In April 2011 I ran the London Marathon and raised £2600 for Asthma UK. It was a 'once in a lifetime' experience...or so I thought. Bravely (or stupidly) I'm doing it again, and this blog will chart my progress while I train for my second London Marathon. Come with me on my journey towards the big day. Here I go...again!

Saturday 10 December 2011

A cold long run with a suprise at the end

There was already a heavy frost when we went to bed last night, so I knew this mornings run would be a cold one.
I laid out all my running gear on the radiator in preparation (warm shoes, gloves and hat are a must for heading out on a day like today!) but I put off leaving home until 9am in the hope that the sun would have melted some of the ice.
It hadn't.
The pavements were incredibly slippery, but the skies were clear and it was a lovely morning to be out.
Two miles in and I was feeling quite a tightness in my ankle/lower calf area on my right leg. The nerves kicked in as this was where I had an injury last year, so I spent much of the next two miles stopping to stretch and I dropped my pace right down.
More than once I was tempted to cut the run short, but I persevered and by mile five I was feeling much more comfortable and I completed my planned 8 miles.
The route (in the picture - uploaded from my Garmin) shows what a winding route I took as I kept doubling back to stay close to home.
I did a lot of stretching when I got back and will keep icing my calf, but I'm hopeful that it was just a bit of cramp and won't cause a hiccup in my training.
For anyone who would like a chicken update, I'm happy to report that Kiev is laying an egg every day now, as is either Korma or Nugget. (Korma and Nugget are a bit like Ant and Dec...always together, quite amusing, but no one really knows which is which.)
While I was cleaning out the nesting boxes - mid-ponder over which chicken isn't pulling her weight - I stumbled across an egg half hidden in the top of the compost bin. How exciting! What I now need to find out is if this is day one of all three chickens laying eggs, or if the dog has also been having egg for breakfast every day for the last week.
I think my route back from the hen house will be via the compost bin for the next few days, and we'll be keeping a close eye on where the dog is foraging while he's in the garden.

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