Ice Ice Baby...

Much loved 90's rapper, Vanilla Ice, would be impressed with the amount of ice out there today... or maybe not, I don't think he was singing about icy pavements! Although, on the subject of Vanilla Ice, apparantly he's still rapping! Yeah, I know... it seems he's an actual, proper celebrity... well according to his official site anyway.



He's touring, has his own TV show on the DIY Network... obviously!? and has a new album coming out. Although why I'm surprised, I have no idea! He was clearly never going to be just a one-hit wonder with such quality hits such as 'Ice Ice Baby'... and ... ... ...

Anyway... I ran on an ice rink today. Literal, not metaphorical! There really is an actual ice rink outside my door. The ironic thing is that it was on my return from my run, whilst I was putting the bin out, that I nearly slipped and broke my neck (too extreme? leg then!). Running on it wasn't as hard, as I thought it might be, and I figure I got a lot of practice in for the next race I run, that's rammed with people, with all the dodging of icy obstacles along the way!

Despite having to force myself to leave the house, I actually managed 4.11 miles in total; this did require a slight change of tactic after a mile of running though. Intending to stay around the area of the main high street, thinking there would be less ice here, I had planned to run a loop which would take me a mile away from my house, then a mile back, followed by a mile in the other direction and back again. However, after a mile of running, I was battling a little with myself to keep running and didn't trust my will-power to keep running past the house. Only one thing for it... run two miles away from home and there's no choice but to run back again. Well, either that or stay out in the cold and, despite the fetching lilac fleece and leg-warmers I was sporting, that was never going to be an option!

For some bizarre reason I had also chosen to go for a run in rush-hour, so there wasn't much option of running on the road. Still, I managed a 9.45min mile average - not bad considering I was wearing trainers rather than ice-skates - and won a battle with myself... a good thing too, as I can be very stubborn - I should know!  And, as it was rush-hour, I saw a lot of sights to keep me occupied along the way, including: someone else running (we nodded and smiled), a lady running for a bus, two teenage girls 'skating' their way home, two hooded youths young men smoking (and looking, dare I say, slightly suspicious), a group of school girls performing a street dance (actually on the street - how appropriate!), an old man trying to navigate the ice with a walking stick (that looked perilous), and 15 buses (Yes, I actually counted them!).

So, run done... I'm off to watch Hollyoaks catch up on serious worldly happenings on the 6 O'clock news.

Distance: 4.11
Weather: An actual ice rink, although slightly warmer, than it has been, at 0 degrees.
Feeling: Glad I ran.