Warning... this is not JUST a Floss ramble... so if you are short on time...better leave now
Yesterday, I ran.
It did not happen when it should have. .. it was not the route I had planned. It was not the distance that I planned.
But yesterday, I ran
Still in my Blue Period and all is going well. I am holding firm to my pledge to remain relaxed, not to overthink things, to embrace positivity and banish negativity.
(Gosh... I do sound like a bad advertisement for a Mindfulness App, don't I) ? Dreadful!
I last ran on Saturday and I was planning to run the last run, of Week 8 Magic Plan. But...my body had other plans.
A week of furniture moving, hefty gardening tasks, extra time with small runner in training, a birthday for Mr. OF and the family for a joint celebratory lunch, had taken a toll.
April is a month I love and a month that holds many memories. Most happy, some sad...but it is a hopeful time too, with new growth, new life and new plans.
Anyway, I digress, ( as usual) !
Many of my friends here know that another thing I am known for, besides the S and S approach, is my quotations... I do love a good quotation. Whether it is all the years of loving and studying language I have no idea, but I love them. Finding the right one to match my feelings, my mood, my activities, whatever. I root around in my books and of course my head, where I carry hundreds of them. But yesterday I came across one, which I had heard, but forgotten, ( I blame old age and decrepitude), and then another, which was tucked away in a very unexpected place that I had never heard before!
They both seemed to match my Blue Period and my running, beautifully! More later!
So, yesterday.
It was a glorious morning and the sunlight called to me as I awoke.
After my normal pre run start.. cup of tea... my two light digestives...I started faffing. I may write a post on faffing and faffage soon. I have perfected it to a fine art!
Gear already warming on radiator... I refuse to put on cold runder-wear! Trail shoes at the ready ( off road at some point today). Gloves warming, cap and belt on table... teeth cleaning, whilst incorporating squats and Wild Ginger Running ankle exercise, ( it really does make a difference to the strength in the ankles).
Get everything on.. second loo stop, drink of water and out!
The air was chillier than the sunshine led me to believe, and I whilst warming up, was glad of the gloves. I get very cold fingers! Tucking my buff in, I headed down and back up the site. Curtains closed tightly in every van, so I ran lightly and tried to keep the breathing below waking-decibel level. Up to the top and out towards the next village.
I was originally going to head towards Porthmadog, but my head said no. so I changed my mind. The distant mountains, reluctant to face the sunshine unadorned, wearing misty veils of white and purple and stretching towards them, the endless fields of green cropped grass. The sheep have their lambs now and are far too busy to take notice of me as I run down beside their nursery. Easy paced as my intention was to run 9K... starting out too quickly will be a mistake!
Past the wood and then through a new side gate, onto the farm land footpath and across the trackway down the the Friendless Church. We have walked this but I have only run parts of it, Not too muddy, despite the runs of the day before and a freshness in the air; easing my pace slightly, I take photographs en route. I kept a weather eye out for the cows, which are sometimes in the field here, but it was all sheep filled and calm. These woolly ones do not know me, but simply stared haughtily at this strange creature running, like an inelegant ballerina, between the rutted tracks. I feel, as I run that my exercises for feet and ankles are beginning to pay off. My legs feel stronger and as a result my legs just carry me. I can relax, steady breathing and even paced, heading down over the lumpy ground, but making sure- footed progress towards the narrow lane which leads from the village to the Church.
Reaching the stile gate quicker than I thought, I turned towards the church. Easier going here now. Harder underfoot and a little burst of speed. Turning by the church still closed for repairs, I take a quick shot. It has undergone extensive renovation outside, but still awaits more funding and donations to complete the inside. We have been here many times but today I still marvel at the beauty of this small church, placed like a precious stone in the heart of Nature. Running back towards the village, counting in my head, aware of the relaxed ankles as they land...down into what I have now christened the Haunted Hollow. It has a, feel, to it. Not frightening, but a tangible atmosphere. Its is quite dark and very green … the glimpses of the far hills add to the closed in feeling. Another quick photo and up the other side. I make the gate out to the road even quicker than I thought and know that an uphill return is ahead,
Most folk who do know me, know I am odd... and one of the odd things is that I often move faster, ( for me), up things, than on flatness.. Mr. OF says it is because I try harder. Anyway, up I go... tightening the core and lifting the ankles slightly higher as I went on...it's not a steep hill, but it does go on for quite a way... 2K by the time I make the brow of the hill, and here I changed my plan again. My body was telling me, this was enough for the day. I felt okay, but I knew that after heading down towards the sea, I wanted to stop. The sea sparkled in the morning sun, the castle smiling down on the little town beneath. A kindly guardian protecting its charges. Hedgerows a'twitter, gardens growing, and a world that is a million miles away from the horrors that we bear witness to currently.
I round up to a 5K, with a speedy downhill burst, and stop. The track on my phone changes and I walk down to the sea, gently … a small baby bird and I exchange greetings...it seems reluctant to leave.
I have had a wonderful run... I listened to my body... I soaked up every aspect of it. I enjoyed it.
The 9K will wait.
So what were the quotations I found...the first, in my photograph, is one many of you will know... it just seems so apt for me and my runs at the moment.
The second, upholds and supports, for me, and the comeback I am making after having to go back to the beginning ,the way I am running right now.
“Every stop, is part of our destination”
It is working for me x
Happy, safe running everyone.
Floss x
PS
This run was competed with the added support of ABBA !
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
