Scrubs

An absolutely delicious morning. Very crisp at minus four before windchill. I usually get to the Scrubs via the Grand Union Canal and Scrubs lane. Much of the canal was frozen over, which was pretty.

Woomword Scrubs doesn't match the Heath or Regents and Hyde Parks for outright size, but it is definitely the largest open space within regular running distance. This is its main appeal, in addition to the opportunity to reach it via the canal.

Here is the prison itself:

You can get right up to the walls:

Alas, though, no grappling hooks, tunnels or genius civil engineers rescuing their brothers from death row.

I did an 8 mile loop in 60-65 mins. This puts me at a 7.5-8 minute mile. I'd like to be a bit closer to 7.0, really, but it's all good. I always enjoy timing runs for the sunrise.

Primrose Hill, 8am, Snow

No, that pic's actually from my balcony in November. I hadn't even decided to write this blog when I ran this morning, let alone take any picture-capturing ability with me.

The snow wasn't actually settling, save a little on the hill, but it was gusting and cheek-stinging. I took the most direct route making a 5 mile round trip. Metcheck said -8 oC including windchill. Still had to take my gloves off towards the end, however, as sweatiness set in.

My thighs were still a little sore from Saturday's 6 miles which was the first run in two weeks. I'll be stepping the distance up to around 8 miles daily soon (with the goal of getting the time down comfortably below an hour) but I've got to work up to it, rather than jumping in immediately.

So this is the new year

This time two years ago I pasted a chart onto my kitchen cupboard door. On unashamed display in the open plan-kitchen/living-room, it represented a public commitment to a fairly comprehensive goal set. I was about to do something along similar lines this week with the primary purpose of tracking my runs - distance, speed, location. It then occured to me that a blog would be vastly superior form of accountability...

Assuming, of course, I can coerce people into reading it more than just once. I'll try and keep posts regular and short. Maybe I'll even be able to drum up some content that is interesting and not solely running-related, maybe even funny.

While I'm setting no new year's goals, per se, the Prague half marathon does represent a fantastic motivational target. Maybe regular news of my running escapades can motivate others, particularly those also preparing for said events. We'll see.

Hervis Prague Half Marathon, March '09

After several weeks of deferring the commitment, I finally got around to it this morning and registered for the Prague Half Marathon in March. It feels very good to have something to work towards.

With T-minus two-and-a-half months, I've got the time I need, but the pressure is on.