Back on my bike for the journey to Chesterton for the Andy Reading 10k having copped out and driven to last weeks event. I’m rather enjoying riding gears regularly again after so long on fixed and my £125 well used Muddy Fox hack is proving to be fine for rides up to 15 mile or so as well as the commuting and shopping for which I bought it. I gave the remains of my Bob Jackson away via freegle which is what freecycle seems to be called nowadays.

I was expecting cold and windy but actually overheated on the way out and had to stop and remove a layer after Islip. Soon enough though I was stripped down to shorts, shirt and vest feeling the cold in the playing fields where I usually shiver waiting for this race to start. A girl from Reading said she was glad to see a vegan runner and we chatted as the runners jogged towards the start line. Fortunately this race is chip to chip as many of us were still on our way when the race started.

Once round the village then over the M40 and along Akeman Street for a bit into the wind but not as bad as I feared what with forecasts of 15 mph gusting to 30. Onto the airfield and I seemed to be managing my planned 7:45 minute miles which should give a sub-50 and hopefully under 48:33 which would be a season best even if still 2 minutes slower than last year. Lots of airfield and still feeling strong past the halfway point where I decided not to bother with the water.

After the 4th mile we turned directly into the now very strong wind which slowed us right down. I couldn’t manage 8 minute mile pace yet no one seemed to be passing me.Way in the distance the point where we doubled back and re-emerged onto Akeman Street was visible, after that it should be tailwind all the way. I held back a little then back up to speed once we’d turned and kept it going to finish in 48:09 217th of 419 which I was pleased enough with.

My plantar faciitis seems to have improved a lot, though not totally disappeared, what with my reduced mileage and daily stretches which I found here. I’ve got a sore arm instead now but at least that doesn’t effect my running.

This is our poor old Lala enjoying a bit of sunshine last Friday. She is very ill and has various tumours we can feel, probably worse further inside her. Just a few days after this photo she is a bag of bones and terribly weak. She has hardly eaten and sometimes struggles to breath. We took her to the vet on Saturday really expecting to say goodbye to her but he gave her a jab of B12 and some pain medicine for us to give daily and said we should report back in a week or sooner if she seems to be suffering badly. She still seems to get some enjoyment from the hot water bottle we’ve put on her chair and from toasting her head by the gas fire. I’ll go and say good night to her now – maybe it will be goodbye 🙁