I've spent the day at Aqua Sana, the spa at Center Parcs in Notts, with my brilliant other half Sarah. We were fortunate to be given the day as a joint Christmas / birthday gift (it was Sarah's birthday on Thursday) and it's been very different to a normal Monday at work!
Aqua Sana is a series of different wet (steam rooms etc.) and dry (saunas) spa experiences - and you can spend as much time in each as you like. I could wax lyrical for page after page about how relaxing and enjoyable the day was, but I don't think I'd be able to find the words to do it justice - it has to be experienced.
As well as the different saunas and steam rooms, there are traditional "spa treatments" on offer, and Sarah and I both had massages and facials - which was a new experience for me too, and also very relaxing.
We spent the whole day there and headed back just after 5pm - and as we drove home there was still some light in the sky - the nights are noticeably drawing out and evening runs will be in daylight before know it.
This evening's run was a fun affair - it was a reunion of my half marathon training partners - Ellie & Stuart (who'd been away for a week) and Jono (Ellie's brother). James and Kieran came along too, with James wearing his new lightweight running shoes : New Balance 760s for the first time.
We made the route up as we went, and headed along Mapperley Plains and then down Private Road into Mapperley Park. At the top of Private Road (which as its name suggests, is an exclusive area), there's a "residents only" barrier, which was just the right height for Stuart to do pull-ups on. I decided to have a go too, but when I jumped down after managing a paltry 7, I dropped my phone. It rebooted, and when it came back on the date had obviously reset as my phone suggested I'd been running for quite a while!
Here's what it said:
368,540 hours! :)
We turned towards home and ran through Woodthorpe Park, where as every Monday, there was a boot camp style fitness group being drilled in the car park. Today, instead of the usual 10 or so participants, there at least 40 - it must be everyone's New Year's resolutions kicking in!
As we ran back along Mapperley Plains, Jono twisted his knee quite nastily and struggled from there on for the rest of the run. After stopping briefly at my parents' (who'd just arrived back from Scotland today), we arrived back home having run almost exactly 10K. Fingers crossed Jono's injury won't prevent him from training with us later in the week, it's now under 8 weeks until our half marathon debut!
James and Kieran ran the last mile back from my parents' with Stuart, and James was very pleased with having won the sprint finish - he really likes his new running shoes and credits them with his new found speed.
It's back to work for me tomorrow, and this week will be my last "short" week for a while, after 6 in a row where I haven't worked 5 days, I am going to be back to "full time" from next week on, for the foreseeable future!
Tomorrow, I'm also playing squash with a very old friend, Simon who I haven't seen since we left school over 18 years ago - it will be great to see him after all this time, assuming we recognise each other! Then in the evening I'm hoping to run with Andy Next Door, before running to work on Wednesday (at least, that's the current plan!).
Here's how how the year is looking now:
Running: 95 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 192.89 miles
Running streak: 55 days (started 23/11/2011)
P.S. Today's #Plankaday was a new record. 4:05 :)
You should call your blog The Demise of Mr Blobby, The Rise of Mr Clumsy! Oh dear, hope there is no lasting damage to your phone!
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