Friday was a rest day and the weather was fine, so I had arranges a boat trip with friends, Dave and Sue Olson and John and Sarah Greaves joined Stella, myself and the dog, Harry Hawkes for a trip up river in Tha Finn. Very enjoyable evening with plenty of wine consumed on the boat and a brief stop at The Old Swan in Thames Ditton. Everyone enjoyed it but i certainly felt a bit wiped when I woke up on Saturday. It was later than usual and I had to load some tables into the car before setting off so arrived at Bushy late. Assuming the car parks would be rammed I parked in a side street near to Teddington Station, and had to make a brisk jog to get to the start. Actually arrived at 9.02 but fortunately they were a little late setting of so got away with the pack but feeling slightly jaded and not well prepared. First lap was a slow 8.42, but picked up when the field thinned out and averages 8.31 overall for a time of 26.20, which was not too bad.
Sunday run was a 9 miler and important to get it in, but I had to get over to Thames Ditton to put up gazebos at a spectator hub for Ride London. Kingston was generally blocked to traffic, but I cycled over through back roads via Surbiton and was able to get through. Once the gazebos were set up I wished the guys well and cycled back home, around 10 miles in all. Had breakfast and didn’t feel like a run at all. so decided to delay until the evening. Spent most of the day demolishing metal shed which is being replaced by a smarter wooden one. Not exactly relaxing but a good project that needed doing. Made a point of stopping just after 5pm and sitting down to rest for half an hour before getting out on the run. Kingston still seemed to be suffering from a Ride London hangover but I wa able to run past the traffic on Kingston Hill to Ladderstyle Gate and then do a complete lap of the park before returning via Warren Road to make the distance. Good run although felt a bit tired at times, but quite a strong finish. Average pace 9.54 which is not so bad around Richmond Park which is quite hilly. So thats it. Target for week: 29 miles, Actual total: 31 miles. First 3 weeks completed on schedule.
This Running Life 