Do you know what? I'm bloomin' cream crakered. That can only be the reason why todays run was so damned hard and not in the least bit enjoyable. However it was the third run of the week......
After my Parkrun last Saturday where I was pleased to hammer out 26 1/2 minutes of massive effort, I decided to run another 5K on Monday of this week. Well it was MURDEROUSLY hard! I was puffing and wheezing like a 100 a day smoker. The weather was dull and this added to my grumpy mood. Why was it so difficult? Was it karma biting me on the arse, after my "toying" with the poor chap who tried to pass me last Sat at Parkrun? Was it my Dr Evil laugh? "Muuuwwaahahaaaa!!" God knows. But it was 5K in the can and I actually felt miles better about two hours after it. Amazingly, my legs felt all "alive" and tingly and I wondered why this was? FAST FORWARD to the News and Weather on ITV......
Tuesday was reported to have bright sunshine and blue skies all day!!! I looked at the gorgeous weather lady Lucy Verasamy showing off her big yellow sunny map and decided there and then - I would run the following day!
Cue Tueday morning. The sun shone as predicted and I felt INCREDIBLE when I looked out of the window. I donned my clobber and told Mrs Dan that I was "off on a 12".
"12K?" she enquired? "Yes maaam! I'll be over an hour......" and with that I stepped outside Dan Towers dressed for a long run - complete with shades!
It was soooo glorious outside and I loved feeling the sun warm my body. Vitamin D was being absorbed in huge quantities and making me feel great as I slowly ran along the Thames path to Twickenham, turning left towards Teddington Lock. Reached the lock at 7K and decided to walk slowly over the footbridge, stopping briefly to watch the boats bob up and down and listen to the water rush over the weir. It gave me a brief minute or two to get my breath back before heading off for the next section - back along the Thames, through Richmond and then home. I descended the steps on the other side of the river and started jogging. Ahead of me, about200 metres, was a pony tailed beauty who bobbed along in her lycra catsuit. "Why was she darting from left to right like that?"......"Oh! There she goes again, darting across to the opposite side of the path???"......
Then all became clear. The path was a quagmire of mud and puddles!! The rain the night before had clearly not evaporated in the bright sun and before me lay one of the most treacherous obstacle courses known to man!! (or woman..!!). I started plotting my course wondering if I could avoid getting covered in mud and getting wet feet. In the end, after a lot of left and right and jumping and sliding I decided the best course of action was to go through as many of the puddles as I dare - right through the centre where the stony path actaully had more "grip" than the slippery muddy bits. Once I'd made that decision my speed suddenly crept up! Before long I was passing the pony tailed beauty and said "This is FUN isn't it?!!" to her as I passed. She laughed in agreement and I left her to admire the view of my rear end as it charged ahead of her!
Got home and discovered I had done 13.1K!! Very happy with that as it is the longest I've run (I think?) and being that it translates into 8 miles, means that 10 miles isn't too far off achieving. I'll keep that in the back of my mind. But the main thing was that my legs felt AMAZING! Not stiff, tired or sore. Maybe I've crossed some sort of "line of muscle development" or something because usually I do get sore legs. But not this time. HOORAY!!
NOW, onto this mornings 7K run. After the massive HIGH of the 13K, today was a nightmare! I had two walk breaks because I just couldn't keep going. I wasn't annoyed by this though because I'm pleased that I went out and just did it, despite feeling tired. So I'm now taking a few days off - maybe until Sunday or Monday before I do another. Aint that the beauty of running? You can do what you want WHEN you want - (unless you're training for a marathon. Then you HAVE to put the miles in Sorry Juicyju.)
So that was my running week. Have a great rest of the week one and all and don't forget........I love you all!!
Yer Pal
Dan .
another packed week of running there 
think i might have followed said lycra beauty for a while longer 
Week Eight, Run Three
Post grad run three ✅
Week 9 Run Three, Nailed it. :-)
Week three run one...aborted
