Not many photos this week but a daily update as I have decided to try to get in 10,000 steps a day (and yes, I know there’s recent evidence that 3 x 10 minute bursts of very active walking is better for you – I do try to get as many of my steps as possible that aren’t running in the form of brisk walking!).

Monday – A lovely run and catch-up with Claire which ended with her trying to negotiate whether to go under or over a replacement fibreoptic cable for the old copper pair telephone wires that was being fixed up. Oh, the laughs! I went a bit further than planned and was quite tired from running 9.6 miles the day before.  Got home to a bulky parcel – I’d failed to get into the London Marathon, both in the first ballot and in the ballot you get into if you donate your fee to their charity. Another London Marathon fail top!

5.5 miles, 12:48 mins per mile. Steps: 11,708

Tuesday – Normally a very sedentary day in front of the computer working, so I made myself walk to the park the long way, march around it and do some complicated looking for drinking glasses shopping up and down the high street. Then walked to meet Matthew off the bus.

Steps: 11,048

Wednesday – Went into town to meet a lovely client, handily right across town at a gallery, so a good walk there and back. Then I went charity shop book shopping with my friend Sian in the afternoon (results here) and went out for dinner locally with Matthew in the evening, so got my steps in naturally (and a bit of work done!).

Steps: 12,508

Thursday – Took in an early evening run with Caroline – really nice to, again, catch up, though I must get the battery in my head torch replaced as it was a bit feeble.  I wore my London Marathon Fail Top and it was nice but I got a bit warm as it’s brushed cotton inside!

Liz in London Marathon top

London Marathon Fail Top 2020 race edition

5.1 miles, 12:34 mins per mile. Steps: 12,608

Friday – Went to yoga then did some walking including up to the park to meet Tara and pass her some books. Ended up walking VERY fast to meet Matthew off the bus to get my steps in. But this was the other day when I did steps I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Steps: 10,597

Saturday – Moved my long run to today. I went up to the post box to send some cards and carried on running around as it was quite cold and I was early. This then saved rather than restarted, hence the two-part run. Started off with Jenny and Mary Ellen and did the 4-mile canal route by the boatyard. Said goodbye to Jenny then Mary Ellen and I continued in a big loop that took in much of my old 5-mile route. We ran into Cannon Hill Park to use the toilets, then Mary Ellen suggested we run through the more traily part of Holders Woods. There was a big Alzheimer’s Charity walk going on and, hoping we wouldn’t suddenly encounter millions of walkers coming towards us, we nipped through the forest. So pretty!

Pool in a wood

Holders Wood – pool

Although we were both a bit tired it was a nice run.

0.75 miles, 12:18 mins per mile / 10.2 miles, 13:25 mins per mile. Steps: 27,390

Sunday – It was the Birmingham Half-Marathon today and running club had a cheering station as usual. Mary Ellen, Trudie and I walked down and we ended up with everyone on the Pershore Road, which meant we got to see all the runners going both out and back. Sadly, a suspicious van parked near the park and cricket ground meant the race had to be diverted and shortened, which was terribly upsetting, but had to be done.

Mary Ellen captured a great pic of me handing out jelly babies (I wore my waterproof over trousers so that it didn’t rain hard – that never fails!):

Liz handing out jelly babies

Sugar high for the runners!

and I was delighted to see loads of people I know, including Barinderjit Singh Cheema – aka Usingh Bolt – just back from doing a trip to Malawi to see the charities he’s been raising money for and looking fit and healthy after suffering badly during a John O’Groats to Land’s End attempt.

barinderjit singh cheema running the half-marathon

I saw him and he saw me seeing him and all was good!

I then walked home with Mary Ellen and went out for coffee with Gill then went to my friend Clare’s birthday celebration – she’s a Bournville Harrier so I saw a lot of BVH friends there and had a nice chat. Walked home (Gill had given me a lift there) as there were no buses for ages. A good running day with no running!

Steps: 17,429

Weekly total 21.5 miles. Total this year 801 (I need 833.33 at the end of this month to be on track for my 1,000 miles in a year total, and I’m now down just 14 miles on this time last year).

Edited to add: Mary Ellen has started blogging about running, too! See her first post here.

weekly-run-down-final-300x300The Weekly Run Down is run by two wonderful running women and joined by lots of other inspirational women. Kim’s weekly wrap is here and Deborah’s is here.