Reflection of St Michael!!

To quote from Ice Cube, today was a good day.

Had a lovely lunch in town (Loughton) with my Foreign Film Club buddy, Gabrielle. We caught up with each others news whilst sitting outside Cafe Fratelli in the glorious sunshine.

After dropping Gabrielle home I returned to my domicile and started getting ready for my evening run around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

I jumped on the tube at Loughton and disembarked at Stratford and headed for the Nike Store where I was meeting my friend Ed.

Every Monday and Thursday there is a free organised run from the Nike Store, led by Nike staff and volunteers.

There's something about running folk that makes for a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere, and the people who attend this free event are no exception. Whatever level you are at, I can recommend this event if you are looking for a running group.

Having met with Ed and signed ourselves in, our group of about 30 runners headed out from the store, down Stratford Walk, towards the Aquatic Centre. We were put through a warm up session before setting off on our run.

Ed and myself decided to follow Lauren who was leading the 7.5KM run, which took us all through the park, including a circuit around the exterior of the Velodrome.

As we neared the end and headed back up Stratford Walk towards the store, I felt like there was still plenty in the tank so sprinted the last 300 meters only to see my friend Jo there cheering me on and making sure I didn't stop till I reached the store.

Jo would have been running with us but is under physio's orders to rest due to a long standing hip injury. It's a a real shame as she was supposed to be running the Hackney Half next weekend.

Following a quick change Ed and myself met up with Jo and we headed to a nearby bar for a few post run beverages and to watch the Brasil vs Croatia game on the big outside screen.

Game over, it was time to head homewards and this image was captured on my way back to the station.

It was a very good day.