Recovering from rest…

7 miles, 1:01:57, 8:51 min/mile, 305ft elevation

A recovery run from, um, a rest day… I’d already decided I wasn’t going to run on New Years Day, hence the horrendous long run attempt on the NDW on Friday, so today’s ‘recovery’ run was somewhat superfluous… An early 7 miles. I missed sunrise I was that early!

I was out running so early on a bank holiday as we made the most of the last day of the Christmas break & had a little day trip to Brighton!

It wasn’t meant to rain…

6.2 miles, 51:17, 8:15 min/mile, 240ft elevation

Although I have a growing love for mud & hills, sometimes it’s still nice to run through London, I do love my city! So as the sun was shining & it was a lovely winters afternoon, cold but bright, I decided to run along the river to my afternoon meeting in Vauxhall. (With a supplier who is thankfully quite used to me rocking up in my running gear!)

Except by the time I got to London Bridge (my starting point) it was dull & grey… Ran the wrong way towards Tower Bridge to add in a couple of extra miles then the Thames Path back up to Vauxhall Bridge. Started raining at 5 miles but it did result in my fastest mile (7:40) so hurrah for rain!

A nice 10k to end the normal ‘working’ week…

Soaking wet & stubborn; An unexpected 12

12 miles, 1:46:16, 8:51 min/mile, 590ft elevation

I didn’t have time to get back to the trails this weekend as work took over. One of the downsides of wedding photography is, especially during the summer months, your weekends being dominated by work. Often after a 10+ hour wedding shoot on the Saturday I’m tired & struggle to run on the Sunday (tbf I struggle to do anything the day after a wedding shoot!). Being on your feet all day, running around & carrying heavy cameras is almost a workout in itself.

Unusually I had January wedding this year, in Hampshire so bit of a drive away too. I arrived home at about 2pm on the Sunday & the first thing I did was pull on my running gear determined to get a few miles at least in whilst it was still light.  Fuelled only by the veggie full-English I’d had at the hotel that morning I plugged my music in & hit the roads.

Prior to my new found obsession with trails, hills & mud & anything that isn’t a road I had a regular route that took in as many of the South London parks as I could in the distance I wanted to do. Previous training cycles I would do variations of this route almost every week getting up to 20+ miles at a time. I’d christened it my Hearne Hill Run as that was always the furthest point.

Today, South Norwood Lake, Crystal Palace Park, legs still feeling ok so I headed down to Dulwich, a loop round Dulwich Park. Over to Brockwell Park. it started to rain. Shit, I wasn’t dressed for rain… Run round the park or jump on the bus…? Decisions. I ran round the park. Legs beginning to feel tired I was now soaking wet. My stubborn streak kicked in. Side roads & back streets up to Streatham Common. Do I cross the common or jump on a bus. Still stubborn, still raining, still soaking wet. Crossed Streatham Common, skirted the Rookery. 11 miles, feeling tired & a little grumpy now. I pushed on, now on the main road. 12 miles. Fuck it, I’d had enough as I jumped on a bus & phoned the husband to ask him to put the heating on & have a towel waiting for me by the door…

I’d gone out planning to do 5 or 6 miles. I was delighted to have hit 12 & to have hit 12 fairly comfortably after a day-long shoot on the Saturday.

It was so miserable I only took two photos…

Missed parkrun due to said wedding but did do the Striders club run on Wednesday.

Week Two: 33.4 miles in total with 1,640 ft elevation gain.