Week 2. Done and Done.

Week Two is now in the books.

When last we met, I wasn’t sure if I could squeeze any more miles out of Greenwich. I did manage to get twelve miles from it last week, but just barely. Greenwich Park opens up to a group of very large fields in Blackheath, and I thought I would worm my way around the periphery of those just to see how far I could go without having to retrace my steps. It accommodated my needs, but I will definintely have to run somewhere else next week. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. But please understand that I am trying to keep unsavory experiences such as stabbings, muggings, flashings, shootings, and even maimings to a minimum. It’s a tall order when you live in the big bad city ☺

Speaking of the city, I officially had a horrible run on Tuesday. I don’t even want to blog about it (But I will). And the thing was, it had nothing to do with me. I felt great physically, but it was if London completely conspired against me. Don’t get me wrong, I know I poke fun at London a lot. You kind of have to give the place a hard time simply because Londoners take themselves so seriously. But it really is a great place to live most of the time. I mean, its silly to say, but there are only a handful of cities in the world that have as much going on as London at any given moment. And by handful, I mean maybe three. And I only speak the correct language to be understood in maybe one and a half of them.

Nonetheless, Tuesday was the day London let me down. It was hot and smoggy. The sky was literally brown. For some reason, traffic was horrible so I was running by permanent gridlock, which meant I was constantly inhaling exhaust. There was even more garbage than usual on the sidewalks (and in this part of town, there be more than a little on good days). To top it all off, there was a plague of flying ants. I kid you not. They were everywhere. You know how sometimes you run through a cloud of gnats and the cloud drifts along with you for a few feet, so that you get temporarily nervous that it will stay with you constantly and you will never be able to stop going “ptff ptff ptff” with your mouth? Well, that happened to me Tuesday, except it was with flying ants, and the cloud literally stayed with me for the duration of my four mile run. I had bugs crawling on my jersey when I got home, and it stung when they bounced off my arms and face while running. I had to shower even faster than usual just to wash off the unclean feeling. By the time I was out of the shower, I generally hated everything about the city and wanted to move to the forest and live in a house made of candy. It was not a quality day for urban appreciation.

Soooooo…that was that. London and I have since hugged and made up, but I still don't trust it completely. Everything else is going pretty well. I have been lifting weights for my cross training, and feel pretty good about the three runs a week. Speed work and tempo runs are all under control, although the super nice track I found near us costs £2.40 to use. I think I should get them to sponsor my marathon fee… seriously.

Last Weeks Miles: 23 miles
Average Pace: about 9:15
Overall Impression: Ant Free For Two Days! (AFFTD!)