This was the immediate sequence of events thereafter…

I ran 9 miles in the local park.

It was the furthest I ever ran and it felt great. 

I finished the 9 miles thinking I could easily have ran further…  Then I kinda thought that I should have pushed myself more.  I did it in 1 hour and 28 mins.  It’s not the best time but I am only 4 weeks into my training and I am not very confident with the whole distance thing yet. 

I have been doing a 3 mile run 3 times a week, as well as a long run on Saturdays.  I have really started pushing myself on the short runs.  I am down to 23 mins on the 3 mile run, I have been managing to whittle down the time bit by bit every week.  My immediate goal is to run 4 miles in 30 minutes and to sustain that pace for the short runs.

Here, this is my training plan:

I got it off the internet, It’s based on Hal Higdon’s Novice plan.  I reformatted it onto an excel spreadsheet and tweaked it to suit.  It was an 18 week plan but I had 20 weeks to go, so I added an extra two weeks in there (in red).  The plan is designed to increase the recommended 10% in distance each week.

I put it up on the pin board and we tick it off as we go! 

I usually run the short runs in the gym.  The treadmill is great because you set the pace and the time you want to do it and that’s it, there’s no cheating!   It gives my joints a break from running on concrete as well, that’s another plus.

 Running outdoors is far more enjoyable though…

4 weeks down and 16 to go!

This is another photo of the Seal.

I saw him the other morning at the crack a dawn again.  

Seeing him is almost a religious experience I tellya…  especially when it’s just me and him and we’re looking at each other in the peace and quiet of the morning. 

Me looking at him and him looking at me. 

Dog of the sea.

We dwell in two different worlds, yet our daily routines are entwined.   I wonder where he is when the tide is out and he’s not on his wooden floating pallette.

I want to swim in there and go with him for some adventures under the sea.

I really wish I was a selkie…

Cycling through London at that hour is like going on a little adventure, there’s something magical about the moment before the crack a dawn I tellya. 

Anyway, I was going to put a bag a rubbish in the wheelie bin before I left, when I stopped in my tracks cuz there was a massive spider and he had created a huge web in between me and the bins (that reminds me, I dreamt of a furry kinda half-animal-half-bumblebee thing getting trapped in a cobweb last night, and I freed him using a ruler anyway, that’s beside the point) so I didn’t bother putting out the rubbish for two reasons, one being that his web was so impressive, it was a mansion of a web, I would hate to be the one to tear it to pieces by walking through it.  The second reason is because I am terrified of spiders and wouldn’t risk the leggy fella climbing on top of me…

So I threw the bag a rubbish in the front door and put my leg over the bike and zoomed off into the day.  I have been leaving at the same time each morning and isn’t familiarity a great thing cuz there was a couple of mornings this week where I had more than one encounter with the same animal on my route to work.   A black Cat crossed my path three times this week, in the exact same spot and the exact same time!  I warned him out loud this morning to watch himself on the road; I really would hate to see some black cat pizza concoction on the road when I come back that same route on Monday.

I also have met a fox crossing the road in front of me, again, the same spot at the same time, I just know it was the same fella… y’know when you just know, dontcha…

I dingled my bell at the fox.  I did that cuz I kinda thought that would keep him on his guard and make him feel like I am the enemy.  The foxes are getting too relaxed around people… they will get beaten up if they continue like this so I wanted to keep him on his toes (claws).  I secretly liked him though, he was so cute. 

I flew down the hill at breakneck speed after my encounter with the fox, it was lovely and no car or no person or anything in my way, I thought of this line from Patrick Kavanagh’s Poem:

Oh, Alexander Selkirk knew the plight

Of being king and government and nation.

A road, a mile of kingdom. I am king

Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.

When it’s like that I like to cycle in the middle of the road.  It’s such an exhilarating experience, cycling a bike… not all the time, but every so often I have moments where everything is just right… and I think I have one over all the people in the bus.  Because of this feeling, I had a huge urge to wave at people but there wasn’t anyone in any of the buses that passed by so I went to work bursting with unspent waves.

Anyway, when I got to the path along the Thames, my morning peaked… cuz the sky and the view across the river was just breathtaking I had to stop and take a photo for you… 

Look into my fridge, no prizes for guessing which shelf is mine…

I didn’t have any money.  But I thought If I bought a loaf of bread I could bring an egg sandwich into work with me.  And a loaf a bread wouldn’t break the bank.

This was Good thinking…

I bolt down to the shop anyway to find it closed.  Blast it! I figure it’ll open in ten minutes (7:00am) so I run back to my flat to make a cuppa cha n do stuff.

So before I go out to the shop again at 7:00am, I decide to use my time wisely & put the egg into a saucepan in preparation for this egg sandwich. 

Being tied for time, I legged it to the shop again.  Twas open, so I go in only to find that they’re out of bread.  Blast it anyway – I grab a pack of pitta bread instead and make my way back to the flat.  When I reach the front door & look for the keys I realise they are not with me.  Now one might argue at this point that it’s not a problem and you’ll be thinking “ah shur, just ring the bell and the flatmates will come down and letchya in” – but those of you who know me & who have been to my flat know only too well that the door bell doesn’t work (even if it did, we wouldn’t answer it).  We don’t answer the phone either.  One time the fire alarm went off downstairs at about 4:00am in the morning and no one bothered to get out of bed to investigate. 

So I thumped on the door anyway, full blasht.  The flatmates were conked out in their beds two floors up…  Zzzzzz

No answer.  Didn’t have my phone on me either to ring Bob London & tell him to let me in.  I was screwed and me last egg was on it’s last legs boiling away in the saucepan inside.  I decided to fill my lungs with air and give a good shout inta the letterbox.  I let out an almerciful yelp that resounded around the neighbourhood.  I was in luck & was let in so I could tend to me darling egg.  The poor unfortunate thing was sitting in steam when I rounded the corner. 

After the egg was tended to, I ransack the place looking for my keys…  no where to be found.  I borrow my flat mates keys and run back to the shop to see if I left them in there.  Low and behold they were on the counter.  Race back to my flat.

At this stage, I was officially running late.  I slit open the pitta bread only to find a mouldy piece of pitta looking out at me. 

Feck! 

Back to the shop again – visit numero four-o in the space of a half an hour – scandalised!  Yer manno must a thought I had the hots for him.  Anyway, I swap pitta’s with him & run back to the flat.  May I just point out that I’m sweating like a paedo in a playground at this point. 

I make my sambo & glance at the clock…

shock horror! Look at the time & I’ve to be at work at 8:00am and it’s a serious cycling distance from where I am standing! 

Grab me helmet & me bike & cycle like Stephen Roche to work only to get there and realise that I forgot my egg sandwich!