we will never be broken mr crozier

not by royal mail at least, but the intensity of my training over the past week or so has more than made up for the pathetic lies, mistruths etc etc over the past couple of weeks. the walkout was close to 100% today and yesterday. one thing i have learnt during this whole sorry affair is this. in an industrial dispute, you certainly know who you're friends are and quite often the ones who cross the picket line, the scabs are often the worst hypocrites as they will moan more than any of the strikers will, yet they act like goody two shoes in front of the managers to try and court favours. i certainly wont be making any time for the few who did cross the picket line yesterday. they justify it by saying they can't afford to lose a days pay. what they have to get in to their heads though is that even if they are only trying to earn a days wage, in the eyes of the evil one and his cronies if they cross the picket line they are supporting the evil ones position. most of the scabs don't have enough moral integrity to understand that though and as i said to one of the scabs once in a heated discussion, don't ask me to explain what that is as i haven't got all day to sit here explaining it.

i have used the spare time for 2 things. doing some cash in hand work to keep the old income up and some more training. i used google maps to find out how far the tempo run i did on saturday evening was and it said 10.2 miles. and i managed it in 62:37, which i was well happy with. an hour steady run on the sunday followed by a gym sess and i could certainlyfeel the lactic acid in my legs and the same on monday. tuesday we were at coombe dingle doing some timed efforst on the grass and the session was as follows. 1x6 mins, 2x3 mins, 6x1 mins, 1x 6ins. i managed the 6mins ok, but from then on in it was a strugle with the effects of saturday night still in my legs. i even had to drop out of two of the reps as my legs just weren't responding to any thing i was trying to tell them. by the time i got to the final 6 minute rep it was just a case of getting round in one piece. the fact that i got out and did some thing was in itself a positive.

on to thursday night and we were doing an old favourite of mine, the sneyd park hills. these are roughly 1k per rep and it is a circuitwhere you start on a moderate slop, turn a corner go up a very steep slope, turn another corner and you are on the flat for the final sprint, before you jog back down for a recovery and you start all over again. i did 3:22, 3:24, 3:25 3:31, 3:31 and 3:31 there were again still effects fron saturday but nothing like so bad this time. as usual on the hills i was leaving the people i usually run with for dead and on the first rep i ws actually not that far behind the lead group. usually only 3 or 4 max in that group, but they were given a shorter recovery. i was looking for a race this weekend but the only thing i could find was the avon 10 mile championship which is too long for this close to the swindon half next sunday