Back on track.....

After the Wilmot Wander disaster, last weeks running got off to a shaky start. Or, not really a start as such, as nothing happened running wise until Thursday, after which it turned into a tremendous weeks running. The most exciting thing being, that Andrew doesn't seem to have knackered in his ankle! And he can run on it for 4 miles! 

Took a long weekend off and went to London with my Mum. Woke up early on first day off and hot footed it down to Victoria Park, for my most heart lifting 7 mile run in weeks. It was light, for a start. It didn't rain. There was a manageable amount of mud. My legs felt springy (ish), bright (but not too cold) air filled my lungs, I was in one of my favourite places, and there were loads of other people out and about. It was so good that I repeated this twice more over the weekend, and like a true addict, finally felt like I'd got my fix.

We also went to Kew Gardens, and to brighten the February mood, here are some nice snaps. There is an Orchid Festival on right now, celebrating Brazil and the Olympics this year (can you believe, it's the Olympics again, already!). The glass house was so warm wandering around inside, as the wind was rattling the glass panes up above. The sky outside was slate grey, but this was drowned out by the riotous bright colours of the flowers inside. I was considering moving in, but then I walked past the mangrove display, and fancied I saw the beady eyes of a croc following me, so I pushed open the door against the battering wind, and returned to England.

Once outside, we did a version of a Top Gear challenge, where we raced home by different transport methods. My Mum walked part of the way, and then bravely tackled London transport by herself for the rest of the trip. I ran home 16.5 miles all the way along the Thames to Andrew's house. I love this route more than any other. I used to run here all the time, and it was so good to be back. I also saw Miranda Hart, which is the first celebrity spotting I have sighted on a run (other than at the London Marathon, which doesn't count, because you don't have to look very hard, and I saw Boris Johnson once while I was cycling but that technically doesn't count either I suppose, as I wasn't running). Results of the Challenge: close, but I scraped a narrow victory of 10 whole minutes. Hurrah!

I have been much fortified by the weekend. Sometimes I feel like depression is like a shadow. I'm always aware that it's close by, but sometimes it's a very dark shadow and it almost feels like it has a physical presence all around me, and no matter which way I turn I can't get rid of it, even if I turn to face the 'sun' by doing all the things I know helps make things brighter. Other times it fades so that it's hardly there at all, just a faint image behind me that I don't even notice if I'm not looking for it. And I guess having faint shadows is alright; we all have emotions, as we're human, and it's natural and good for us to feel both highs and lows, at the right times. I guess I know my problem comes when the shadow becomes something more solid, it hangs around for ages, even when I shouldn't be feeling low, and gets in the way of me living life to the full. The shadow has faded a lot lately for sure, and I am determined to do everything I can to keep it that way as much as I can.