Today, for the first time in over two months, I made it out to join up with the Running School. It might not seem like much of an achievement but this is the longest intermission in my time with the School since I first started running with Ira back in 2003. Yes it really has been that long! So it's fair to say that despite quite enjoying my relaxed weekends (and taking Joshua to his piano lesson) I've been quite keen to get back in touch with the group.
That said I almost missed the start this morning by faffing around at home and I was within 30 seconds of missing them when I rounded the corner at Jack Straws (the gang was already on the move). Luckily Mike, Adam, Darren, Rob and Amanda waited for me while I got sorted. It was good to be back even if my GPS watch wasn't ready for action and my calves still ached from yesterday's surprise race!
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| Isn't there a surprising amount of green space? |
To be honest the route that we took wasn't my primary concern today. I was just glad to be back and hopeful that I could keep going for an hour or so without destroying my legs. This is not as easy as it sounds given how brutal these minimalist shoes are being (to my calves at least - the rest of my legs are sitting pretty). That said I don't go down Fortune Green and Childs Hill way much and so the route chosen by Mike was all pretty novel to me; a good distraction from my physical state.
Happily in the final push up Hampstead Way I rediscovered a flash of my old form by pushing on through the discomfort and catching both Mike and Darren from a long way back. This concentrated effort almost felt good and to a degree I feel that I'm on an upward path again - and it's been a long time coming. Sadly I won't be able to join the School on Saturdays so often any more as my car has been condemned by the garage, and I'm without wheels, but with luck I'll still be around on Sundays. Definitely better than nothing!
Distance: 6.7 miles
Time: 58m 12s