Monday always feels like one of the toughest runs of the week, so it’s always good to try to mix it up. Plus getting it done as soon as possible is a bonus.

So it was laps of the school field at the end of the day.

Each lap is 0.7 miles if you hug the edge. 5 laps. 3.5 miles in total. Boom.

It was a beach walk this morning.

Followed by today’s 3 mile gentle run around the village at lunchtime.

This lot were very interested when I ran past.

The run was followed by a lovely chocolate and banana smoothie.

‘The Locked Attic’ by B P Water

I was really liking this book right up to about three-quarters of the way through…

I liked the structure, it jumped back and forwards in time, but worked really well.

I liked the characters; it moved between Stephanie and her son Danny, again this really worked well.

I liked the opening; a strange explosion at a power station that brought the characters together.

Then I got three-quarters of the way through it…

The explosion at the beginning? That was it. Nothing more about it. Questions left unanswered.

The title: The Locked Attic. It was barely mentioned, and only appeared in the last few pages, and then it was all a bit ridiculous.

Really good in places. But ultimately disappointed.

That’s the first week of January done.

Today’s run was a late afternoon little dash around the village before it got dark. The standard RED mileage: 3 miles.

7 days. 7 runs. 23.5 miles.

These dark nights make this ‘run every day’ lark quite tricky.

It was another dark run on the country lanes around the village. You very rarely bump into another living person, or even a car, on these runs. Tonight was different. Bloody cars at every turn. Lots of stopping and heading up the verge to avoid death or injury.

3.1 miles – nice and gentle. Day 6. Done.

Looking forward to a run in the daylight tomorrow.

It was another late afternoon run – it was dark by the time I finished.

I resisted popping into the pub – it looked very inviting.

3.7 miles. Nice and gentle.

Day 5. Done.