Have we finally hit autumn proper? After another mild (even warm) week, there was a bit of a chill on Saturday morning, then Sunday was properly cold (good for racing, but less so for standing around afterwards). Still sunny though, and even on Friday when it poured for much of the day I still managed to cycle to work, to the pub, back to work then home again entirely in the dry, so definitely chalking that up as a win.
The prospect of colder and wetter weather also bumped up the priority of fixing my sunroof. I managed to source a complete second hand unit for £140 from a relatively local seller on eBay, and have scrounged a lift from someone with a larger car to pick it up next week. Then I just have to figure out how to swap them over, but how hard can it be. Speaking of which, helpful as YouTube is, I still miss Haynes manuals. Turns out they do publish one for the R56 so-called Mini, but it looks like replacing the sunroof is beyond its scope (which I’m sure isn’t in any way a bad omen). Not like in the old days when they’d describe a full nut-and-bolt engine rebuild (“refitting is the reverse sequence to removal”).
I found a mysterious lone trainer on my driveway. Not sure whether it was the result of a schoolboy prank or a mischievous fox.
A second consecutive five mile race this weekend, this time at Saxmundham. I improved my training regime compared to last week by neither (a) running eight miles on Friday – although obviously I still did parkrun – nor (b) eating a massive pizza on Saturday afternoon (I made one on Sunday instead). This clearly helped, as I was 13 seconds faster. Surprisingly, given that I don’t feel particularly quick at the moment, both were course PBs.
