Thursday 1st - Post-work run/hobble

A cold evening and my coldest run to date. It started well. Until I stumbled. I managed to avoid hitting the deck but did do something to my glute/hip as I landed heavily on it. I stood for a few minutes to work out what to do next. I figured I had three options:
1) call Richard to come and get me
2) walk home
3) run slowly home

Both 1 and 2 would involve getting cold. So I went for option 3. Not the most comfortable run, but doable and kept me warm.

Tuesday 13th - cold lunchtime try out

I’ve been on the metaphorical injury Couch since my run on the 1st. My right upper leg has been sore.

But now my quad is feeling better so I thought I’d give it a tryout. It was cold - 1 degree. So I warmed up at home today. I also decided to go for a slow trot along the seafront as it’s nice and flat and shouldn’t encourage me to push it too far. It felt like a tough run. I might be fighting some infection at the moment - Richard has covid - as well as having spent the past couple of weeks sampling various Christmas treats!

A 2.45-mile run. My head felt good. My leg was a little sore so it isn’t fully healed yet. More patience is required.

Saturday 17th - 7km afternoon run

Between Tuesday’s run and today’s I’ve had a cold and thought I had Covid (a faint line appeared on my lateral flow test but outside of the 30-minute window which doesn’t count apparently).

We took the dog for a walk first thing, and then I headed out for a run. I wasn’t sure what shape I’d be in having had a cold on top of my injury, so permitted myself to see how it felt. After my first couple of kilometres, I decided that I’d aim for a 6km run and so made choices as I ran along. So a bit of St Ann’s Well Garden, before running around the outside of the cricket ground and then joining my Thursday evening route down Wilbury and along the seafront.

This is one of those runs that I feel very pleased with myself for having completed. There is no end of jobs to be done at home and as I’d left it later in the day I could easily have put it off until it got dark and then put it off again. But I didn’t.

Tuesday 20th - lunchtime run

I’m still testing my leg out as it is still a bit tender on occasion. But it was dry and mild and so definitely a good day for a run. My right ankle was a little sore at one point so I stopped and walked for a while. That seemed to help.

Generally feeling a bit slow and sluggish at the moment. But also pleased that the 10K I’ve signed up for as part of Brighton Marathon weekend is back on after the London marathon organisers face stepped in to rescue it 💪

Thursday 22nd - Lunchtime 4-mile run

My final day of work for the year. The last day before the Christmas break for everyone - our company has given everyone tomorrow off as recognition that it has been a tough year. It was mild if a little drizzly, and I figured that as it was the last day of term effectively I could have a slightly longer lunch hour. So off I went. I wasn’t sure how far it would be and was surprised when the Nike Run App announced 6k. All was achieved while listening to the final episode of Fortunately (I have a lot of episodes still to catch up on but figured I’d start with the end!). A good run to end my working year.

Saturday 24th - 5-mile run

I’d originally thought I’d do a Christmas Eve park run but I was awake earlier than that and so headed out. I didn’t have a plan and so gave myself a few “see how it feels” options. I started at St Ann’s Well Gardens and then on to Dyke Road Park. I gave myself two choices here - run home down Dyke Road, or run around the corner and use the route I’d devised for dark runs. I did the latter and enjoyed being able to see where I was going. I arrived at the seafront not long after the park run had started and so watched a lot of festive runners run past me quickly. By the time I stopped I’d run just over 8k relatively comfortably (tho not quickly).

Earlier in the week, I had an email telling me that the Brighton Marathon weekend 10k is back on so I have a training programme to find or create!

Monday 26th - 4-mile run

A Boxing day run around Margate. It’s been a lot of years since I last ran from my Father In Law’s house, and as a former marathon runner, he enjoyed seeing me go and return and was interested in my route making suggestions before I left. I didn’t have a plan for how far I wanted to run, so I made it up as I went along. I did end up running along the sand at one point as the undercliff path was somewhat covered in the stuff. Mostly firm but an occasional bit that made it harder work than it should have been.

Thursday 29th - 3.5-mile run

I’d originally thought that my run would be on Wednesday, but it was wet and miserable much of the day, so I shifted it. I’ve been working on a plan for the 10K I’m doing in April, but that doesn’t start until next week, so today was a free run. I chose a favourite route and headed off feeling reasonably good about myself.

A good run to end my running year.

I don’t plan to keep doing a monthly run log. It has served its purpose and has given me something to look back on as I improve my distance. I’m going to be spending from now until April working through my 10k plan. If I miss having this log, I’ll bring it back, but for now, it is farewell.