ten that felt like twenty

Foolish And Freezing – So Who Brought The Water Then – Saved By Sweet Potato And Butternut Squash

It was a ridiculous idea.

Throughout December, I consistently covered approximately 10kms whenever I ventured out for a run… which, to be honest, wasn’t all that often. I knew that I had planned to go Ice Skating on 3rd Jan and fancied a little bike ride on the 1st Jan. So what on Earth posessed me to agree to an 10 and a half mile run with Hauling My Carcass on the 2nd Jan???

It had been a bitterly cold night and was nudging 2 degrees when we set off for the run. Pavements were icy and any road that wasn’t considered “main” seemed to be in the same sorry state. Our route took us out of Putney, through Roehampton and into Richmond Park where we ran into the centre, out to the far side and then back round the perimeter before ducking across the A3 into Wimbledon Common and then back to HMC’s flat. I used to live next to Richmond Park, so I know it quite well but it seems to have become much, erm…hillier. It is a beautiful place to run and it is easy to forget that you are still in London as you dodge the deer but once you venture away from the perimeter, it’s lack of landmarks mean that it is very easy to take the odd wrong turning… much like we did – adding approximately a quarter of a mile and a sandy, uphill bridle path to our planned route. We also got some unsolicited abuse from a couple of lycra clad idiot cyclists and I like to think that, had I been less tired, I would have come up with a far wittier retort than the profanity I managed at the time.

Trainers on the verge of extinction, lack of training and the undulating terrain all took their toll on my calves and lower back. For all the support and cushioning that my running shoes now provided, I may as well have left them at home and taped a slice of bread to each foot instead. The last mile and a half back to the flat was torturous… we hadn’t taken any water with us (must remember water on long runs…must remember water on long runs…), I’d had breakfast at 8am and it was now nearly 2pm so my stomach was churning and threatening to expel what little was left in it. Hauling My Carcass then informed me what his LG had planned for us for lunch and that was enough to keep me motivated to, literally, stagger the last stretch – sweating, red faced and slap-footed back to his place.

All the technical info (route, elevation etc.) and HMC’s side of the story is on his blog. It was one of those runs that was great once it stopped. 2 pints of Ribena and the spectacular gnocchi, butternut squash and sweet potato bake that awaited us was fantastic and soon had us feeling human again.

Soundtrack to this post: Editors – In This Light And On This Evening