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The pandemic and green space. A reflection. I know that I was (am) more fortunate than some. That despite my moaning that I had to stay on my doorstep and that I couldn't drive to my local moors that I had a garden, I'm very rural and less than 2 minutes from woodland & trails, which lead to surrounding fields. I could say that if lockdown has taught me anything, it’s that I don’t need to get in the car to drive somewhere green to run. If lockdown has taught me anything it's the importance of green space and it's impact on general and mental health.  It's that the virus did (does) not discriminate amongst the rich, poor or ethnic, but those with a household income of less than £15,000 are less likely to have access to green space within a five minutes walk of their home. It's that we now know that the lockdown was (is) much harder for people who don’t have a lot of living space, a garden, or a nearby park. Or access to green space. It's that people were ...

Last year my mum passed away from fatty liver. I obviously googled to see if I was at risk. Maybe I was … I planned to make changes. However we were then hit by the pandemic and coupled with an ankle injury and work stress I kind of didn't do anything about it. I've been understanding clinical observations more, as it's part of my new job role, and I decided to take my BP. It fell into the orange range, a little high, so I checked my reading on the NHS site; "Known as the "silent killer", high blood pressure rarely has obvious symptoms. But left untreated, it increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke". Time to act! I'm only 49 this year. I'm also (probably) perimenopausal, with an under active thyroid, I possibly drink too much and I know that I eat too much... I'm heading for a heart attack, or maybe even that fatty liver, when what I actually want to head for is my ability to complete endurance events again.  50k. 5...