I’m sure lots of you gave seen me having a good old moan about having had covid again. It’s been really miserable this time and I’ve been fed up stuck at home. As I’ve felt a bit better, I’ve been out for some lovely blustery walks. This morning, I’d finally slept all the way through the night without coughing and I was itching to get out. Time to get out and test the waters.
First big question-what to wear! It’s so tricky at the moment. It was chilly and bright so I opted for leggings and a long sleeved t shirt. Maybe today will be the day I don’t end up too hot wearing it. Next-what to listen to. I decided a needed a bit of the Coach B for an extra boost so I downloaded the NRC “a cold run”. 45 minutes was most likely too long but I decided I’d just stop if when I was done. On a whim, I grabbed my bank card just in case I fancied supporting the local shop. Good decision.
Warm up walk done and I started on my well worn 15-90 minute route expecting to go for about 20 minutes. It was just so nice to be out and running again. It wasn’t exactly a bounding with energy start, more a gentle jogette taking in the scenery. Coach b reminded me to start smart and easy which wasn’t a problem today. There was some discussion about when to run and when to stay home, what to wear, how to plan a route, even when to run into the wind verses with the wind behind your back. Interesting stuff. After about ten minutes, the route I chose led up over a hill and I began to find my chest feeling a little tight which is definitely a sign that I’m not quite 100%. I decide to back right off the page and see if that helped. Good news-it did. As I crested the hill, I looked up to spot a kestrel hovering above a hedgerow. The decision point about how long to go for loomed. I went for the shorter option down the hill to the village. Taking care to mind my pace, I headed down the lane watching a pair of buzzards overhead. A good day for wildlife today! This is usually when I’d have a little pick up but I was determined to be sensible and finish well. Thirty five minutes into the podcast, I felt like I’d done enough and stopped and stretched. Super proud of myself today. Nearly 6k covered, I popped into the shop for coffee and a brownie.
It’s so good to be back. 🏃♀️ 🍁 🦅
EDIT: I’ve just realised my title makes no sense without the explanation that I thought I’d be good and eat half my reward brownie and save the rest for MrUnderstanding to eat later as a Friday treat.
Reader, I ate the whole brownie.
I don’t even feel bad about it!
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MissUnderstanding
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Thanks! It was great out there today. We’re lucky to have quite reliable wildlife but I rarely see kestrels so that was a treat. It was a particularly good brownie. I wonder how much of that was the post run mood boost. I might need another as a test…
There was some serious optimism on display in cutting it in half! It tasted extra good after today’s feat. Very pleased here. There’s something super satisfying about breaking a not running streak.
Well done to you MissUnderstanding on eating the whole of that brownie, you deserve it after that 6K run, I am glad that you are nearly over that second bout of Covid, that's a lovely photo of where you run, way out in the countryside miles from any large town or city.
Thanks! I’m in a village about twenty minutes from a big city centre. Ten/fifteen minutes to decent supermarkets. It’s a great location. Feels very rural but pretty easy to get to civilisation so we’re really lucky. There are some lovely local villages within running distance which is great for route planning. I often decide where I’m going based on which cafe I might end at!
I live only a ten minute walk from the countryside, going the other direction there are plenty of parks and open spaces that I can walk, run or cycle off busy roads and off road altogether, my main running route is around a loch, Scotland, not lake, it is very popular with walkers, runners and a few cyclists as well.
I live about 30 miles from Loch Lomond, in May 2018 I got the train to Balloch very near to Loch Lomond Country Park and ran run 3 of week 4 of C25K around that park adjacent to the loch
It's a lovely place to go to except on a Sunday afternoon in the summer when it's far too busy even for people who live in the area, speed boats whizz all over the loch causing problems and that country park I mentioned is mobbed with visitors, however, the day I usually go on a Monday is quite quiet with mainly local people doing some running or walking their dogs.
That sounds like the perfect run! In fact very much like my woodland runs, complete with kestrels, buzzards, sparrow hawks, coffee and brownie. My favourite formula. If I call at the cafe (nearly every run) I don’t take treats home….I need the whole brownie to restore my energy. Treats follow later when I retrace my steps on Molly’s walk. Sometimes Mrs BC walks with us; if not I usually take her favourite mars crunch home for her. All heart 😂
It really was a nice one! So good to be back out again. I haven’t seen sparrow hawks-you are lucky! I’ve seen owls very rarely on night walks which is always a massive treat.
Half a brownie in a cafe unless you’re sharing is tricky and definitely counterproductive if you’re energy restoring! Very kind to take cakes home. MrU is doing something in the city today very near a fantastic Greek bakery. I’m very hopeful for a custard pastry!
The sparrow hawks leave headless pigeon corpses with a ring of plucked feathers, around them, lying around on the paths. I do occasionally see hunting barn owls. My staple run involves running along what was the route of a railway line. There are fields either side, some arable some livestock. Always something to see. I am lucky I know.
I’m not totally convinced of the distance accuracy and it was a strange route today where there was a lot more downhill than uphill because of where I started and finished. My watch strap is broken so had no idea about pace-just had to go on comfort. Maybe over a week of hardly moving helped. It’s not normal that quick! I’m putting it in my running diary anyway!!
That’s what makes me super suspicious about the distance being wrong! It definitely didn’t feel as fast as that would have had to have been. There’s a long section of super downhill where I usually comfortably run quickly. It’s reliable terrain at just the right steepness to feel like flying without being out of control. I love that bit and it often makes this a route that’s a faster than other 6ks I’ve run. However long/fast it was, it was a real mood boost!
Lovely. I heard buzzards on my walk at lunchtime today but never managed to get a glimpse through the trees.Sounds like a good post covid run - it took me a good month or more to even stop hacking on a run never mind feeling normal.
Great photo and yes, who eats half a brownie anyway?
Thanks, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that the cough has just suddenly disappeared.I was really tired yesterday afternoon. I think that will just take time.
I often hear buzzards but don’t quite pick them out. It’s great to see them in full flight. Hopefully your next walk will be lucky!
So happy for you that you are recovered enough to run, I could eat half a brownie, I make them and often eat half (not sure lots of Half's count though) Look at that photo? Stunning 🥰
Thanks! I think half a brownie is definitely ok if you’re cutting them from a big slab. I’m happy with half as long as the other half is eaten quickly by someone else!!
Autumn is good to us at the moment. Lots of beautiful leaves.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
