Back from my short break

Had a great long weekend in London (Saturday to Tuesday) where any thoughts of a healthy lifestyle went out the window!  I love London, and all the different choices of food and drink it has to offer.  Whilst there I got myself some brightly colours running tops to keep me going through the winter months now the clocks have gone back.

We stayed near Paddington and on the last day we took a walk around Kensington Gardens for half an hour or so.  There were loads of runners out (office workers on their lunch break possibly?) and I kind of wished I'd thought to take my running stuff with me.  Maybe next time.

I got up this morning and I wanted to go out for a run.....it was hard work unfortunately, but I'm glad I went out.  The food and drink I've consumed over the last few days probably haven't helped.  For example:

• ribs and wings at an American soul food place in Bayswater, and a few beers and cocktails.
  
• a great belly pork meal at a The Bridge House pub in Little Venice.  We saw the actor from the BBC Sit-Com, Keeping Up Appearences, called Clive Swift.  A quick Google shows him here.
  
• a ploughmans lunch, followed by a few pints of Fuller's Discovery at The Victoria, which is a cracking little pub near to our hotel in Paddington.
• a few pints of Guinness and steak burger at a great Irish Bar near Leicester Square.
• a few pints of Guinness Red in another Irish Bar, which I'd never tried before....

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my week off work and may go out once or twice more.  Then it's back into the training again properly next week.

One sad thing for my wife and I is that next years Torbay Half Marathon has been cancelled due to ill health of one of the organisers.  That's a real shame, and I hope the event comes back bigger and better in 2011.