Week 7, run 3 completed. Very satisfied indeed, especially as it was very, very damp this morning.
Peeked out at 7 a.m. and it was really raining, but at 7.30, as the rain had turned into a fine drizzle, I thought I would grab my chance.
Varying my route a little again, it was really quite dark this morning, and the fine drizzle was already turning into something that resembled wet sleet. As I headed across the main road in the village, the wet road, glistened under the headlights of the passing cars, and the local hairdresser's window was already ablaze with Christmas lights!
Leaving the relatively warm glow of the village, I went steadily, if increasingly damply, up the hill, halfway point, twelve and a half minutes to go, as I headed along the back lane. Huge puddles stretched along ahead of me under the dripping trees, seeming to join up in places and giving the impression of a continuous wet stream.
No animals in the fields this morning, no pheasants and no buzzards; everything clothed in rain-slick darkness. The rain getting much heavier now and my feet getting wetter by the minute.
Again, words whizzing around my head, darker thoughts this morning, maybe matching the weather's mood...Shadowlands... CS Lewis, ( ...Give me blizzards and frozen pipes, not this nothing time, not this waiting room of the world).
Weird how my running has re awakened all the half forgotten poems and words from way back.
Half lost, in these more sombre thoughts, as I concentrated on one foot in front of the other, Laura's cheery voice broke into my musings, with one minute to go. Finish on a high, let yourself know you have something left to give. Turning the corner to go downhill, ( for once) , the sky already lightening ahead of me,the lights from the main street below me beckoned like a welcome beacon.
Finished my run and on the warm down walk, I could feel a brightening of my mood again. Week 7 done, wet or not, prospect of a warm shower and the day stretching ahead; this morning's run had been different.. darker in a lot of ways weirdly, and maybe a little harder because of the weather, but still very enjoyable.
Week 8 Run 1... here I come!