James - 7.5

1:08:55

Longest run ever in terms of distance and time, hooray! Man did I go slow though. I thought I would have trouble going at a slower pace, but obviously not, and it was mostly leisurly. When I tried to push faster during the last few minutes though not much came out! A different kind of exhaustion.

My parents were walking along the canal to the pub and I came up behind them. They stood at the edge and cheered as I went past. I didn't see them until they did so, so at first I assumed I was being heckled by strangers. But no, that came later in this mammoth adventure.

When coming up to a never-before-run bend, I saw something heavy ripple in the water ahead and heard kids voices. At first fearing someone had fallen in the canal, I then saw it was a group of children throwing big rocks off a wall OVER THE PATH into the water. They let me pass before they carried on though.

Later I ran past a boat crammed with young teens, and one who looked familiar said hey it's the guy from co-op! And told me to fuck off etc. I returned the gestures and my now standard response to piss-takers which is to raise both my fists high and go "woo!" I decided that all parties involved enjoyed this exchange.

In other news, Alison started her new job today. You should all congratulate her! In short this means I will by the end of the year be running in Florida heat that will reduce my North European frame to crap. Woohoo!