Okay, it’s been a couple of weeks since I last wrote. The first of those weeks, I didn’t have much to write about. I was resting my naughty foot in the hope I’d finally wave goodbye to the pain and swelling. The second week I was so busy that I didn’t have time. Now I’m making time.

Feet and Legs

Here’s a quick breakdown of my running activity:

Monday 8th April 5.20km Tuesday 9th April 5.18km Thursday 11th April 10.70km Saturday 13th April 5.00km Sunday 14th April 5.91km

It looks like my foot is on the mend at last! 5 days running 2 days resting is pretty intensive for me. Add to that a two hour rowing session on Wednesday evening and I’m almost looking like an athlete. Today, then, is a welcome rest day.

There are two big achievements here, though. First, 5k is the new zero. It doesn’t feel worth running a shorter distance as I don’t really loosen up until I’ve run about 2km. I’m sure, having said that, that I will run shorter distances, probably this week. The second biggy is that I ran over 10km for the first time in my life. 32.7km in a week is not to be sniffed at, either.

It seems that once you get to a certain point, distance is only limited by available time and how long your legs will last. A point made well by a colleague who got up on Sunday morning and ran 16km. His previous long run was 6.5km. I’m a bit miffed because, despite his twenty year advantage over me, I was carefully keeping ahead of him in the distance stakes. He thanked me for the loan of my hi-viz vest and passing on the jelly babies tip.

All five of these runs were made in my Vivo Evos and new £10 bifocal sunglasses and recorded with my super duper Garmin 305. On one of the runs, I was barefoot in the barefoot shoes. I got two blisters that day – the only running blisters I’ve ever had. I wore toe socks a couple of times. I feel some equipment reviews coming up soon.

Hives for Bees

On the beekeeping side of things, I’ve been building beehive bits when I can. I went to an auction of a deceased beekeeper’s equipment. Most of it was selling for more than new prices but I picked up a few bargains.

I’ve painted the hives and the auctioned bits a nice cornflower blue and now the old bits look like new. In case anybody is watching this bit, I used Wilkinsons version of Cuprinol Garden Shades (half the price at about 7 quid a tin). It’ll have plenty of time to dry and detoxify (although I don’t think it contains anything hazardous to bees) before the bees are installed. All that remains to do is make one roof and two crown boards.

Sorry about the absence of photos. I’ll do better next time.