N.O. to P.F. A.S.A.P.

Thursday 26th February

Run #57

2.2k Round the Block Lunch Shuffle

Another day another runch. Though I now feel like I can't even call this a runch given that this was no run, and a jog at best. Maybe just a pootle…

But I am determined to try and make these recovery runs as close to a rest as possible. Even more so than yesterday. S.H.O.R.T. and S.L.O.W. So I can see this whole 'active recovery' bit is going to get tough before it even gets going. Not physically but mentally. But mentally because not physically. Argh.

There is, I thought as I forced myself into a geriatric paced shuffle around Eaton Square today, a massive irony in the fact that 'running' like this feels like cheating the Streak. Whereas actually it’s the running at all that's cheating the recovery. Which is all precisely not to cheat the Streak. I have muttered to myself more than once today that 'the definition of a qualifying Streak run is one where at least 1 mile minimum is run in one go'. And in the war in my head me myself and I have all done our best bargaining and I’ve only permitted myself to keep up the daily ‘running’ on the proviso that 100% of the focus is on getting over this PF asap. I was not expecting this would be the fun bit, I knew it would be boring. But my God it’s boring.

Bigger picture dammit.

Bigger. Picture.

And I am boring myself whining about it so; no more of that. Instead, here is a list of all the Embassies it is possible to run past the front door of in less than 2.5k out and back from my office, provided you know where to go:

• Embassy of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire
• Italian Cultural Institute
• High Commission for the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago
• Malaysian High Commission
• Belgian Embassy
• Embassy of Luxembourg
• High Commission for the Republic of Singapore
• Singapore Embassy
• Portuguese Embassy
• Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
• Embassy of Finland
• Ghana High Commission
• Embassy of Austria
• Brunei Darussalam High Commission
• Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Royal Norwegian Embassy
• Embassy of the Republic of Serbia
• Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain

And that’s not to mention the Bolivian Consulate, Lesotho High Commission or Consulate of the Arab Republic of Egypt, all a mere stone’s throw on side streets I didn’t venture down. Basically like shooting ambassadorial fish in a diplomatic barrel. On a sunny windy day the flags will look amazing. I might plan a longer ‘Emabssy runch route’ for when the rehab pootling is done, see just how many it might be possible to fit into a 5k. I feel it may be a lot which, considering my flag knowledge is on par with Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, can only be an educational bonus.