In winter I am quite tied to the gym treadmill. I can’t run on roads in the dark; with no pavements or street lights, but plenty of blind corners and unwary drivers, I have narrowly missed being flattened a few times. Taking to the gnarly mountains with a headtorch means very slow running with plenty of tripping and dubious benefit. Also if the weather is bad and I twist an ankle up there in the dark alone, it can get serious very quickly.
When my local gym decides to close for 2 weeks over Christmas it makes training very difficult, as I am working during the daylight hours. So Tuesday morning I get up very early and drive to the next nearest gym, which is supposed to be open at 7am. I arrive 6.45am, all closed, no lights on, no cars in the car park. I wait till 7.15am, nothing happening, I fall asleep in the car with radio on. I wake up at 8.45am (I had been up late night before) and gym is open but my car battery is flat. I go into the gym and ask the receptionist what happened, he informs me that they decided to open at 8am. I don’t even know where to start.
I am on the treadmill, supposed to run 10 miles, and although the car situation is not going to change at all in the next hour, after 5 miles I can’t wait any longer. I have to push start the car by myself, using my frustration as fuel, cursing the gods and anyone else who may be listening.
Christmas Eve with Nina’s family and sea bass, then Christmas day with my family and goose. Really nice relaxing time, but poor little Jim feeling very ill all week.
| 19/12/2016 | AM | PM |
| Monday | REST | REST |
| gym closed | ||
| Tuesday | 5 tm | REST |
| gym opens late | ||
| Wednesday | REST | 2km tm (6min) |
| queue for the treadmills, have 6mins on the machine! | ||
| Thursday | REST | 1 x 700m hill rep |
| Jim up all night, sleep in. Run down and up hill to our place then drive to London | ||
| Friday | 5 x mile in 5.20 (30 sec) | REST |
| Saturday | 21 @ 6.55 pace | REST |
| did same run xmas eve last year, it buried me then, felt easy and fun this time | ||
| Sunday | 5km parkrun – 14.59 (250m shortcut) + 7 miles | REST |
| took wrong turn with Owen Hind, shame as would’ve been close to the record | ||
| TOTAL: | 50 miles. tm=treadmill | ex = excersises |