Paddington to Plymouth

One of the best railway journeys in the UK (well the bit when you are in Devon).

The railway line hugs the coast offering some stunning views of Devon, Exeter, the River Exe, Starcross, Teignmouth, Dawlish Warren, the River Plym and of course Plymouth.

I recorded this when I visited my parents recently as I have such fond memories of this wonderful journey.

If you are in the UK or ever visiting you should try to do this journey at least once.

I won’t be running today! :(

I won’t be running in this today! vine.co/v/bDJDhL6Q70i

— Keith (@keith1974) March 23, 2013

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring – it does not feel like it

Seems like my Flyknit boost to my running may be all forgotten by the time I get back into my trainers. Bloody winter!

 

Feels like I am cheating

It is starting to feel like I am cheating on my running with work and the weather.

I knew this week (in fact the last couple of weeks and next) were going to be tough but I was determined to run at least twice a week. My run night was scheduled for tonight and even though I was dog tired I was convincing myself I would get in, get laced up and hit the road.

Sadly I got home, the temperature has plummeted and it was snowing when I got off the train.  I barely had the energy to run on a normal day but this was a step too far – and snow on the first day of spring.

I think it was a sensible decision as I had things to catch up on at home and this is a rest night ahead of what will be another very long day as I am facilitating at another workshop in central London.  It will feel like I have run a marathon by the time I get home late tomorrow.

It pisses me off that work gets in the way of my running but I don’t allow it to happen that often.

I need a goal and after a conversation with Paul, my running buddy - we have signed up for the Richmond Park 10k at the beginning of June.  I cannot make any sooner than that due to work commitments, our holiday etc but this will give me something to focus on and something to look forward to.

Paul assures me it’s a beautiful run and I look forward to running with him as his encouragement and help have been instrumental in getting me running.  You never know, I might just see how I go and have a discussion with Paul about that half marathon (I might).

It’s a shame I didn’t get out tonight as I had created a new playlist for the run and everything.  I may try to sneak a short run in when I get home from work Friday (If I get in at a reasonable time) but to be honest this looks like a one run week – which for me is rare.

I am seriously considering running in my lunch break around London or at least running with te Covent Garden Nike Running Club (which I have been threatening to do for ages).  I am sure all of these steps will help my current running lull and give me more opportunity to get out there.

Ivan made a joke about the weather in Britain and I hope his prophesy isn’t going to come true as I am not sure we can cope with any more winter…  I hope it brightens up and warms up soon.

(There is a prize for anyone who can work out who and why I picked this particular featured image for this post… )

 

Grumbles

I had a great weeks running last week. I was back on top of my game.

This week I have yet to don my trainers.

We have bitter (-11) easterly winds. Snow. Ice etc.

It’s thawed overnight but still very bitter (-6) and more snow forecast for later.

Sod off winter. I wanna get out and run! (Without freezing my bits off or fearing I’ll slip and break my neck!).

Snow in Colchester

Snow run

Unlike this mad fool I have decided that it is not worth risking an accident and have abstained from running on the snow and the ice.

We had flurries at the beginning of the week which have frozen solid. More snow is forecast this evening (the rest of the UK has been badly hit today including London).

I was thinking about this on the way home and I find it interesting that I am not perturbed at all to not be out in my trainers.

Last week was a different story as I hadn't gotten out as much as I had planned and it was annoying me as I simply wanted to run.

This week I convinced myself that I would not run in such treacherous conditions and am completely at ease with the decision.

I don't stress about not running but I find it interesting that inclement weather doesn't stop me and if I miss those runs I am annoyed. Snow and ice is a completely different story though and common sense prevail.

I've read the odd blog, Nike update, site etc all advocating taking a run in the snow but I simply think it is a bad idea. Fresh snow I would guess is a challenge but we have thick sheet ice here and to be honest I was worried enough about taking the car out in it yesterday.

I nearly went ass over tip on the way to the station yesterday so I'm sure I won't be running until its all thawed.

For now I shall enjoy the comfy of our warm home and snuggle up on the sofa with Miss B and my baby.

Here's a couple snaps I took on the train of the snow at the Olympic Park in London.

 

13th 13th 13:13

I could not have planned this if I tried!  Unknown to me I ran today’s run on the 13th (Jan), 2013 at 13:13.  Until two minutes ago I didn’t even realise today was the 13th!

Anyway I got out there and ran the longest run so far this year.

Old friends such as pains in my calves and pins and needles in my feet have come back to welcome me into the new year.

As you can see my pace is increasing (as is my cadence) and although it looks slow on this chart (this includes the warm up and cool down), I did break 5 minutes today and ran at 4:58.

I covered 5.4k today which also makes me feel really happy as I want to get out for longer and run further.

Only problem is the weather… it was bitter out today.  I wore running tights, compression top, half zip top, running socks, hat, gloves and shorts and yet the wind still cut through them all.  It was 3 degrees out but felt like it was much much colder.  My weather app states it feels like -2 out.

Not to worry though, I started to really find my stride again and enjoyed my running.  I found myself smiling as I got two thirds of the way around, enjoying the running, happy I was breaking through the pain and pleased that I found myself back out on the road enjoying myself

Fastest track of this run was Silver Moon by Donkeyboy.  I know, another Donkeyboy track but that is because I have swapped my running list to the Donkeyboy album at present.  I have updated my running playlist on Spotify, pop by and have a listen!

Again there were a few people out running, or speed walking in some cases, which is encouraging to see.  At least the weather isn’t putting them off either.

I listened to my body today and although I planned to run a solid 30 minutes, the combination of cold air and wind meant I had to stop to catch my breath a couple of times.  Still I am very happy with todays run and I managed to beat the weather.  The snow is forecast to come across the UK tonight so at least I have managed to get a run in before everything freezes over!

Post run sustenance is festive as we have Christmas goodies to finish off so I have refuelled with my mums home-made fruitcake with marzipan and chocolate coating  Yummy!

Blogging on the go

I don’t know why I have persisted with the WordPress blog tool for iOS for so long. It’s always been really buggy. Tonight I have installed Blogsy onto my iPad and hope that allows me to blog more frequently and easily.

What is the point of having an always on device of there are apps that do not allow you to use it to its full potential?

Anyway I shall use it and see how I get along. I could do with something to take my mind off things as its been a shit week. The crap has been flying at us from all directions and we cannot wait for the weekend for an opportunity to unwind.

I have a global broadcast to deliver next week and then have to get down to ensuring the next one (broadcast from China) is all set to go. It would seem that you don’t get dips in the working year any more. It’s busy busy busy!

One thing I am pleased about is the clearance of the protesters at St Paul’s and the fact that it’s starting to look likes it’s old self again. I just hope The City of London Corporation and Westminster Council manage to a) keep the protestors away and b) don’t take too long to clean everything up (it is filthy up there).

(As you can probably determine the app works well )

This makes me smile from my face!

Ok it may not be accurate (and I am not just talking about Godzilla featuring in the piece), but I find this quite amusing. Why couldn’t the 2012 team design something like this?

Pixelated London

Grey’s Court

We discovered Grey’s Court today, another new National Trust property on the way to Henley-on-Thames.

I think the photo’s speak for themselves (more on Flickr).