5.5 miles and not dead

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So, I’m doing the Commando Challenge – for those who’ve forgotten (if you want to sponsor me, please say, ‘cos the more sponsorship the more I’ll feel better about my attempted self amelioration) and am ‘working up to’ running the 7 miles. Only I need to do more than 7 miles – because Slough is flat, and the course has the same topography as the lake-district in small.

I looked at the topography of the run yesterday and nearly wept. But still, today’s run was 5½ miles and I’m not dead. My knees are tired, my shins ache and my teeshirt smells faintly revolting. But I’m still moving and able to trundle up and down the stairs. So that’s awesome.

I’ve got just under a month to get to about 12 or so miles (uh, so the loop I’ve done today twice, plus maybe along to Burnham station). Easy. Once I can do that running through a few bogs and up a huge f-off hill and crawling through a tunnel filled with muddy water, it’ll be a walk in the park.

Still, I got back and felt *good*, as opposed to the first few when I got back and felt *exhausted*. So that’s good. It’s nice to be getting fitter again. We also went swimming a while back – and that was lovely too.

Anyhow, so, Car news. The car has been christened, but I can’t remember the name at the moment. Not Charles, but a C name of solidity. It’ll come to me. Chester, that’s it. Anyhow, in a fit of generosity and having spent last night sorting through the garage service invoices, and having spent some examining the absence of them for the last 16,000 miles I had a chat with a ‘Volvo specialist’ and a ‘Volvo dealer’. The end result is he is off to Volvo at the end of September for an actual garage service, a visual inspection of him and if I can’t find a solution in the mean time, a new heater hose and valve. The valve doesn’t work, which is annoying but not desperately so, but the hose has become porous and is gently oozing water. This brings us to the list of faults on the £272 pound Volvo:

– The radio works intermittently, and only when it’s in the mood.
– The wheels needed balancing (and indeed have been balanced this morning)
– The rear wash wipe appears to currently be a ‘wipe only’.

and most importantly, and continuing my uninterrupted run of success; the clock doesn’t work. It works if you set it, until it gets bored. This is essentially the same as the one in the Minor. I’m quite pleased. Somehow it’d be wrong if it worked.

Anyhow. Soon it’ll be time for lunch, so I need to go make it :)

KateWE

Kate's a human mostly built out of spite and overcoming transphobia-racism-and-other-bullshit. Although increasingly right-wing bigots would say otherwise. So she's either a human or a lizard in disguise sent to destroy all of humanity. Either way, it's all good.