The Loneliness of the Not So Long Distance Runner

Running isn't so bad

In a slight change of tac, rather than write about the time I ate a butter encased cheese filled croissant, I've decided to write about something a little crazy that I did recently. Sign up for a marathon.

It's safe to say i'm not runner, nor am I sporty. I have an aversion to the gym, I can't catch to save my life and I have repressed memories of PE where I was kicked off the netball team after one terrible game as Goal Defence.

That aside, this year is all about challenges and distancing myself as far as possible from my comfort zone. So here I am, four and a half months from the marathon, slightly terrified, slightly in denial with a faded print out of my bootcamp style 'training schedule'.

I decided that it might be quite amusing to document the highs and lows of my 'training', the times that I don't bother because I have to eat a 3 course meal or go to Australia. The times that I go and want to throw up after 11 minutes (that happened today) and the pure of euphoria of doing something new.

In true researcher style i've already done the groundwork about how to be a runner, apparently you have to have good shoes, a lot of will power and dedication and an acceptance that you will get blisters and occasionally want to cry.

Glancing at my beginners 'how to get around the marathon without dying' schedule today I decided to test out my stamina by going for my first run in a year. The back drop was idyllic as I huffed and puffed my way around 4k going through a range of emotions, the low point 10 minutes in where I actually wanted to keel over and get into the foetal position and the high point 33 minutes in when I realised that I was over the hump and could actually keep going.

Sights of my run included a couple going to 2nd and maybe 3rd base as I jogged by, a few lovely squirrels, some lazy walkers eating ice cream (who I scoffed at in a smug runner satisfaction) and the chicks of Spring that have now grown into lovely scary ducks.

Level of pain post run..hard to say. It's been 5-6 hours and I can already feel my legs seize up. Maybe I went in too hard.

As I came home a little out of puff tucking into my yoghurt and blueberries and nuts, I realised why some people do this. The euphoria of pushing your body is quite rewarding, I got into a little world of my own with the backdrop of Hot Chip thinking about life and the future and how nice the park looked drenched in orange.

So run 1 over, 4k done. I will update on the highs and lows of the rest of my training.

Now if you'll excuse me I think I've earnt a piece of cheese on toast, if I can get up.
Ouch

Lunch and Love at Auntie Fu's Inn

Auntie Fu's Inn

There were many highlights on my China adventure but none so rustic and memorable as my lunch at Auntie Fu’s. Auntie Fu’s is located about 2 hours South of Shanghai and a little into the countryside amid the farms full of chickens and green tea. Fu’s had become famous for rustic organic produce and of course a great lunch. A trip to Fu’s had become a middle class mecca, hippy Westerners driving down to pick their organic chicken and neighbours stopping by for the best corn in town.

My journey so far had opened my eyes to the real side of delicious Chinese food, rice, usually steamed or fried, usually a whole fish simply steamed with soy or a fresh school of prawns, many vegetables sometimes pickled, sometimes fresh with a little vinegar and meats flavoured with star anise and sticky with sugar.

Today at Fu’s things were a little different, it was a hot 35 degree day and we were led up a rickety staircase into a tiny room barely able to fit the signature round table. Our first delectable treat was a bowl full of freshly made date and logan tea, it was delicate and cool and beautifully fresh, we all happily downed it with a smile.

Next were the signature ‘starters’ some small crab with endame beans, a school of fried prawns and a pile of unidentified steamed greens with garlic. Next came the meats, sticky belly pork with seaweed (delicious), one of Fu’s golden skinned chickens hacked into delicious pieces, a big pile of fried rice and the most delicious steamed yams ive ever tasted. To conclude a big bowl of ham hock and sweetcorn soup was presented with thick juicy corn delicious doused with some rice.

Dessert was my favourite xi gua, sticky rice cakes and some sugar cane that we all peeled ourselves.

Rustic dessert

As I sat there in the unfamiliar surroundings listening to the fast conversation that I couldn’t understand with it’s now familiar tones I thought how oddly normal this meal was, a simple deconstructed good old fashioned Sunday roast with the ladies. Odd how something so foreign to me a month ago had become so normal.

The conversation turned to love, as all the women shared their stories I felt warm in the fact that no matter where we are in the world or where we are in our lives, some things never change. In this case, get a group of women together over lunch and talk will inevitably turn to boys. As stories got thrown around, some sad, some hopeful, some fresh wounds and some old ones, collective words of wisdom were gathered from around the table. ‘Love yourself first’, ‘keep your options open’, ‘wait until it’s worth compromising’ and never lose yourself.

And finally, my favourite gem of wisdom from a lady with the best sugar cane bite of the lot of us, translated of course.

If you like him, never call. Never stop flirting no matter how old you get and surround yourself with men who fancy the pants off you.

So here’s to never giving up on love, Sunday lunch, Auntie Fu’s pumpkin and loving yourself first. All the way from China.

Post Shanghai Musings

Chinese menu trauma. Nice scarf!

Nihao lovely readers!

Well i'm back, i'm alive, i'm only partially covered with a fine mist of old Chinese man saliva and I'm adjusting to being in a country where I'm moderately less likely to be blown away by a typhoon and people understand what I say.

To say that going to China alone was one of the scariest experiences of my life would be an understatement. It was scary for a number of reasons:

-The place is absolutely fucking huge
-My fear of crossing the road in the UK where conformity reigns and green means safety was put to the test as crossing the road became a survival of the fittest
-I don't speak a word of Chinese

However, despite my daily terror, Shanghai was the most fascinating, challenging, exciting and thrilling trip of my life.

So now I am home in the comfort of my kitchen I can finally reflect upon my dining experiences, of which there were many, gross ones, exotic ones, vaguely familiar ones, outrageous ones and delicious ones.

So let's start our journey in a rustic farm, lamenting about love and bloody delicious pumpkin.

Bye bye (that is literally how you say bye in Chinese)