The Hunger

I'm writing this comfortably ensconced in my sofa. Don't get me wrong, I'm no couch potato. Indeed, I'm working from my supine position today only because I ran the Brighton Half-Marathon yesterday and find that my hips and glutes are unwilling to do much more than a few gentle yoga stretches and a stroll in the neighbourhood.



A light stiffness is nothing unusual after 13.1 miles of running and I'm glad to say that the side effects of over 2 hours of pavement pounding are a lot less noticeable than they after my last half-marathon. What plagues me today is hunger, the kind of piercing, nagging, impossible to ignore hunger that will not be quelled by an apple and that demands to be addressed every 20 minutes. I'm sure this will eventually stop. In the meantime, bring on the healthy food!



The run itself was lovely: long stretches on the waterfront, bright and crisp Spring weather, efficient organisation. I especially want to thank the lovely people at Zest for giving me a place to run in this event. It was a really good aspect of my training towards the Brighton Marathon which I will be running for Breakthrough Breast cancer in less than two months. They also made me the best cup of tea I've ever had after the run.


If I have one criticism, it's that the event was oversubscribed, meaning that it took about 5 miles before I stopped being stalled and elbowed by other runners. One of them was Katie Price who, thankfully, lagged about half an hour behind me. Who would want to be photographed, sweating along Katie Price? Not me. They also accidentally extended the total distance of the course to 13.42 miles! What with all the apps available to plan a course nowadays, you would think that kind of mistake could be avoided. Oh well, it all goes towards my training.

Katie Price in pink and in pain


Next event? The Action Duchenne Love Run 2012 which was rescheduled because of snow a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to a light 10k at the weekend. If the monstrous appetite is still raging, I'll make a special request for a post-run pancake breakfast!

Cold Run

I have never been the kind of runner who must at all cost go through a strenuous training regime, executing every planned session to the minute for fear of spiralling into a tailspin of guilt and panic. I enjoy running too much to make punishing and, as a result, when I miss a day, I'm just happy to do a bit more the following day.


With this in mind, I will readily admit that last weekend was spent celebrating my husband's birthday with winter walks in the New Forest (there were many pony sightings!), a lot of nice food and wine and a great deal of rest. It was thoroughly enjoyable and, after 4 days of this, I was looking forward to a run in the park but when I came back to London I found my usual route blanketed with snow...

Was that going to stop me? Certainly not! After all, I have a marathon looming. So I added a mid-layer to my usual training kit and hit the snow running. Coming from a country where snow is a certainty every single winter, you would think that I ought to have a natural ease in icy conditions. That proved not to be true. After a few clumsy slips that, thankfully, did not result in a full spill, I slowed my pace and shortened my stride to find that this was manageable, if not graceful.

I also realised that these are ideal conditions for trail shoes which have more traction and, most importantly, which are waterproof. That last realisation came when I stepped into a puddle of melting snow only to be left with wet, cold toes for the remainder of my run.

In spite of my awkward start and my clammy digits, this was an altogether bracing and very satisfying run. With the wintry conditions showing no signs of letting up, it's probably a good thing for me to just get used to a bit of snowy training. By the way, I'm running the Action Duchenne Love Run at the weekend




I say, cover up and carry on!

Hold your Beliefs Lightly

Grayson Perry is as famous for his craft-inspired art as he is for his cross-dressing public persona. Traditional form and current social subject matter work in a synergy to give substance and humanity to his work. For instance, the large vases adopt the classic shapes of Grecian and Oriental artefacts, yet they are adorned with depictions of contemporary traumatic events rendered with a mix of traditional and contemporary techniques. As Perry himself says about the violence and politics in his work, “without it, it would be pottery. I think that crude melding of those two parts is what makes my work.”




More than the mere incongruous juxtaposition of form and substance, his willingness to be a public persona beyond the art world also contributes to raising awareness of his work and the ideas it engages with. Indeed, Perry received the Turner Prize in 2003, ultimate badge of recognition in the art world, but he also appears on public affairs television dressed up as a doll-like figure. The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, the current exhibition curated by Grayson Perry at the British Museum takes the artist's process a step further.



The exhibition comprises a mix of pieces from the museum's collection displayed alongside some of Perry's new work in a seamless thematic hang that sheds new light on both the historical and the contemporary. Starting from the premise that the British Museum is a tomb of sorts, Perry outlined a number of themes that also inspire his work: shrines, magic, sexuality, etc. Where some elements of the British Museum's collection are obvious sources of inspiration for Perry, some are brought in strictly for their aesthetic qualities or their oddity – a mummified ear lobe with lavish gold earring still attached has a transfixing effect.



The thematic approach highlights the incredible skills that have gone into creating all these objects. It is the plight of craftsmen to remain anonymous and it is not without irony that Perry uses his own fame to honour them. Yet the star of the exhibition is an intricate iron memorial that Perry crafted out of iron. It is laden with historical and cultural references.



The exhibition opens with a customized motorcycle emblazoned with pastel hearts and featuring a miniature shrine to Alan Measles, Perry's teddy bear God figure. He used the motorbike to tour Germany in 2010 as a metaphorical peace-making process with his childhood fears of the Teutonic nation. The object is not something you would expect at the British Museum, yet it is a perfect example of contemporary craftsmanship and sets the tone for the exhibition: this is not about artistic or historical scholarship, it is tribute to those of made the object that scholarship now examines. As Perry regularly states, “Hold your beliefs lightly” and the British Museum won that gamble by loosening their approach and inviting Grayson Perry to play with their collection.
 

Lessons Learned

Sunday was a perfect sunny and mild Autumn day. I was up at 7:30 – very unusual for me on a Sunday – for a big bowl of porridge. Why the early morning when I usually start looking forward to a Sunday lie-in as early as Monday morning? I was running and Grand Union half-marathon.

I approached the whole thing with a bit of trepidation as my first half-marathon, which took place in Edinburgh last April, turned into an epic challenge. The course had been mis-measured... by 5 miles! That is more or less a three-quarter marathon, which was not what I had trained for.

Mind you, I also did a number of things that I would consider to be mistakes I have learned from:

• Mistake #1: Being in Scotland for a bit of a romantic weekend, Kai and I had a sizeable meal with a few glasses of wine followed by a taste of whisky the night before. It was enjoyable at the time but it made harder to wake up the following morning. It also left me dehydrated.
• Mistake #2: I was also very silly to think I did not need a proper breakfast. It was too early for room service but I quickly consumed a few shortbread biscuits and instant coffee in the room and thought that ought to be sufficient. What's more, I had opted not to carry any sustenance with during the race as I don't like having to hold anything while running.
• Mistake #3: I insisted that my husband not come and meet me at the finish line. I was trying to be kind and let him enjoy the lie-in that I could not have but, as I sat on the grass and cried softly while devouring the chocolate bar, apple and crisps from my goody-bag, the thought of having to get back to the hotel on my own was overwhelming and just made me cry some more.

Last Sunday I put this learning experience to good use. I had a sociable evening out the night before but nothing excessive. On the morning I ate a sizeable bowl of porridge, coffee and few glasses of water before leaving. I also carried a glucose gel with me which – no matter how disgusting – I was quite happy to consume an hour into my run. Next time, I will carry one for every hour of the run. Kai was lovely enough to sacrifice his Sunday lie-in so as to drive me to the start point and pick me up at the finish line. All this made for a very pleasant 2 hour run along the Grand Union canal from Uxbridge to Bradford. I finished it elated and quite proud.

Every new challenge is a learning experience and I still learned something from this recent run. My lovely in-laws had us over for a scrumptious late lunch after the run. It was so nice that I let myself relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Although a bit of a stretch after the run and a hot shower before lunch had been helpful in dispelling the lactic acid building up in my legs, sitting down for the rest of the day was not such a good idea...

Another run done, another lesson learned.