Thoughts and happenings from a life on Malta

Does the title of this week’s post seem uninspired, seeing that it’s almost the same as last week’s? The reality is that this has been the poorest 7-day period to date. Having completed only two sessions is bad enough but even worse is my failure to do any of the key workouts: hills, speed and long run. Admittedly I was feeling poorly with flu-like symptoms siphoning off my energy supply. As any of you athletes know, the temptation to force a reluctant body into action is always there but a recurring elevated resting heart rate confirmed my physical sensations; going head to head with common sense would have been counter-productive. At least I now know why week 14 was so disappointing – the body was already busy trying to fight off the virus.
Unfortunately these let downs are par for the course but thankfully there is still plenty of time to get back into stride for the 0 – 3000metres Etna marathon challenge since I’m not quite half-way there yet. And to cheer me up, I concluded the week with the proverbial silver lining –  a 15km trail run taking me to the cliff edge of Ras il-Wahx.

Training hours: 4 / Weight: 70.9kgs / Body fat: 12.4% / Muscle mass: 69.4% / Water: 57.6% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 50

Every 4th week is one with a reduced training load and so it was this week – fewer and shorter training sessions. Besides giving my body time to recover from the incessant pounding of the streets and (less frequently now) trails, it allows me to reconnect with a world outside running. It was fun to meet friends for backgammon and go to the cinema again while not having to be in bed by 8.30pm. The wake-up time of 4.40am is a different matter though. That has been absorbed into my DNA so whether it’s the weekend or a day off, my eyes open to the darkness of the hour. I can sometimes force myself back to sleep but the night would have been interrupted nonetheless.

Overall a quiet week but with a curious heart rate anomaly. Although the resting heart rate has remained under the 50bpm mark, the active heart rate was somewhat higher than usual. This happened during the steady runs and also the speed sessions. I can only presume the climatic conditions played a part, such as a strong head wind or elevated humidity. Let’s see how it goes next week.

Training hours: 7 / Weight: 70.6kgs / Body fat: 12.1% / Muscle mass: 69.6% / Water: 57.9% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 47

At the end of October of last year, Christmas decorations were already being put up on roundabouts along the arterial roads (see post: Merry Christmas). I was heading to the beach for an afternoon swim when I saw them adorning the perimeter of one of the Xemxija twin roundabouts (doesn’t have the same ring to it as “twin towers” but that’s what this country can afford). Holly and candle shapes and a Merry Christmas sign – all waiting for the night to fall and the electricity to flow, to flash these out-of-season greetings. Eventually, plastic dolls representing holy families, sons of god and wise men mushroomed in the turf and camped for a few months in the maelstrom of fumes and horns, screeching tyres and irate drivers. How the mighty have fallen!

Now it’s St Valentine who’s impatient to make his entrance – and an elevated one at that. A billboard is already up on the way to St Julians (the town, named after the man who slaughtered his parents) advertising teddy bears as an ideal gift for the 14th February. What exactly does this furry soft toy say to your romantic partner on the day? “You’re ever so huggable darling” or “Isn’t it time you got an all-over epilation done?”. What I’m really looking forward to are the restaurants’ special menus – essentially bog-standard meals but with over-the-top prices – that will soon make an appearance in the newspapers. You know the sort: a tomato soup starter is renamed Romeo’s Bleeding Heart; a main of chicken breast with chips becomes Juliet’s Welcoming Bosom; for dessert, Arouse My Passion,  two scoops of ice-cream with a strikingly erect wafer tube.