I felt more energised today, enough to put on my running shoes and attempt the 7 mile run (actually it's about 6 and three quarter miles) that I used to do fairly regularly, from my house to the river, from Hammersmith to Barnes bridge and back and then home again. Thankfully after the rather difficult shorter runs I've done this week this one was rather enjoyable. I had been idly wondering over the last few months (fearful of the effects of ageing) whether I'd ever complete this run again. But I plodded round fine and hopefully I can try and do it more regularly once the longer run is done. It is, of course, only just over halfway on the run I have to do in a fortnight (and I doubt there will be much time for training in Armenia), so I am not getting complacent. But I had fuel in the tank at the end of the run and had hit a nice pace which I think I could have kept up. I will try to do a 10-miler next weekend. If you fancy bunging Scope a quid or two then that would be lovely.
As always this run takes me back nearly ten years to when I was training for the full Marathon and doing the Other Boat Race. Every time I pass the little jetty where we disembarked after our victory I think of hugging Jonathan Aitken and how weird that was. I could never have envisioned an occasion where that would happen before we were thrown together by that TV show. But I haven't seen him since, despite weirdly bonding with him for that month, in spite of our many differences.
TV has led me to some strange places. Tomorrow I am going to Armenia with David Baddiel. Again something that I would have been hard pressed to predict even a fortnight ago. He's no Jonathan Aitken, but I am still looking forward to it.
The Thames was low and there were some people taking advantage of this and clearing the banks of rubbish. It looked like fun. There are a surprising amount of car tyres deposited in the Thames. Or there were before these good folks pulled them out. I quite fancied joining them, to see if I could find some ancient treasures, but I needed to finish my run.
This evening I was on the panel of "No Pressure To Be Funny", a topical podcast created by Alistair Barrie and Nick Revell and presented by James O Brien. Even though there was no pressure to be funny, it was pretty funny and another example of how podcasters can bypass radio and TV commisioners and get on with stuff themselves. I will let you know when it's up. They are committed enough to edit their podcast so it will take a few days!
On the way back home I noticed a new establishment has opened up on Shepherd's Bush Green, making the daring decision to not open a fried chicken shop. It's a hairdressers, but there is a handmade sign on the door saying that there is also a Colombian restaurant on the premises. I didn't really get a proper chance to check it out, but it seems to be at the back of the shop, just beyond the hairdresser bit. It seems like a bold move to try and double up businesses in the same building, but I am not convinced that a hairdressers and a restaurant go together. Not just because of the hairdressy smells drifting around the dining customers and the food smells permeating into the nostrils of people getting their hair cut, but mainly because subconsciously you'd just imagine you'd end up with hair in your food. With all that hair floating about it would surely some of it would land on your plate. Or just get mixed up with stuff in the kitchen. I am sure they do their best to stop that happening and it probably never would, but I'd still feel that. Also the only association I have between hairdressers and restaurants is Sweeney Todd.
Some things are not meant to mix.
I wish them the best of luck, but look forward to them giving up the ghost and having yet another fried chicken outlet to choose from.
