It's cold outside and I can't wear mittens because they're not flattering to my hands!

Hello campers and how's the weekend been?  Normally, I write about knitting on a Sunday evening, but this evening, I want to talk about running and how amazing it can be.

It was the Winter Run today, a 10k race through Central London, which sounds pretty amazing, and really, really was.  I ran it last year before injuring my ankle, and it took me 1 hour 31 minutes, which was pretty slow, but I did it, and I got a medal to prove it.  I then signed up for this year in a fit of adrenaline based madness, and promptly forgot about it, particularly when I had to pull out of the Royal Parks Half Marathon when my ankle meant I couldn't really train for it.  In November, Hattie suddenly piped up about my big run, and I went and checked through my emails, and hurrah, I was signed up again.  Hurrah might not have been my actual first thought.

I did manage some training, after a long time of no running, and managed 10k a couple of times without too much pain and difficulty, so I knew I could do it.  Signing up for the Ealing Half Marathon made the whole "you just have to get on with it" thing easier, plus I've done a hell of a lot of exercise this year so far.  In January, I've walked, run and cycled 211.3km, according to my Runkeeper app, and more if you count the UP band data, which I don't at the moment, as the bloody thing is broken.  

Well, the Winter Run is done, and I managed the 10k in a mighty 1 hour 24 minutes, which is more than 5 mins faster than last year, and I'm so pleased about that.  I've still a long way to go before the Ealing Half Marathon, but I'm on the right track.

The only crap note is that I lost my lovely Peerie Flooers hat; at least I can knit it again, and this time it'll fit properly; the old one was a bit loose.  

The mental dust diet only allows me one proper food meal a day, and it's going pretty well considering.  I've still only lost about 7 pounds in 3 and a bit weeks, but I've lost it from visceral fat (what?) and not from muscle, and this seems legit, what with me standing on a scale with bare feet and a small electrical current running through my body measuring all my stats.  I'm definitely looking leaner and thinner; and my waist and bust have shrunk.  My hips have not.  This is not great, but lets stick to the positive.

Hurrah for running, and I'm going to do it again next year, and let's hope I can shave another 5-10 minutes off that time.