Good afternoon, fellow runners! The key caught my eye - startling reds contrasting with the bark and lichen - and remains uncollected 5 days after I took the photo, despite its path-side prominence. It’s remarkable that, in this busy urban space, it’s still there, that someone bothered to retrieve it from the ground; though lost - manages to read as a gesture of kindness.
Today, we awoke to an amazing sight: clouds reflecting golden pinks foretelling the approaching snow. By the time we left home, the sun had hidden behind heavy overcast layer with darkening clouds building on the western horizon. The grass was frosty and the tracks were at their texture-perfect freeze: no surface ice, no mud, but still with a little bit of give to aid our ageing joints - so much nicer than the official paths. We got home before the showers arrived. Friday’s ground conditions were similar, but we were extra early and caught a beautiful sunrise. Tuesday was overcast but mild, and with softer trails, so more of the park’s earth followed us home.
For me (not M), the project has continued to be about practising comfortable breathing through the nose and focusing on relaxed running. The latter seems to take care of itself for most part; occasionally I’ve spotted my cadence dropping, and have been able to rectify it; when I do, it’s like the run gets a shot of espresso. This week, I’ve let my run-walk intervals be shorter to avert stressing the nasal technique, which is all too easy a trap to fall into. It was noticeably easier on the mild day., so I’ve clearly chosen the best time of year to take on this project! My pace has improved on last week, and I easily keep up with M, who is solely running. He generally heads home before I do, and says he’s feeling it. I carry on jeffing for another 10 mins, adding in some short inclines and ad libbing wiggles to the route. I’ve experimented (safely!) with running with closed eyes to see where my balance is and note how I veer to the right; just a few steps at a time. From my running workshops, balance work has become a key part of my drills and warmups, alongside spine mobilisations and some moves - from qigong - to get the blood flowing to the very tips of my fingers. I leave home in a couple of light layers, all cosy through, ready for another 5 minutes warmup walk to get to the park. M overdresses in several layers, but still complains of being cold. I come home feeling exercised, but refreshed rather than wiped.
My runs, in rounded figures: 43 minutes, 5.5km; 34, 4.5; 43, 5.3. Without intending it, the first and last are directly comparable: a milder morning and a sub-zero one. Still, I do quite like the atmosphere when it’s colder and I’ve much preferred the ground conditions.
Focusing on breathing makes the runs shoot by. (Admittedly, compared to many of you, I’m on relatively short distances.) It’s quite consuming to think about the breath, and in a way it’s meditative. Sometimes it’s hard to admit that I need to step things down a notch, and I spot some impatience creeping in, but, rather than detracting, the spotting and acknowledging seems to be adding to the project.
I’m still observing things around me, but probably not as much as I was. I always note the sky, the overall light and atmosphere, the tree forms and bark patterns, and the birds (notably a sizeable flock of parakeets on Friday and today a little goldfinch). If I notice the railway at all, I also like to check the passing carriages to see how many people I can see - or rather, if I can see anyone on these ghost trains.
Best wishes for the running week ahead.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
