Falling in love with London again...

Woke: 07:48 AM
Snooze: nil, I woke up before the alarm went off!
Up: 08:07 AM
Fuel: mummy portion of porridge
Out: 08:50 AM

My first long run with the running club today, was quite excited! As I closed my front door and crossed the roadworks onto Court Lane, I wondered how many people would turn up... Quite a few so it would seem, after some debating and discussion on how long and where, we broke off into 2 groups with Dianne leading the 7 milers and Gillian leading the 11 milers which included Lacruta, Lorraine, Penny and I!

Running by: 09:05 AM
Weather: cold and windy to start, the sun came out to welcome us along the South Bank... ahhh - although the North still beckons it doesn't stop me from falling in love with London again
Thoughts / Notes:

• What a jolly soul Lacruta is!
• I'd never run to Camberwell by myself...
• Ah, how we look out after each other... Gillian pointing out 'dog poo'
  
• According to Penny and Lorraine's GPS gadets we'd only been running 4 miles when we got to Lambeth North! I always had this thought that central London was miles and miles away since it takes so long on the bus and well, seems kinda long when I drive in the car too...
  
• How long have I lived in London?! I can't believe I've never run along the South Bank before?!
• What nice toilets County Hall has...
• Big Ben!
  
• Hope Penny gets her hip sorted, she had to get the bus back from Victoria
• I should've brought my camera - the sights we saw! London Eye, South Bank, Big Ben, Chelsea Bridge, QVC...
  
• Anyway still feeling a little bit self conscious about flinging my iPhone around whilst running with a group I'm not overly familiar with (yet) and I guess it'd be asking for trouble really... not sure I like the iPhone camera function that much either since I have to take my gloves off to use it which is a bit of a faff... maybe when I know the running peeps a bit better I'll start flashing my iPhone and be able to take some blurry photo's for you...
  
• Next week I'll feel less shy about joining Lacruta singing her heart out as we crossed Vauxhall Bridge... 'I'm singing in the rain!'... no your not it's very sunny!
  
• I did however feel comfortable enough with the group towards the end of the run and alerted the ladies to the 'shit!' on the pavement too.

Mornings!: this isn't too appropriate now that I've got my running club buddies to chat too (well... they chat to me, I just breathe heavily...)
Back: walked through the door at 11:45 AM - hahaha, and all before midday - the whole day still ahead of me!
Refuel: during the run I had 500ml Lucozade Sport (orange flavour), when I got back I treated myself to some nice warm rolls with yummy cheese (that stinks out the flat), and some tasty chorizo, cup of earl grey to wash it all down ahhh!
Route:

Distance: 12.48 miles and feeling good... ok a teeny weeny bit stiff...
What next: 3 miles on Monday morning weather permitting, apparently it's supposed to be snowing!

Had an afternoon nap (yes I did!) and pottered about for the whole afternoon. Got ready and called for Paul who wasn't even up yet! Seamus and I headed to Adventure Bar for a few pre-dinner drinks which included 241 cocktails - yummy! Rob turned up limping - it seems he's puled his medial collateral ligament, well that's our Sunday runs out the window for a good few weeks - hope he gets it sorted, he's only been active for a few weeks after 9 months of rest. The rest of the gang started pouring into the bar and taking advantage for the 241 cocktails too - how happy I am :-)

So 09:00 PM arrives and I hurry everyone to down their cocktails. While some of us headed to the off licence (it's BYO) and cash points (it's cash only) I headed straight to the Thai Corner Cafe, one of my favourite restaurants. It's a popular little place that gets very busy and you have to book, even during the week. They have 2 sittings, one at 07:00 PM and and the other at 09:00 PM... we got there and had to amuse ourselves in the cold while the 07:00PM sitting got told off.

Andy and Mary think they're at my 5th birthday party

Alcoholic beverage treats: 1 x mojito, 2 x champagne (naughty Andy) - hey I turn 25 (again) on Wednesday so I'm allowed!
Alcoholic beverages not consumed: 2nd mojito, a 3rd glass of champagne and potentially a couple of glasses of red... I know my limits and like Jose I'm a cheap date ;-)