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Monday 20 April 2020

Lockdown - Week 4

Not a bad week running wise. Even exciting in parts! I've changed my Lockdown Diary to record daily runs and distances, plus something good that happens each day. I am so sick of the news, which is depressing and overly focused on the negative even without Covid. Whilst the subject of Covid is, by nature, depressing and negative, we all know that by now, and I'm fed up of being reminded of it at every minute of every day. When I look back at this period of my life, I want to remember that there were actually good bits too, and there are!

Day 21 - Monday 13th April - 6 miles to the City and St Paul's. Good thing: Being quiet there is time to stop and look at places, reflections, read the signs. I so love the City at this time! The shiny glass of the new building like a lake, reflecting back the terrific history surrounding them.



Day 22 - Tuesday 14th April - 5 miles
Whilst today in theory I did get older, having a birthday during lockdown means that you don't age this year, and you get a day of cake and prosecco for free (GOOD THING!)



And, instead of the 5 ultras in 5 days that I was planning on doing at this time (to train for the 100's over the summer, which now aren't happening, so I guess I don't need to train for them), I got to run 5 miles. Which sounds like a let down, but the 5 miles were to and from Florin Court, the building that was Poirot's flat in the TV series (Whitehaven Mansions) in Charterhouse Square. Quick bit of research, it was built in 1936 in the Art Deco style. It has a basement swimming pool. Parts of the inside of the building were used for filming in Poirot too, and Poirot's flat went up for sale in 2016, priced at only £699,950. Maybe, I will get his for my birthday next year, when I turn 21 (again etc etc), or even actually now that should be when I turn 30 (again etc etc), but we won't dwell on that. 



Day 23 - Wednesday 15th April - 10 km
Back to running to and from work, which means, back to work. The thought of this, and the subsequent and inevitable reality, are not overly stupendous, but Andrew ran with me for the first time, and I got to show him my route which was kind of fun. I think I've got my route down to perfection now, all but the 1/2 a mile on the canal, and it's pretty quiet. And since running to work every day for the last few weeks, I've saved 15 minutes in the morning, which can be used for 1) sleeping, 2) drinking coffee, 3) faffing (this is definitely a good thing). Plus, I ran a PB (on my watch, not an all time PB, and I've only had my watch a few weeks, but not to worry) for both 1 miles and 5 km.

Day 24 - Thursday 16th April - 10 km
Same as yesterday, and Andrew came again, and on a route I've been walking or running for 2 years, within 1 day he found a way to avoid the canal. And it's better. Which is kind of annoying, but then it is actually a lot better, so I won't hold a grudge. And now I avoid all the canal crowds. On the run home, it rained, kind of hot stormy rain, which I quite like. It hasn't rained for ages, come to think of it. It's quite nice to feel the rain on my skin (good thing), but it's still hot - winter seems to have gone, which had kind of passed me by with all that's going on. As it was Virtual Art Night (good  thing!!) and I was late, and ran fast home and set new PBs for the 1 mile and 5 km again (good thing!). So many good things!

Day 25 - Friday 17th April - 10 km
Same as yesterday and the day before. Which I was feeling a bit bored about, but actually, you've always got to do a commute (well, lots of people do), so how good is it to have one that you can run (good thing)? Better than getting the tube or a train. I haven't been on any public transport now for over a month. It's going to feel so odd when this is finally over - I can't imagine descending the spiral stairs at Holloway Road, into the deep dark dusty depths, sandwiched in with hundreds of other people. Another good thing - since being around the local area more, I've every day been seeing the wisteria in the park across the road,and it's colour and scent is stunning right now!



Day 26 - Saturday 18th April - 6 miles
An evening run to St Paul's getting there just as the bells chimed 8pm, and the scent of the tulips in Festival Gardens was dancing in the dusk. Heavenly! I really enjoyed this run, haven't run at night for a bit, and seeing the city light up is always magical.

Good thing - had time to organise my medals right from marathon #1 (which I've actually lost, which isn't so good, but I'm hoping it's somewhere at my Mum and Dad's). So satisfying with my spreadsheet and putting them all in order and thinking of each run!


Day 27 - Sunday 19th April - 6.5 miles
Morning run to St Paul's, just as the bells were chiming 11 am. My good thing for today, I chose as the secret garden we have found, hidden between to shiny office buildings by St Paul's. It's like paradise, and is it best place to do some body weight exercises mid run. 



Weekly total - 42 miles. All in all, a week of good things.

As always - take care and stay safe 💙💚💛💜💖

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