Fourty Two point Two

So, let’s look at this as the next chapter of my life, the next miles of my running journey. Who knows what they will bring?

With the Boston marathon only 10 days away I’ve decided to join my girlfriend in a bit of RnR. This is my second pedicure here in Asia, in fact ever. Whilst I’m reluctant to let any poor soul near my feet it does feel nice to give my feet some tlc. I just watch the skin, grime and calluses fall away from my soles after they have passed over miles and miles of Asian roads and trails. By the end they may even be like new! A perfect treat for all their hard work.

Had a pretty special run, a bit wet and wild but the reward was these great views

Breakfast consisted of beans, raw onion, flat bread and tomato. As next week during the 4 Deserts race I’ll mainly be eating my freeze dried meals the rich flavours need to be savored.

Running through the bad times. After getting some really bad news at the end of 2013 I spent some time dealing with the grief. 1 week later i laced up my running shoes and went out into this. The cold, furious, and wet weather summed up my mood. But as the miles churned on, as the fatigue grew I began to realise how strong I am. I knew then I’d be ok. There is something powerful that only runners can understand - it’s that sense that even though each mile can be torture - the earned achievement of getting through the worst of it, means you’ll reach your goal, strong, wiser, calmer. Running settles my soul, and I love it for that.

About to do my first run since my itb blew out on country to capital at the beginning of January. This was me at the start of the race with my mum. Since then it's been glute work, foam rollers and more glutes. Now feeling strong for 2014! Lets go run!

Sweet Hi5 gels in TK Maxx. Very happy I've got my nutrition sorted for the Portsmouth marathon.

Great BBC article on the different types of runner. Ultimately we are just one massive family and however we choose to put one foot in front of the other, the most important thing is that we do it, and we love it.

It's 2 weeks till the Portsmouth Costal Marathon and a harmless day of training on Tuesday went sour after a niggle in my Achilles lead to my ankle swelling up like a peach. Getting it strapped, iced, and generally resting(Eugh... Hate that word...) seems to be working and 4 days on I'm considering running on it sometime next week. Though it's only 2 weeks till Portsmouth and I've done the hard work maybe a rest isn't such a bad thing

What doesn't kill you make you stronger they say. Let's hope it's the latter!

My shoes were lovely and clean before the Wimbledon Parkrun! Guess I should get round to reading them.

Ah the iconic windmill at Wimbledon. Somewhere near the start of the Wimbledon Parkrun. A fantastic course, that fast and boggy. A really great way to get in a bit of trail racing. Used my Hoka evos on the course and whilst they are great shoes to grind out long miles in comfortably, I did find them a little unstable around some of the faster stretches of the course. I think the high platform is just a bit too much when tearing round a corner. I’ll be going back this weekend to see if I can better my 19:38 in my adidas xt4.

My favourite view on my run in to work. Ok so it tends to be a bit dark when I start out but crossing Albert bridge every morning makes it worth getting out of bed for.

I just joined Any Way 10k on Strava. Who's with me?