Started the morning by walking the dog, and pausing in the corner of a local park to do some push-ups and squats, followed by dynamic lunges - much to the amusement of the rescue ponies in the field next door.
Went home, put the radio on to keep the dog company while I was out, drank some water, changed trainers, and headed out again.
Decided I'd take the flatter route toward a local beauty spot. This meant I had a down and an up at the beginning of the route, which meant I'd have to finish on an uphill climb. See what I mean about being mad?
I will not lie, it was a struggle, it was misty on the top, and as I'd headed towards it I thought that might help me feel a bit cooler. But no such luck. And no views to distract me. What I got to spur me on instead, was a couple of ladies and their dogs who were obviously doing a 'run a bit' 'walk a bit' session. I could hear them chatting away as they began to catch up with me. The swine! How dare they have enough breath to hold a perfectly normal conversation? 😜 I was fully prepared for them to pass me - I wouldn't have liked it, but I was ready for it. In actual fact they stayed a few hundred metres behind me until I reached the gate near the road that was my goal, tapped it,
and turned back. We exchanged friendly greetings as we passed, and that was the last I saw of them.
The slight downhill was very pleasant on my tired legs; the chalk downhill before the final climb less so; and the final up hill was as bad as I thought it was going to be. That said I still found I had enough in the tank for a 'sprint' finish.
And I got home before the sun came out and it got properly warm outside.
Editing to add picture as, despite the fact Garmin Connect assures me that it's synced, the info isn't showing up on my phone.