Enforced rest

Thursday 5th February
The day the snow came. Unable to move my car as there was a good six inches of snow on the ground. Only got to work because Louise (Mumfy) came and picked me up at the top of Kingshill. Would have had to walk otherwise...anyway no way of getting to the gym in the evening.

Friday 6th February
As above, except it was worse than yesterday and we were sent home from work at 1pm. Went home, watched the cricket and chilled out.

Saturday 7th February
Still unable to move the car as too much ice and snow on the ground so had to walk/jog to the gym to get to body pump. Good class, but obviously missing one or two regulars. Decided to just walk up the old railway path to get home and very pretty it was too. Even saw a couple of blokes come down it on skis!

Running club night out in the evening, quite a good turn out even though a few people were unable to attend due to the credit crunch, the weather, or a combination of the two. We had an Indian meal in Mela on Victoria Road which was very nice indeed, and Ali found it highly amusing to hide my beer while I was in the bathroom. In fact, the whole gang decided to hide my entire place setting at one point...ever get the feeling someone is trying to tell you something?!

Joking aside it was a great evening and we ended up having a few drinks in Longs bar. Sadly my days of dancing the night away have long since passed and I ended up cadging a lift home in a taxi, getting a bottle of wine out of the fridge and waking up in my armchair five hours later to find the same bottle unopened. Ouch.

Sunday 8th February
Was due to meet Kev at the gym at 12 for a lengthy session on the treadmill. Unfortunately I underestimated just how difficult the snow and ice left on the ground was going to make moving my car.

I gave up after half an hour of de-frosting, melting, shovelling and revving and jogged / walked in. By this time Kev had already done the best part of an hour without me. Still, undeterred, I set about my work and managed 10k exactly in 55 minutes before (inadvertedly) hitting the emergency stop button. Changed, re-hydrated and got back on the horse, finally managing another 10.8k in an hour. So achived my goal of spending 2 hours on the treadmill.

It was a challenging session, not least mentally, but also physically as I was suffering from the effects of a night out. Big tick in the box and a self-pat on the back for getting though it. And I managed to jog some of the way home to boot...

I was really hoping to be able to relax in front of the cricket this afternoon but alas, England contrived to get bowled out for a paltry 51 runs while I was sampling the Asian delights of Swindon. Understandable if the West Indies boasted the attack of yore, namely Ambrose and Walsh, but this time it was a largely unsung attack that wreaked havoc. Surely changes have to be made, but how? The selectors have only sent one reserve batsman, Owais Shah, to the caribbean, which surely sends out the message that hardly anyone in the top five or six needs to fight for his place. Or maybe they will respond by dropping England's most consistent bowler for donkey's years, Matthew Hoggard...except they can't because he isn't there and none of the current attack seem to have looked the word 'consistency' up in their dictionaries...

Okay. I just needed to get that off my chest.

Monday 9th February
Finally managed to get to work in my own car tonight. No heroics in the training department, just 5 miles (8k) on the treadmill, nice and steady.

Tuesday 10th February
Speed session. 2k warm up, then 8 * 3 minutes @ 14 kph. 2k cool down. Good session, except I had to swap treadmills as the belt was slipping on the first one I tried.

Cheap Tuesday at the cinema as always, this time I went to see Role Models, which I expected to be a bit of a cross between American Pie and Road Trip, but it was actually a lot more subtle than either of those two. Sure it was funny, but it was a sweet and enjoyable journey of disovery for several of its protagonists, and I really enjoyed it.

Note to other cinephiles, if you're ever unsure whether to go and see a film, go to imdb.com and check the average vote. The Wrestler got a whopping 8.6/10, this got a similar score of 7.8/10. Films that are that popular with Joe Public are seldom pants.

Wednesday 11th February
1.6k on the treadmill plus body pump. No further cardio, instead I had a steam, went to Sainsburys, came home and did some editing. Part of me always wants to train a bit harder but another part of me needs to remember that training and running is only part of my life. I like the way my novel is going - it's becoming much tighter and better, more credible - and I have no doubt that if I keep going it could be something particularly special.

Thursday 12th February
Finally managed to get out tonight, and went for a run with Terry and Simon. Basically 9 miles at about 9 minute mile pace, an old route of mine but backwards: though the town then up Queens Drive, along Marlborough Road, through Old Town, down Kingshill and back to the gym. Nice to get out again. Rather glad I am doing Terminator than the Bourton 10k a week Sunday as I haven't done enough sessions outside for the latter. Still, I'm sure I'll enjoy Terminator.