First things first, my apologies for completely slacking on the 9626 front. It's been a busy old time!
That said, it is high time for an update.
If you cast your minds back to late September, I had just completed my second of two half marathons in three weeks. The third and final run of the challenge came the following weekend and the records tumbled. Powering through the hills of Tissington (erm... Peak District, I think?), I registered a 1hr 35, which SMASHED the previous record (1hr 37) which only stood for a mere week.
Mental.
An average pace of 7.16 mins/mile which is daft, including a 6.57 mile ten which still makes me laugh and shudder in equal measure seven weeks later.
Since then, I have bought some trainers that you can see from the moon...
... and bought loads of winter stuff because it is bloody freezing. The upshot of all that is the initial target of 600 miles for the year is loooong gone. About 125 miles gone, to be precise.
I set a target of 800 miles once the initial 600 was hit, but unless I get overcome by wanting to go for more than a couple of runs a week in the cold, wind and rain... I expect I'll fall just short. Never mind, in the world of Project 9626, I've got a big tick next to the running challenge. Maybe we'll look at 800 miles next year...
Arguably the biggest target of the year was to get a job, which I finally managed to get back in June (YES.) As I approach the end of my six month contract, things are looking positive about continuing my stay at Boots and I hope to be able to confirm something soon.
As we move in to December, it's great that everyone else in the world is getting onboard with the whole Christmas thing. It's about time. I've never enjoyed the arrival of Christmas songs and adverts as much as this year.
The last five months have been all kinds of hectic but it's been amazing (and a massive bloody relief) to see so many of the projects we've been working on arrive in store and look so good. I've become an expert on things I'd never spent one second of my life thinking about before this gig (wall cladding?)... but they look great and I now find myself going in to Boots stores just to look at the windows and see what type of pillar cladding they've got (round vs square... who knew?!).
Out of nowhere, it is now only 29 sleeps (excluding naps) until I get on a plane to Cape Town to watch the mighty England take on South Africa in the cricket. I'm so excited. I could do with getting some sun cream and a big floppy hat because it is going to be HOT.
I've been making steady progress on the reading...
Book #18 - 'The Cartel' is the follow up to 'The Power of the Dog' and continued in similarly brutal vein about the battle between the Mexican Narcos and the (mostly) good guys in the war on drugs. It's very, very good.
Book #19 - 'The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair' is a strange old book. It is a classic mystery intertwined with a critique on the shallowness and falseness of modern day love/relationships. I liked it, though it borders on trying to fit too many narratives in to it.
Book #20 - 'The Kind Worth Killing' was fun and a bit mad. Quite similar to 'Gone Girl' in many respects, but actually had an end. In fact, thinking about it I bloody loved the end of this. Very clever. Take note, Gillian Flynn.
Book #21 - 'The Stand' by Stephen King is the biggest book I have ever read (1300+ pages!) and it is the very definition of an epic. I read the extended version and it captivated me from the very start. Few authors drag you in to a world of a book and keep you there throughout like King does. Wonderful.
Book #22 - 'Mr Mercedes' is another King book, but about 900 less pages which is always nice. A formulaic thriller that reminded me quite a lot of 'Red Dragon', the first of the Hannibal books. A good read all the same with characters you actually care about.
So I have three books to go. Which, worryingly, is quite a lot to read in a month. Deciding to read a 1300 page book at #21 was probably ill-advised... but nae matter, I've got about 18 hours in the air to look forward to come the 29th December!
(It may be a Mr Men book if I'm stuck on 24 with only a few days to go. Soz).
So that's that, up to speed. Enjoy your chocolate in the morning, Christmas is coming!
