Day 102: how far can you get in 5 seconds?

The answer is: as far as you can! Today was interval training day again, and the last interval was for an all-out 5 seconds run. It was fun!

I've also at last started to attend the gym again, thanks to Arnaud who provided much needed company and motivation. One thing for sure: we are rusty! 15 min of cycling hurt quite a bit and, disappointingly but not unexpectedly, I can't quite lift as much as I did the last time I had a work-out (weeks ago). But at least the wheels are in motion!

Day 101: wizzing past traffic in Wapping.

Today we woke up at 8:00. We'll never know if the alarm did or did not work. I have no memory of hearing it, and neither does Stephen.

Anyway, I ended up running solo this morning - clearly this week the programme is all about speed work, as I was scheduled to run only 10 min (plus 20 min jog). So, I took this opportunity to impress all the city employees who were busy cleaning Wapping High St, by running past them at the speed of light (or as close as possible to said speed).

It was a lot of fun, and so was enjoying a strange view of Tower Bridge in the fog -- you couldn't see the top of the towers...

Day 100 (yes it is!): laziness strikes.

Today, 6 times 75 sec sprint + 3 min walk intervals. It was dire. I felt lazy.

Day 99: ride like (or against) the wind.

The cold snap has ended. This morning was mild again, and we run our 30 min against the wind, yet fast (especially towards the end, with 10-12 min or near-sprinting). I am feeling rather good about myself, particularly after oversleeping (= staying in the warm bed instead of running in below-zero temperatures) a couple of times last week, and skipping this Sunday's planned Fartlek to spend most of my afternoon at hospital after a kettle incident. Oh dear...

Day 94: fast run.

This morning, we run in 20 min the distance that we covered in 30 min on Monday. Perhaps it was the cold encouraging us to move faster!!! :) Certainly the canal near our place is not thawing very fast: there is now a rather thick and shiny layer of ice on it...

I am running another 10K race soon...

I've just registered for the Ashford & District 10K race in February, which gets some very good reviews. Let's see if training in the snow and frost will increase my time! :)

Day 93: on the road again.

Well, it had been a while since the half-marathon premiere. And here I am, back on the run after a wonderful, relaxing and indulgent Christmas holiday, where I did almost no running at all, except for a post-Christmas long jog along the river. Stephen and I started week 1 of the "sub 3 hours" marathon training programme, by getting up at 5.45 yesterday and running 30 min on snowy grounds. And this morning, it was even colder!!! Temperatures were below zero Celsius as we were getting back into the motions of interval training. I don't remember such a cold spell in London for a while...

When it's that cold, it's actually rather tough to breathe through your nose, as the air freezes your throat as it comes in :) Plus, you break back into a jog much quicker during recovery periods, otherwise your legs start freezing too! But we're doing this, and so far feeling OK. I still have a black toe from the half-marathon two weeks ago though -- how long can it take for a toe to recover?!?

Also during the holiday, this blog was accessed from far-away locations by my friends Maria and Laura, who helped me expand its reach to two more continents. Now, there are dots in South Africa, Argentina and sunny Hawaii... Any volunteers to visit Antarctica for me???