Sunday morning, 7th March
On Saturday I looked at the weather reports in advance for the following day. Predicted temperatures hovering somewhere between a brisk -6ºC to -2ºC (depending on the wind chill factor) didn’t give me much to look forward to at all.
Sunday morning brought with it a slightly more gentle -1ºC and a cold wind. But at 7:30am it was already promising to be a beautiful, calm and clear day.
The route was great: I ran through Hyde Park, completed a lap of Holland Park and from there continued towards St James Park. I passed the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge and ran all the way to Tower Bridge, passing by the London Eye and the Cutty Sark on the way. I then completed the loop by going back past Buckingham Palace. It was definitely a long run, but a tourist’s dream!
Once I had warmed up and the sun was out I felt great and I was doing ok until the fifteenth mile at which point my thighs started to complain. Nevertheless, I covered a respectable distance of 17 miles in two hours and 40 minutes.
On a slightly different note, I’ve lost another pound this week. Only another six to go before the real thing!