The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Thursday, November 3

good morning good morning everyone. Your aggressively adequate hoddler-in-chief is still very tired. Sharp transition:

This is because your HIC ran a marathon on Sunday! And it takes a significant amount of time to recover from.

Your HIC has run in two marathons before the Marine Corps on Sunday (New York 2015, Marine Corps 2018) and so this time the goal was not just to finish, but to set a new personal best. To that end, fitzie trained for essentially the entire year. First from January-June as he built up fitness, and then from July-October 30 when every day had a scheduled workout.

This meant hours spent exposed in the sun and stifling mid-Atlantic heat, running distances at a faster pace than I used to think was well out of my physical capabilities. And it meant sacrificing weekends of sleeping in, eating junk food and drinking alcohol, long days of post-work and pre-hoddle workouts and much more.

But it was all done with a goal in mind.

And I did set a new personal record of running a marathon in 3:37.10 !!

Cramping in both legs had set in long before I crossed the finish line. Much of it is a daze, but I do remember finding metal railing to lean on after finishing. Then I found a patch of grass and allowed myself to finally collapse.

Goodness, what is there to do now? I got the itch to run a marathon again this time last year, so it feels like preparing for took a significant chunk of my time for the past 12 months.

“What do I do now?” is a common question among those who finish a marathon. Every time I run one, and sometimes during training this year, I resolve to never do it again because the physical pain and emotional/mental toll are significant.

I don’t know what to do now. I know I’ve eaten well the past few days. I’ve had some donuts, a cake slice and other sweets and beverages. Just enjoying things I haven’t been able to for a long period of time.

It usually takes between 3-5 weeks for most people to recover from a marathon.

I will take some time to rest up. And then? Who knows.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Good Lovin, by the Grateful Dead

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold’s latest video on Son’s injury, the January transfer window and more

Manuel Neuer reveals he has been suffering from skin cancer

Juventus drop to Europa League

FA condemns Hillsborough chants at Liverpool games

Ben Chilwell a doubt for World Cup after hamstring injury