Home Sweet Home

The last couple weeks in England was enjoyable, full of laughs and more then I ever could have hoped for, it really was a trip of a lifetime and although I didn’t run the race I sought, the journey more them compensated. On Monday, Carter and I spent the afternoon leisurely exploring the city on foot. We caught the tube down to Parliament Square and then proceeded to saunter up Whitehall and the Strand and finally into Soho. It was a day preoccupied with diving in and out of old pubs (our favorites the Coal Hole and the Lamb & Flag, what used to be the Bucket of Blood), grazing in extremely pungent cheese shops and soaking up as much atmosphere (and soot) as possible.

We spent Wednesday with Ben Saunders, a down to earth, first-class chap with a good sense of humor. He’s a bit of an adventurer, and we spent most of our time trading stories, laughing at ourselves and discussing future plans (currently he’s the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Brit). He graciously put us up in his flat and that night we feasted on a delicious dinner at an organic curry house, absolutely splendid (now that I’m back home I think I’m going to have to start my own Curry Club). The next morning, we managed to fit in a relaxing jog along the banks of the Thames before making the mad dash to Heathrow and back to our loved ones. Thanks again for everyone’s support, encouragement and kind words, they have been much appreciated!
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Today, after a good afternoon/night sleep, I went out for a wet, West Coast welcome home… looped along the waterfront, through BHP and back (it couldn’t have been better). I made sure to keep it light and easy, trying to run as much as possible on the grass but was surprised by how good (relatively speaking) my legs felt. I haven’t decided on any next steps largely because I want to see how the following two weeks unfold. I’m also meeting with Bruce next week to review the race and discuss lessons learned…

Training:
Monday: day off
Tuesday: 2x 25’ with an English pub lunch as the rest interval, quads feel sore
Wednesday: day off
Thursday: an easy 30’ along the banks of the Thames
Friday: an easy 35:50, legs felt all right, stride almost back to normal