts of the West Highland way itself.

Miles? I know we tend to fixate on miles because they look good in
log books down to two or three decimal points( <G>😉 but I would start
to think in hours and even more importantly ELEVATION hours. I looked
at the web page but no summary elevation numbers for the 152K.

It's there on the front page, 11,624 ft (3543 m). So, averaged over 95
miles, mostly flat. ;-)

Quoted message said:

My 100 has about 14-15k of accumulated elevation. I draw a line in the
sand and work myself up to about 8 hours which is approximately 10k of
elevation over 40 miles. Yes, steeper than the actual race. Of the 40
miles, 1/2 of it is run up and the other half is hike up and all is
run down. About 3/4 of way into my training I try one or maybe two
back-2-back runs. That might be 20-25 miles Sat and 10-15 on Sunday.
As trainrunner said these teach you to run on tired leg and spreads
it over two days rather the all in one day.

If I could Doug, I would run a lot more hills but where I live, it's the
best part of a 2hr drive to the *start* of the WHW and there's little in the
way of other suitable hills nearer than that. Training on the hillier more
northern stretches will take even longer to reach. That's the main reason
behind my long run strategy being based on a 4 week cycle. If I trained on
the WHW any more often than that I think it would cause too much domestic
strife.

Quoted message said:

Unlike Dan I'm not into big miles per week. I may hit 60-65 yet they
are high quality. For me to add more miles/hours would have me visit
my podiatrist in his office rather that running with him.

Nice to see that one doesn't *have* to run huge mileage to complete a 100
but then again, for me it'll probably be easier to run more miles than run
more hills simply for logistical reasons. (Assuming the miles don't wreck
me).

Quoted message said:

I tend to go long every other week but I've been doing it for years
and know my recovery. My off week stuff is about two-three hours and
gentle undulation or tempo/fartlek type work. What I do depends on
where I am in the cycle

Well, I haven't decided how long my "medium longs" will be but I dare say
they'll stretch to that sort of time so our plans aren't that dissimilar.

Quoted message said:

I'll be starting my training this month. In march I'll do a 50k and
April a 50 mile. The are races but building blocks for my July race.

I'm being intentionally vague because my specifics pertain to me and
likely do more harm than good. Going from 43 to 95 is large jump but
very normal. Most people will do a 50 miles race and then jump to a
100. There are not many races in the 70-75. The overall secret which
isn't a secret is the long run which emulates the terrain conditions
of the race. You also practice the usual eating, drinking, salt. etc

Thanks for sharing Doug. Always good to hear how others approach these
things.

Tim

The Trailrunner said:

Tim Downie said:

I know training for ultras is a very individual thing and I'm not
going to follow anyone's training schedule slavishly but I'd still
like to hear from any old hands here about training distances,
monthly mileage, long run strategies and that kind of stuff in the
build up to a long race.

The one thing that helps me the most is back/back long runs. A couple
of these to get the legs to feel what it's like to run on dead/tired
legs.

<snip>

Thanks for the feedback TR. Yet another piece to add to the jigsaw of my
training.

Cheers.

Tim

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Freese wrote:
It's there on the front page, 11,624 ft (3543 m). So, averaged over
95 miles, mostly flat. ;-)

12 grand is honest but what are the characteristics of the ups - gentle
undulation, nasty short or long steep multi mile ups, both? I did a 70
last summer that had one big push the first 8 miles and then roller
coaster to the end. It was difficult in that the roller coaster was too
damn easy to run every foot and I ran too many of the ups. I was rather
pooped the last 15 miles and had to rely on grit rather than skill.

Quoted message said:

If I could Doug, I would run a lot more hills but where I live, it's
the best part of a 2hr drive to the *start* of the WHW and there's
little in the way of other suitable hills nearer than that. Training
on the hillier more northern stretches will take even longer to reach.
That's the main reason behind my long run strategy being based on a 4
week cycle. If I trained on the WHW any more often than that I think
it would cause too much domestic strife.

I understand. At least get an agreement with your bride that once a
month or so your going to be gone for the entire day for your hill run.

When I first started doing longer races we agreed that each Saturday was
my day to run. Every other Saturday I was gone for the day. Still to
this day Saturday is mine unless there is something important and then I
do it on Sunday. Makes for consistent planning. I had two kids and they
still remembered my name. I compromised by doing my mid-week runs early
in the morning while the kids were sleeping. In essence I was hogging
the one day a week.

Quoted message said:

Nice to see that one doesn't *have* to run huge mileage to complete a
100 but then again, for me it'll probably be easier to run more miles
than run more hills simply for logistical reasons. (Assuming the miles
don't wreck me).

To finish and do well it's quality miles. I will go out on a limb and
say the average ultra runner that finishes under 20-24 hours in a 100
trains about 50-60 miles a week. I'm using the easy to mid range in
difficulty 100 because it's closest to your 95.

Those running in the 14-19 hours have kicked their mileage to 70-100+.
My idol Dan does this kind of mileage just to run a 50 but as we know,
he runs to win. These are your ultra redliners. 😉 The 20-24 hour
finishers are 50-60 and the 24-30(a standard cutoff) are less than 50 or
even if higher are not matching their terrain to the race. We have guys
that come from the Florida flatlands to run in the hills of Vermont.
They have enough training to complete the race but it's often not a
pretty sight. The aggressive flatland folks try to find multifloor
parking garages or buildings. Some claim the Stairmaster machine helps
in lieu of hills. It helps with ups but doesn't do much for the downs.

Sounds like a great race. Will they set up aid stations or do you need
to drink out of puddles and eat bark off the trees?

-DougF

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Trailrunner said:

Tim Downie said:

I know training for ultras is a very individual thing and I'm not
going to follow anyone's training schedule slavishly but I'd still
like to hear from any old hands here about training distances,
monthly mileage, long run strategies and that kind of stuff in the
build up to a long race.

The one thing that helps me the most is back/back long runs. A couple
of these to get the legs to feel what it's like to run on dead/tired
legs.

<snip>

Thanks for the feedback TR. Yet another piece to add to the jigsaw of
my training.

My usual warning, B2B's should not be tried until you are 2/3 or so
into your training. These are hard SOB's and one needs a solid base.
Running on tired and sore legs that second day is more tearing down. I
usually doing nothing for two days after a B2B. No rest - no recovery
and drum roll ......

-Doug

looks like he on his way to more fame and glory.
leno and mat daemon on hey 95..inched east to beltway.right....... funny
n.b.c elect
slamming me big time.
must be this gay bash se who got the biggest plastic to pomp down a 25%
off espn gear thing.
78 mill for a cane. and all I ask is a meer 100 grand or 25% more and
again zero replies.

fine.the biggest wins a gain........
a white trash poor non working street person. not your week skin suit
[censored] put you down boss.......
I say no to drugs..and the 1/4 inch it took for you to down me...lick
ass.
2,474 miles to 2,484 miles.
goal is 2,500 Alexander the great treck.
and i told my plan.......$ here sucks.......
butt the rest is heaven............michigan rocks........ sorry I said a
big word.michigan. gays and rich old.....and all..be gone. [censored].......
should cover most of n.b.c. rich and [censored] group.
good luck time.
how low can I troll.it takes one to know one. whats your beef
you s don't like my treck.... barn man.
maybe today 2500.maybe not. hard to say.....Dow 7.09%
G=6.67300^10^-11m^3kg^-15^-15^-2
Burn..........
lions well lose. because cheese heads ar not. Ford mooter and Meyers to
pay them to n be Losers......
on road yesterday in storm I rode t a big water pile on both sides of
dirt road. nd on some hills too grade.
So this ford truck waited as I stay on my lane side and road pass his
new big tires raised shining Ford big huge brand destruct....me looking
like a drown duck...
and looking back I see he drove thru the center of the road......
the next pile of water I drove thru the puddle,because I out want that
ford truck to get mud wet on it. went to myers and told them chesses
head I not make sundays football game. we all LOL.
treck time and all. myers being world and they have others too. well
maybe with ford. they get paid.. we agree to lose,. and be there hump
hump.bad ass selfs.They do give zero money back you know. hump
hump...dow 7.09/
or really really....g.msn
peac out.. hoe to not pay unemployment and still want you over a year
latter for gross half on a secrete tax forms. and cry.I can't make
it........... Denide and lost in the new improve system on How to get a
job in u.s.a/. Not going to happen...
soup kitchen mission bound....L.S.D. rr man..

Doug Freese said:

Sounds like a great race. Will they set up aid stations or do you need
to drink out of puddles and eat bark off the trees?

You have to organise your own aid stations/back up team. It's a real pain
because it makes it so much harder to organise (from the runner's point of
view).

The fact that I'll be on my feet for 24 hrs doesn't' bother me (because I'll
be enjoying myself) but it's tough on your backup team who have to
rendezvous with you at various points at ungodly hours and they miss out on
the fun stuff.

I guess it makes it a whole lot easier from the race director's point of
view but it's not how I'd organise it.

Tim

Quoted message said:

looks like he on his way to more fame and glory.
leno and mat daemon on hey 95..inched east to beltway.right....... funny
n.b.c elect
slamming me big time.
must be this gay bash se who got the biggest plastic to pomp down a 25%
off espn gear thing.
78 mill for a cane. and all I ask is a meer 100 grand or 25% more and
again zero replies.

fine.the biggest wins a gain........
a white trash poor non working street person. not your week skin suit
[censored] put you down boss.......
I say no to drugs..and the 1/4 inch it took for you to down me...lick
ass.
2,474 miles to 2,484 miles.
goal is 2,500 Alexander the great treck.
and i told my plan.......$ here sucks.......
butt the rest is heaven............michigan rocks........ sorry I said a
big word.michigan. gays and rich old.....and all..be gone. [censored].......
should cover most of n.b.c. rich and [censored] group.
good luck time.
how low can I troll.it takes one to know one. whats your beef
you s don't like my treck.... barn man.
maybe today 2500.maybe not. hard to say.....Dow 7.09%
G=6.67300^10^-11m^3kg^-15^-15^-2
Burn..........
lions well lose. because cheese heads ar not. Ford mooter and Meyers to
pay them to n be Losers......
on road yesterday in storm I rode t a big water pile on both sides of
dirt road. nd on some hills too grade.
So this ford truck waited as I stay on my lane side and road pass his
new big tires raised shining Ford big huge brand destruct....me looking
like a drown duck...
and looking back I see he drove thru the center of the road......
the next pile of water I drove thru the puddle,because I out want that
ford truck to get mud wet on it. went to myers and told them chesses
head I not make sundays football game. we all LOL.
treck time and all. myers being world and they have others too. well
maybe with ford. they get paid.. we agree to lose,. and be there hump
hump.bad ass selfs.They do give zero money back you know. hump
hump...dow 7.09/
or really really....g.msn
peac out.. hoe to not pay unemployment and still want you over a year
latter for gross half on a secrete tax forms. and cry.I can't make
it........... Denide and lost in the new improve system on How to get a
job in u.s.a/. Not going to happen...
soup kitchen mission bound....L.S.D. rr man..

Tom, This post is angry, even for you. Wussup buddy? Spill it, you'll feel
better.
TBR

Tim Downie wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

snipped<
You have to organise your own aid stations/back up team. It's a real pain
because it makes it so much harder to organise (from the runner's point of
view).

The fact that I'll be on my feet for 24 hrs doesn't' bother me (because

I'll

Quoted message said:

be enjoying myself) but it's tough on your backup team who have to
rendezvous with you at various points at ungodly hours and they miss out on
the fun stuff.

I gather this is a road ultra. I'd be curious as to how far apart the
rendevous points are. Is water provided? I would think someone could drink
several gallons of water in 95 miles. I guess they don't allow support
vehicles? What about a cyclist to help pace and help carry stuff?

-Tony

Tony said:

Tim Downie wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

snipped<
You have to organise your own aid stations/back up team. It's a
real pain because it makes it so much harder to organise (from the
runner's point of view).

The fact that I'll be on my feet for 24 hrs doesn't' bother me
(because I'll be enjoying myself) but it's tough on your backup team
who have to rendezvous with you at various points at ungodly hours
and they miss out on the fun stuff.

I gather this is a road ultra.

Nope. It's a long distance trail race. See
http://www.westhighlandwayrace.org/

Quoted message said:

I'd be curious as to how far apart the
rendevous points are.

The trail is accessible by road at several points. The longest stretch with
no road access is about 15 miles. Generally, people arrange about 6-7
redezvous with their backup teams.

Quoted message said:

Is water provided?

You can have whatever you like, even dancing naked ladies if you want. You
have to organise it all yourself though, even the water.

Quoted message said:

I would think someone
could drink several gallons of water in 95 miles. I guess they don't
allow support vehicles? What about a cyclist to help pace and help
carry stuff?

That would be cheating. Besides, bikes aren't allowed on most of the route.

Tim

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The trail is accessible by road at several points. The longest
stretch with no road access is about 15 miles. Generally, people
arrange about 6-7 redezvous with their backup teams.

Getting to these access points can be fun. Let's hope they don't have to
drive 40 miles to get to and aid station 5 miles for you.

Let me warn to give your crew a wide variety of food and fluid. What you
think will taste ok often becomes repulsive. What to eat and drink is a
thesis. Practice these during you training.

-Doug

Thanks for the info Tim. Looks like you'd need a camelback or something.

Tim Downie wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Tony said:

Tim Downie wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

snipped<
You have to organise your own aid stations/back up team. It's a
real pain because it makes it so much harder to organise (from the
runner's point of view).

The fact that I'll be on my feet for 24 hrs doesn't' bother me
(because I'll be enjoying myself) but it's tough on your backup team
who have to rendezvous with you at various points at ungodly hours
and they miss out on the fun stuff.

I gather this is a road ultra.

Nope. It's a long distance trail race. See
http://www.westhighlandwayrace.org/

Quoted message said:

I'd be curious as to how far apart the
rendevous points are.

The trail is accessible by road at several points. The longest stretch

with

Quoted message said:

no road access is about 15 miles. Generally, people arrange about 6-7
redezvous with their backup teams.

Quoted message said:

Is water provided?

You can have whatever you like, even dancing naked ladies if you want. You
have to organise it all yourself though, even the water.

Quoted message said:

I would think someone
could drink several gallons of water in 95 miles. I guess they don't
allow support vehicles? What about a cyclist to help pace and help
carry stuff?

That would be cheating. Besides, bikes aren't allowed on most of the

route.

Quoted message said:

Tim

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As the year draws to an end and as it's only 6 months to my first 95

miler,

Quoted message said:

I'm beginning to wonder about a spot of training for the West Highland Way
race.

Timmy - and, for once, there is a serious edge to my musings - I'm beginning
to get a little worried over you.

I seem to recall, not so long ago, a sprightly if over-zealous newbie
wafting into rec.running with tales of 5k's run at dizzying speeds. Now,
some two years on, this self-same newbie is tackling ultras. WTF?

Is there something missing in your life? Has running become the panacea
for all your worries? Is a mid-life crisis hitting hard? No-one could
love running more than I, yet it's only a component of my world, not my
world itself. It took me *years* to go from running 800/1500's to running
10k's, and years more to get to the stage where I could seriously
contemplate running a good marathon, were I so minded (which I wasn't).
The journey was half the fun. You, OTOH, have compressed - even
surpassed - my running history into a few short years. The words 'burn out'
seem to dance towards the front of my brain.

Now I don't for one minute expect you to reply saying "Thank god for Roger,
he's parted the mist before my eyes, now I can see clearly again". All I'm
suggesting is that you ask yourself two questions, namely;

1. Why am I running?
2. What's the rush?

Hey, if you come up with answers that justify your present path, then good
on ya'. But I *do* think you should find yourself a quiet space in your
life and ask yourself these questions and reply with honesty, if only to
yourself.

OTOH, you could simply be a talented [censored] of whom I'm incredibly jealous.
Who knows :-)

See ya,

Roger.

np426z said:

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As the year draws to an end and as it's only 6 months to my first 95
miler, I'm beginning to wonder about a spot of training for the West
Highland Way race.

Timmy - and, for once, there is a serious edge to my musings - I'm
beginning to get a little worried over you.

I seem to recall, not so long ago, a sprightly if over-zealous newbie
wafting into rec.running with tales of 5k's run at dizzying speeds.
Now, some two years on, this self-same newbie is tackling ultras.
WTF?

Is there something missing in your life?

Undoubtedly. A career, self esteem and that kind of stuff.

Quoted message said:

Has running become the
panacea for all your worries?

Not *all* my worries. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Is a mid-life crisis hitting hard?
No-one could love running more than I, yet it's only a component of
my world, not my world itself. It took me *years* to go from
running 800/1500's to running 10k's, and years more to get to the
stage where I could seriously contemplate running a good marathon,
were I so minded (which I wasn't).

Yeah but you started young(er) when you actually had a chance of being
seriously competitive. As I started late there's not a lot of point arsing
around with 800/1500's and the shorter stuff.

Quoted message said:

The journey was half the fun. You, OTOH, have compressed - even
surpassed - my running history into a few short years. The words
'burn out' seem to dance towards the front of my brain.

Perhaps, but then again, I could get run over by a bus tomorrow and if I
feel I can run the WHW next year, I'd kick myself forevermore if something
happened to prevent me doing it in later years. (It might help you to
understand my position somewhat better if I tell you that my father was left
severely disabled by the after-effects of brain tumour surgery in his
forties).

Quoted message said:

Now I don't for one minute expect you to reply saying "Thank god for
Roger, he's parted the mist before my eyes, now I can see clearly
again". All I'm suggesting is that you ask yourself two questions,
namely;

1. Why am I running?
2. What's the rush?

I refer the right honourable gentleman to the answers previously given. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Hey, if you come up with answers that justify your present path, then
good on ya'. But I *do* think you should find yourself a quiet
space in your life and ask yourself these questions and reply with
honesty, if only to yourself.

OTOH, you could simply be a talented [censored] of whom I'm incredibly
jealous. Who knows :-)

I think I would deny with my last dying breath that I had any innate talent
for running. I was the archetypal fat kid who was useless at all sports at
school but I will admit that I sometimes feel that it's all a dream and that
when I wake up I'll find that I can't actually run at all. (Like those
dreams where you find that you have amazing musical talents or an ability to
fly).

If I run a bit better than average for my age now, it's simply because in
the absense of being much good at anything else I apply myself to something
that I enjoy.

Tim

"Tim Downie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

(It might help you to
understand my position somewhat better if I tell you that my father was

left

Quoted message said:

severely disabled by the after-effects of brain tumour surgery in his
forties).

Yeah, that one sentence answers everything, doesn't it?

Funny - or is it poignant? - how some of us are defined by the fate of our
fathers. Mine died of a heart attack flying his plane when I was a young
kiddie. I've spent the rest of my life trying to match his achievements and
make a dead man proud of me. Bloody stupid waste of time really, but you
have no other choice, do you?

Ro.