The 40 Steps

Back to the Emirates this morning for Rocky II: Still Damp but Marginally Less So.

I definitely didn’t punch the air this time at the top of the steps. I felt like punching something, but not that. A bad mood from Wednesday insisted on staying overnight like an unwelcome guest. I ran with it on my back like a military pack filled with bricks.

Sometimes even a run can’t shake a black cloud. The real black clouds aren’t helping much – North London looked filthy in the gloom. I passed a homeless woman, tottering in slow motion on the Holloway Road, eyes open but vacant. She swayed as I passed, as if rocked by a cool breeze.