The Week Of Crimbo Limbo

'Crimbo Limbo', 'Betwixtmas'...call it what you like, but the few days in-between Christmas and New Year tend to be a bit of a muddle when secretly most of us crave some form of routine. This week has been very un-routined for me, which usually I would hate, but I have actually found it quite refreshing from an exercise perspective. I have also somehow managed to accumulate a lot of miles despite having more rest days than usual!

MONDAY: Rest Day

TUESDAY: five early morning miles with my sister dodging icy pavements around my hometown in Suffolk. I usually struggle to run in the morning without any breakfast but I think I was running on stored fuel from the previous few days of festivities!

WEDNESDAY: Rest Day

THURSDAY: a familiar six mile route back in Lincoln chasing the setting sun and another incoming harsh frost.

FRIDAY: I had intended to try a longer run today but on a truly miserable morning with frost, icy winds and a lingering freezing fog I just could not face it! I pushed for a reasonably quick six and a half miles out and back along the nearby river. With an icy cold headwind on the return leg it felt a lot harder than my average pace of 8.19 min/mile suggests. The horrible conditions did not seem to bother the camera friendly feline friend I made en route however (see image)! 

SATURDAY: after enjoying a good few weeks of running my local Lincoln parkrun I wanted to give back on New Year’s Eve and volunteered on barcode scanning. I decided to run down to parkrun, a short two and half miles from my house, scanned in some of the near 400 hundred runners enjoying their Saturday morning 5k, then ran a five mile loop back to my house, finishing on seven and a half miles. The layers I wrapped myself in to keep warm whilst volunteering were not so comfortable for running in – a slight flaw in my plan! To say I was hot whilst running would be an understatement; I think I finished carry two jumpers and a set of gloves!

SUNDAY: New Year’s Day and a trip to Clumber parkrun with my friend;  parkrun on a Sunday did absolutely nothing to help with trying to remember what day of the week it actually was! This was our first visit to Clumber parkrun and despite the extremely soggy conditions, it was hugely enjoyable. Full blog to follow – but a slight spoiler, I managed to finish as first female for the first time ever at parkrun - a good start to 2017! Next week London Marathon training begins...