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Well the title of this webpage is "What took you so long?" and that could really apply to me both blogging, and running to be honest! I'd like to say I was injured or provide a worthy reason, but actually I couldn't be arsed. The heatwave continues and shows no signs of cooling down - oh for a run in the rain - and I need to be of the mindset of "bugger it, I'm still going!"
Following on from last time, the next day Georgia and I went to Rogue Runners for the first time in ages. It was her idea but she wasn't forthcoming with the session that was on....and no wonder! Pyramids! It was another warm night as we set off on a warm up down the coast, and two miles later, I was soaked...and that's before the session! It was good to be back no matter how hard the session was and though it was tough, I enjoyed it!
Having ran for a few evenings, I was more that confident that a session in the gym with Georgia was on the cards. So at 4:30pm I accepted the chance of a cup of tea...then came the message. G had the idea of doing treadmill runs then rowing and repeat. So off to the gym I headed hoping that I wouldn't see the tea again and duly popped on the treadmill and moved the legs. Ok so there was nothing too special about my running but it feels like there's a lot of return for a bit less effort (there's certainly enough sweat!) The cup of coffee was well earned.
Friday saw me off to the annual parkrun conference, this year held at Warwick University campus (being one of the few places big enough for 250 ambassadors!) The first afternoon is usually fun and games of some kind in teams and this year was no exception! There was all sorts of inflatable fun and even "table" football!
Saturday saw us descend on Leamington parkrun en mass and once we got over the minor inconvenience of one of the coaches breaking down, we arrived. Great to see some familiar faces joining us that morning, with Vassos Alexander (Radio 2 sidekick of Chris Evans (and also conference host)), Chrissie Wellington and former 5km record holder, Dave Moorcroft. I've been lucky to chat with Dave and Chrissie on numerous occasions and they are tremendous ambassadors for athletics. So inspirational to have them along!
Sunday was an easy day and whilst a few headed off for a early run, I caught up with a few things, not least, the fact my filling had come out! So Monday saw an appointment to put it back in....and the dentist told me the tooth was fractured and had to come out! So ouch! There's Monday written off!
Tuesday was GoodGym due to my appearance at BelongCon and I managed to knock out a half decent 5km run beforehand. Once again, Fletch and I enjoyed a decent match at the World Cup! It was hard to say if the tooth affected me as once again it was a warm one, but another 5k registered when really not in the mood!
Wednesday saw me take the stage and talk about parkrun and the sense of community it brings. I shared the stage with some incredible people and it truly was humbling to hear their stories! Undoubtably though, the star of my presentation was Benji below!
Saturday saw a return to Hove Prom parkrun to guide run with Paul, and partake in the celebrations. It was another scorcher and I'll be honest, I was grateful to take it steady and of course, it's always rewarding to help a fellow runner out.
Flushed with enthusiasm, I headed to Preston Park juniors on Sunday, enjoying coffee and helping out before hitting the gym and giving the treadmill/rowing intervals a go! Strangely, I actually enjoyed it, finding some decent running form on the treadmill, (if only it wasn't bloody boring!) as I headed around downtown Chicago (virtual run on treadmill screen!) Hopefully folk didn't mind too much the sweaty slob that pottered around the gym, but in fairness, with the sun out, there weren't that many people there!
So did this kick start my week...? Well a combination of more bloody heat and pressing deadlines meant that there were no runches this week at all! I know, I know absolutely shocking and I'm a disgrace but life sometimes gets in the way!! Monday saw a 5km in tandem with Georgia at the gym, back on the treadmill. Well, a tandem run if you account for Georgia being much speedier than me, starting before me as I was late and thus being half way round a gym circuit when I dragged my sweaty self off said treadmill! (Whisper it though, I did enjoy it again!)
Tuesday saw a freedom parkrun round Preston Park with fellow ambassadors Lucy & John, where we checked out the latest work going on in the park, and contemplated the amends to the course necessary for Saturday's run! JJ loves such a challenge and I can't wait to see what he devises. As for the run, still warm but what is described as "conversational pace" (running speak for "too bloody slow")
Wednesday was GoodGym once again and though I knew I'd be running home afterwards, I still added on at the start to make the outbound 5km. I need to work on getting the legs going again after our chats though as they were next to useless as I headed home 90 minutes later, meaning I gave in to the mental demons, and walked home once and additional 0.9 miles was logged.
The challenge now is to get off my backside, do some running, find things that are comical and comment on them! That, will definitely have to be another story....(cos it ain't in this one!)