Animals VIII / back in the saddle

It feels a bit as though my training starts now. My horrible October and November lost me lots of ground, and I've spent the last couple of months trying to get back to where I was before the Marathon du Médoc. Finally it feels like I'm getting there. I've run over 35 miles this week and, for the first time in ages, felt pretty good whist doing it. The problem now is trying to fit everything in - the last 7 days have seen two gym sessions and four runs. It's starting to take a bit of a toll on my work and social life. I guess, on the plus side, it's only for the next couple of months. I've also started doing some really sad things like putting surgical spirit on my feet to toughen them up and have just started to research taping techniques for blisters...

Today's long run was 14 miles - my usual loop around London's central parks, though this time I took in the entire perimeter of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. It felt relatively easy going given I've not run this far since September last year, though I did tire a bit for the last few miles and the rain was pretty unpleasant at times.

Here are a couple of animals from Victoria Embankment - a sturgeon and a camel.