Monday 11th Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't run, instead I met Steve, Milian and Will at Basel Bahnhof where we boarded the train to Steinen, Germany to start our bike ride... silly really could easily have cycled there. . we did an enjoyable 65km.. but got quite a chill coming down the descent into Kandern, where we stopped for coffee and cake, nice morning ride. In the afternoon watched the final hour of the Paris-Tours Cycle Race followed by Commonwealth Games coverage. Later while having dinner caught up with the last month or so of the Andrew Lemoncello blog finishing it off over a coffee this morning, find it very inspirational and unusual for me I became eager to get out and train, I couldn't have wished for a better morning for it.. when I first got up I noticed the first frost of this Autumn below on the supermarket roof, by 10am the sun had warmed the air a little, still a bit fresh without a breath of wind.. for running it was dam near perfect. Ran a 9.47 miles route down towards the Rhein Marina entrance, along the river till turning back through the Wood then the quiet rolling Village roads and cycle paths through Markt, Eimeldingen, Haltingen... ran steadily in a time of 1:03:19 averaging 6:44 pace.
After shower rang Elizabeth at Resource to check on any work prospects.. she was off on the sick, the girl who took the call had no news. I then emailed Maryvonne Zacher in Strasbourg concerning the Apartment I'm buying, received a quick reply with the arrangements to rendezvous at the apartment this coming Friday..and hopefully I'll be given a moving in date.
Tuesday 12th Woke around 7:30 and even though I'm meeting Dan this evening at the track I fancied going out for a short easy run.. Ran a little 4 mile loop through Weil am Rhein over Road Bridge into France, through Huningue back to Foot Bridge over Rhein back into Germany.. quick detour into the supermarket to buy Corn Flakes, my running time was a very sedate 29:19 Showered, cereal with bananas and milk. and a relaxing afternoon watching the final days athletics from the Commonwealth Games in Delhi... and probably the most memorable moment when the Indian women won the 4x400m relay Gold, a thrilling moment for a country who had only ever won one Track Gold prior to these games.. a fitting climax after all the negative press.
At 17:45 I ran to the track to meet Dan, early I ran another a mile before he arrived we did 11x200 metres with a 100m walk in between, couple of laps warm down then some stretching exercises on the grass before a gentle jog back home  combined distance of 8.25 - 56:25 After shower made pasta dish for dinner then settled down to watch England.. punctuated by flicking over to see Switzerland beating Wales.. I soon got fed up with the England game.. I find football less and less attractive as a spectacle... and especially these overpaid millionaires...As a kid I would never have believed that one day I'd much rather watch Pro Cycling and Athletics.. but I do. Ended up turning the football off to watch Gordon Ramsey's Britain's Best Restaurant.
Wednesday 13th Up at 7:30, foggy and feeling like 3 degrees outside, supposedly 16 and Sunny later.. so no need to rush to get out..Filled in this blog while eating breakfast. Waited but the fog never really cleared fully temperature peaked at 9 degrees. Managed to get hold of Fran's wife Julie and get his latest UK mobile number... gave him a quick call he's working at Stansted at the moment, nice to catch up and told him Lynda wouldn't be happy if he didn't call round for dinner one evening being so close to Little Waltham. Left it till 18:30 till getting out, the plan was a flat 8.5 mile loop, but shortly after setting out I'd a reoccurrence of the knot in my right calf.. exactly the same as last week after the track session. Thought  I might run it off but by the time I got to the cafe along the River Wiese (usual toilet stop) decided to cut the run shorter, crossed the River at the next bridge then followed the pathways through the agricultural land on the German side by the time I got home covered 6.28 miles - 45:19 Dinner then chatted to Lynda on skype, she'd had another positive viewing of the house, and email from the Surgeon in Zurich saying he would welcome her to visit his clinic on the 5th November, fingers crossed for that then. Relaxed watching What Goes In Your Basket.. interesting and the always good Grand Design. Think I'll cycle to the track to train tomorrow, the cushioning of the synthetic track seems to agree with the seemingly none stop niggles on my right leg
Thursday 14th Up around 7:30 again. Still very misty and wintery quickly nipped out to get bananas, Greek yogurt and bread, ate breakfast while watching Commonwealth Marathon, read book till around 1pm. The predicted sunny day never materialised but decided to ride to the three lane track at the boarder, only managed 4x1 mile each one over 6 minutes on the 4th mile right calf seemed to get tighter decided to call it a day and ride home. 4 miles - 24:54 Ran hot bath, no radox left used the oils Lynda bought me, enjoyed a good soak. Steve rang went to meet him for a coffee in Markauf I ended up having one bottle of beer, arranged to go round to his house tomorrow and weigh up his bathroom. Came home made dinner watched River Cottage while recording it for Lynda, she's working late today so no skype..Bed 
Friday 15th Woke at 8am made coffee and 1 slice toast with marmalade, caught up on the latest happenings in the cycling world, the Tour of Lombady known as "the classic of the falling leaves" and signals the seasons end, a gruelling hilly 260k from Milan to Lake Como tomorrow in Italy, shall be recording that for Lynda also next Tuesday its the Route Presentation for the 2011 Tour de France, cool. Right enough of this cycle warbling I need to get out the door and run, hoping I can get some miles done without problems from foot or calf. 23 minutes into run made the decision to cut it short I could feel my calf so turned round and headed back at a easier pace 7.22 miles - 51:15 maybe I need enforced rest... Not ideal with Lucerne Half Marathon looming. Bowl of fruit before going over to see apartment and meeting the woman from the Immobiliers she say's I'll get the keys end of this month...don't panic!!
Drove over to Steve's he wanted to check out electric boilers, tiles and shower trays etc if I'm going to work on his bathroom. I drove up to big retail park near Mulhouse (France) giving the car its 1st decent run out in weeks. Steve's failure to find a smaller boiler seemed to knock the wind out his sails, we came away having chosen nothing, and with my own movement coming up quickly times running out. I turned down the chance to go for dinner, I wanted to be home for evening chat with Lynda, and I got the chance to speak to Fran he'd been invited over to Lynda's to have a chippy tea. 
Saturday 16th Up early, plan was to wash the car but weather was miserable, still had to move it, then supermarket shop completed by 8am..No run today giving calf 48 hours see how that goes. At 11:15 drove to Kitchen designers in Germany to see if they can instal the first week in November, efficiently everything as been delivered and they've already pencilled us in for that week, really wish the apartment was being built in Germany and not France. Once home settled down for afternoon in front of the tele with the Giro de Lombardia as entertainment. Later made a vegetable chilli with potato wedges and treated myself to a few bottles of beer, Lynda came on Skype telling me about the latest viewers of her house, more positive reactions now we just need the offers to come in, we settled down to watch Have I Got News For You and IQ together, Lynda on call tomorrow needed to get off and go to bed. I made chip butty watching a bit of Match of the Day before bed
Sunday 17th Didn't rise till 10:45 light breakfast, read then around 14:00 decided warily to get out run and see how things went, chose a route that would give me chance to cut the run short  if calf started to hurt. Set off gingerly half expecting calf to start hurting at anytime but once I got past 30 minutes started to forget about it, around 1 hour 18 minutes calf started to tighten but on the home leg by then, pleased to do a long run, I wasn't hopeful before today. 1:32:50 -13.23 miles Steve rang asking me to call round regarding his bathroom. Going to start work on it in the morning. Came home made dinner then spoke to Lynda. 


Weeks Total 52 miles