IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TWOS

Thursday 30th May 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3:

Eagle Reds 151-190 Longton VM 'B'
v RICHARD THURSTON W 21-7

I've discovered the way to deal with our home green is like a visiting bowler would do. Just take it as it comes on the night and not rely too heavily on what one might consider to be previous knowledge.
Two home wins this week was the target to get my home form back on track and I completed the second one with even more authority than the previous evening.
The green had been cut, so a slightly different beast to the night before but I soon picked up on it and for once at home, took the first end and avoid going behind.
The game swung either way early on and my opponent looked a handy player, but I've started putting good twos up with more regularity and more often than not had him coming after me with a bit of pace. Richard could rightly report a story of bad luck at times, but I stuck to the task and made it difficult for him. Even when Richard did get in with good ones, I'd be back on it the next end. There were a few ends I could have played better, but generally speaking it was possibly the most brutal I've been in terms of not giving my opponent much of a chance.
My scorer Arthur shouts "all-but" and I was surprised. I hadn't realised how far I'd got ahead. With last night's game in mind, I play straight peg and whilst not perfect, requiring a good bowl from Richard that didn't materialise.
Coming off a bit quicker at number ten, I grab a beer and endeavour to watch the remainder of Jimmy Sloan's game at number nine. No sooner had I pulled the ring off the can, disapointingly, Jimmy's game finished too. Lights out. That was that.
On the night. I might have been lucky not to be drawn against Arthur Parker's opponent, Rowland Lee, who was licking everything up and part of a good Longton side that won easily on the night, with seven winners to our three.

MAYBE IT'S AN AGE THING
Whilst the bowling is going in the right direction, the running hasn't been going in any direction whatsoever.
No injuries as such, just six or seven weeks of not feeling up for it. Nothing done on the bike either apart from the meagre six mile round trips to work and back.
I don't think it's been a lack of motivation, just that beneath what has appeared at face value to be wellness, I've been tired, stiff, lethargic at times, coughing up a bit of crap first thing in the morning and I don't know what's been up exactly. All I knew is that running wouldn't help. This sort of thing has been happening with more regularity over the last ten years and so maybe it's just an age thing. I don't feel as though I've put any weight on since abstaining from training either, which is a weird one.
All that said, feeling a bit fresher, I had a few tame outings last week before a good 54 minutes on the Rossendale fells up Fo Edge and Cowpe Low from Edenfield whilst on a camping weekend.
Loved it.
Base fitness remains in a good place to be able to just go out and do that run on the back of nowt much for a while.
I don't know where the running is going so rather than start getting delusion ambitions about it again, I'm just going to peck away at it and see where I get to as the year goes on.