Running here, there and everywhere.

What do you do when you don't have a car? Well, if you're a runner, you guessed it! The pros of this are that it's a fantastic way to get in all sorts of varied training. Running to and from work with my inov8 rucksack adds a little extra weight to my run, so that mixes things up a bit. I also get in some ‘night running’, since I’ve been running back from work in the dark. Then there’s also running whilst tired, as I almost always feel after work. So, sleepy runs on little food double as good ultra training. 

Running from work also means that I don’t have to drag myself out of the door after work, as I’m killing two birds with one stone via running home. And it is pretty hard to drag yourself out of the door into the cold night air once you’ve settled down in the warmth of your living room. 

Finally, since I’m working a lot over Christmas, that’s a lot of festive training in the bag, which makes up for all that mince pie munching. This also puts a bit of a positive spin on working so much over Christmas, which isn’t the happiest prospect ever (Boo!). I guess the only major downsides to running to work are having hat hair (wearing a hat becomes necessary if the weather is bad, to avoid looking like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards...) and remembering to take my makeup with me ;-)

Christmas, New Year & Being Merry...

Christmas was hectic, but completely lovely. Getting to Winchester on the train was a stormy adventure, involving fallen trees on train lines and ale to the rescue on the train, whilst being stuck at Basingstoke station for quite some time.

Once at our destination for Christmas, a wonderful time was had by all. Christmas morning was glorious, with a beautiful sunrise and crisp morning air.

Me and George ran across fields and through picturesque villages. Christmas was also spent making mince pies (they turned out pretty amazing, much to my surprise), walking in forests and around gorgeous countryside and drinking mulled wine and cider.

For New Years, it was back to London. The fireworks near the London Eye were absolutely amazing, but shortly after making our way home through the crowds of people and partygoers, me and George got separated and we got lost, with no phone battery left. Ultimately I found my way back via tube, but it is still scary. That same instinctual feeling of helplessness overwhelms you, like when you were a child and got separated from your parents in a crowd. All came good in the end. That is the main thing.

So, I’ve really been trying to seek out some good races and events for this year. I’ve got the Brathay Windermere Marathon in May and GUCR 145 miler a week later...I did this combination last year, so rest and ice bath-ness is the key to recovery with this one. I’ve also been making enquiries about the Liverpool to Leeds 130 mile-ish race. However, in the meantime I’m trying to up my mileage, whilst upping the speed. I’ve also been doing weights like crazy and have bought a weighted vest. We’re going hard-core this year :-)