Tube strikes don’t stop runners!

7.2 miles, 1:04:54, 8:57 min/mile, 170ft elevation gain

What do you do when there is a tube strike & unusually you need to get to several places in London in one day… If you’re a runner, you run!

Combined my recovery run into a run commute today to save time & run some London based errands. First stop was dropping some camera kit off with a supplier in Vauxhall. That bit I did by bus, didn’t really fancy running with £5,000 kit on my back…

Next stop, a meeting in Victoria. I had time to kill so I took a little detour through the Royal Parks. I rarely get the opportunity of running through London so decided to make the most of it. Although I wouldn’t want to do it every day, I do really enjoy running through London, there is something quite magical about exploring the city on foot. Shame it rained. Again.

It was supposed to be seven miles, varying between easy & pushing hard for two minute intervals. lets just say that running with a heavy rucksack on your back makes pretty much all of it hard…

Thankfully my suppliers are quite used to me rocking up to meetings in my running gear!

A perfect winters running day!

Roundshaw Downs parkrun, 5km, 23:13, second lady, 7:37 min/mile

Beaut of a winter’s day with great running conditions, cold & sunny! My training plan said to run parkrun as a ‘tempo’ run. I googled tempo (just to make sure), ok, ’comfortably hard’.

So I ran comfortably hard. It felt good. I could have pushed harder. I didn’t because then it would just be hard, not comfortable. Course PB. Oh. Was that too hard…?

Really am struggling to know what pace to run at at the moment as I’ve become a bit faster all my pace bands have changed. I keep surprising myself.

Rain, rain rain… A not so perfect winter’s running day…

15 miles, 2:20:31, 9:22 min/mile, 730ft elevation gain

I don’t have too much to say about this weeks long run. What can I say? The tough ones make you stronger…?

The sensible runners saw the weather forecast & switched their long run to Saturday then had a smug rest day on Sunday whilst those of us who weren’t sensible struggled to get our miles done in horrendous conditions.

I really wanted to run, I love the longer runs when I can just get into a groove, zone out & run. The conditions though were horrible which made for a fairly miserable 15 miles.

Rain, cold, residue snow that had become ice, residue snow that had melted & become mud… Everything.

On a plus point I managed to get a good few off-road miles in along some of my favourite Croydon trails & the snow remnants in the Addington Hills were quite picturesque!

To be honest I knew from the onset it wasn’t going to be pretty, one of those runs where you just have to put your head down & get it done. I’ll be thankful of it come race day! (although I really do hope there isn’t snow in May…)

Other runs included the Wednesday night club run, ran with the second group again. Tough, tough, tough!

Week Nine: 36.4 miles in total with 1,440 ft elevation gain.