Moon on a Stick

Warming Up

8341/21260

Another day of searching for the missing magnetic ring and by the evening I crumbled. I’d been shining my torch into the drawer under the hob to try and find the model number and manoeuvring my camera in in the hope of catching it, but then realised it was actually in dim writing on top of the hob.

I found what I think is the right part in a few places with more or less the right number and bought it. I expected to return to the hob to find the ring had been in place the whole time, but so far it has not materialised. It’s here somewhere. We’ll either find it tomorrow or in 25 years when we’re moving out.

For now the mystery remains unsolved

I’d been up early this morning to take part in the Hitchin 5K run. A warming up subscriber at the gym (hello) had told me about it about a month ago and I bumped into him at the start so was able to give him credit for me being here. A few people chatted to me beforehand because this is a very friendly town. I was hoping to come in in under 30 minutes (despite last week’s very tired Park Run time of 34.30) and this time hadn’t done two other intense bits of exercise in the previous 24 hours, so felt up for it.

It was two circuits of the town centre and about 400 people were taking part. One of the marshalls said hello to me on the first lap and then on the second made this “Moon on stick” jibe!

I liked the fact that this had seemingly taken him 15 minutes to come up with. He later tweeted me to say that he used to be a teacher and had bonded with a difficult pupil over their love of Fist of Fun, which is a nice story to hear, so I will let him off his heckle. Once again the video helps me to see that the runner I imagine I am being is not the plodder that I actually am. However I did get round in 29 mins and 19 seconds, a full five minutes better than last week and a decent enough time after only two or three weeks back into running.

I came 261st (only 26 away from being 1st if you think about it) but tried to convince the kids that the medal I was giving was for coming first. They used to lap up this crap and believe whatever I told them, but not any more. The winner in the M50 category was Kirk Crudgington in a remarkable 19 minutes and 18 seconds, but he’s probably only 50. I am nearly in the M60 section now, though John Cox won that in 22.34. Surely I beat all the M70s though - not a chance Robert Lewis came home in 24.02. Fuck.

I was however ahead of the best female in the 70+ category by more than a minute. So I can hold my head up high.

And it took my mind off my magnetic dial for nearly 30 minutes.