What's that coming over the hill?

“57335 – yes that’s right. They have received it and you’ve been entered.” THANK THE POPE! For the past two weeks, I have been picturing my Two Oceans re-entry falling off the snail mail donkey cart. For what reason the Two Oceans office wouldn’t allow me to just email it, I do not know. It had to be in by 18 March, and so, I braved the smelly que and pathetic service at the post office, to send it via registered mail – just in case. And now I am regretting the drink I had last night.

I asked Dr Google just how bad alcohol is for exercise and, naturally, he had about 66 900 000 results (in 0.15 seconds). I won’t elaborate on every fact given, but what it comes down to is that alcohol has no nutritional value and way too many calories. I knew that already. More importantly, it negatively affects endurance. As it stimulates blood vessels to dilate, heat loss increases. Therefore, muscles get cold and become slower and weaker during contractions. Furthermore, aerobic capacity, the ability to mobilise fat and recovery capabilities take a knock too.

Shocked realisation: the hill I run up just now is going to be particularly challenging, no matter how loud I blast the music through my iPod. “What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? Is it a monster?” No, it’s Megan on the Tuesday after Cougar Monday.