Away from the towpath where it's looking like autumn 🍁🍂

I love hills, I love hills, I love hills 🙄.... If I say it often enough I'll start to believe it 😆🤭. I don't have to step to far outside my door to be greeted by looming great hills..... Some I'm sure that cars would struggle to conquer! But I can't just keep on trapsing on the oh-so flat towpaths.

And today I felt brave, calf muscles holding up well, still sticking with the compression sleeves, so all's good. Then I thought let's along on the trail shoes and go somewhere hilly, it just came to me, so after a 1klm warm up headed towards llangollen, there's a kinda overgrown entrance into one of the many trails, it's another world.

One moment I'm running against the oncoming traffic ( obviously on the path) then it's all change, the road almost immediately becoming silent, the noise blocked by the bracken and branches. And the gradients are instant. I watched a trail running video a while back, and recalled the advice, it pays off, shorter choppy steps, forget the glances at the watch for pace, watch where your feet are going to be, it definitely keeps you on your toes and running is know longer about putting one foot in front of the other 👍, I passed badger set entrances and almost tripped over when a .. buzzard I disturbed took off, the feathery remains of what I think had been it's prey littered the grassy track... Definitely raw nature.

Running in surroundings like these just can't be equalled, and hey hills they really aren't that bad 🤫

The trail shoes are definitely a godsend on the loose surface, no thick gooey mud, but the weather's been so dry of late.. then eventually it's ahhhhhhh a down hill section to complete a really I'm invigorating little jaunt.....

Enjoy your Friday runs folks I did👍

[Juliet202 Graduate10]

Looks gorgeous !! Must get out of the park and change my route ! (Not that many woods near me in the city !!).

[Hidden in reply to Juliet202]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh trails and city lifeJuliet202 that's a tricky predicament, it's definitely a bonus of Welsh life, but that city landscape is still full of it's own delights👍

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10]

That looks heavenly!!!! No better way to reinvigorate yourself than to play in nature 💕

How I've missed my trails. They have re-opened now so hopefully I'll get out there for a fall hike before the snow flies 🤞

[Hidden in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Get yourself out there SaskAlliecat, even vets need time out 👍

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Ian! You are so right. It is a bit of a drive to get to my trails but I will definitely make it happen this fall. To change things up today I ran down to our city pathways from my house which was a nice change. It was down hill for the first half which meant the last half was all up hill but that just builds character 😁. It gave me a chance to run through some different parks in the older part of town.

I had a great playlist, the sun was shining, the kiddo and hubby are back in school, I have the weekend off ..... life is good!

[Hidden in reply to SaskAlliecat]

You send your hubby to school 🤭 they say everyday is a school day 🤓... My girls are back learning as well, 🤞 normality is on its way back.....

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Hubby is a teacher😉. He took a year off but went back to it this year. It is a different year with all the Covid restrictions but teaching is in his blood and it is where he is meant to be. I must say, I love having my days off back again where it is just me, myself and I at home. Yippee 😆. We are a long way from "normal" and will likely never get back to "the way thing used to be" but we are adjusting to our new normal and it is just so nice to get some routine back in our lives. I crave structure 🤓

[Hidden in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Ohhhhhh I agree those own space days ahhhhhhh the silence it's magical........ Structure hmmmm I think Mrs Wife would like Mr hubby to purchase some structure haha, I'm a qualified muddler

[Beatlesforever Graduate10]

Wow it looks amazing! Fantastic effort too 💪👍

[Hidden in reply to Beatlesforever]

Cheer's Beatlesforever it's my sneaky way of getting In the hill work 🤫

[Grannyhugs Graduate10]

Hills are brilliant, glad you found you too like them. Sounds like a great route. Happy running 🤗

[Hidden in reply to Grannyhugs]

Thanks GrannyH I definitely prefer the trail type hills rather than the endless tarmac hills...

[CBDB Graduate10]

This looks sooooo good! What a beauty of a run! You’ll have everyone on here drooling 🤤 after your route! It’s worth facing those hills, badgers, buzzards....Well done!

[Hidden]

Thanks CBDB

[Buddy34 Graduate10]

Just look at those photos . What a beautiful place you have to run Imc50 . It beats running on the pavement next to roads any day. 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️😊

[Hidden in reply to Buddy34]

We shouldn't take it for granted Buddy34 but I guess we do, it's nice to have that early autumnal tones about again, beats running in the blazing sun 😎

[Magellan Graduate10]

That was rather inspirational. I’ve been okay with hills (I live in a part of the world where if you can’t do a hill you are pretty much restricted to running round the Morrisons car park) but not really managed countryside running. I am short sighted and fret about running on uneven ground and losing my footing. I want to be able to run in places like you describe though, so maybe I need to get some trail shoes and bite the bullet....

[Hidden in reply to Magellan]

Those trail shoes will help you definitely Magellan

[Lifluf Graduate10]

Such a beautiful part of the world but the hills are hard enough at a walk! Very impressive 😊

[Hidden in reply to Lifluf]

Oh definitely Lifluf there are some very challenging hills