Tuesday run. It had to be early , it had to be short, had to be fast. Lovely son-in-law prepping for an interview, so LMTB, (Little mum to be), had a spare day.. bonus time for me 
A quick text to small person to say I would be cutting through their garden and I was off.
A child's drawing of a sky..bright blue and white fluffy edged clouds. Sunshine warm on my back, even at this early hour.
After reading many posts about this, I had decided to do a walk/run, run! I took Speed with me, just for familiarity and timing... but I intended walking very briskly in the slower interval and running as fast as I could in the faster interval. I could have sorted all this out with my music and my Garmin, but did not plan well enough! I need yatesco with me! ( I read on his post later, it might be called a cadence pyramid or something?????)
A very brisk warm-up walk around the crescent and then a joggette, ( love that word Irishprincess ), of a warm up down the hill. Laura kicked in, her familiar reassuring tones, describing the first five minutes.. Off I went... I am increasing my distance, because I am, I think running well. I have only me to convince, and I think I am. Then the first intervals started... let's go..! Okay... so in theory this should work, but why is it that whenever I want to run fast, that interval is always on an incline? I had really tried to manoeuvre my route on flatter stretches of lane, but until I really get into the fields, that is impossible. Walking very, very briskly in the slower intervals, I headed through the village and up past the schools. No children yet, thank goodness.. I was finding this a tad tiring.. whether it was the walk/run I don't know, or the fact that on the run. I was running quite fast... I just did not really get into a steady pace...fun though!
Cutting through the path behind the primary school, I did notice a huge tree that has stood in the play yard since my girls went there, has been cut down. Just the massive stump is all that remains. But, no time to linger, off we go again.
Cutting a long story short, which is almost unknown for me, I headed along the Old Road at a fair lick. Arms pumping and knees driving me along. The hedges cut back and layered after the winter, no longer wearing their light spring garments but thick and lusher garb, green and impenetrable. A blackbird bobbing teasingly, ahead of me, a walk, a flutter, a dip in the hedge.. It's all right for you blackbird... you have wings.
Turning up towards the Steam railway and the end of the intervals... Keeping up the pace, walk, run, walk run, I squeeeeezed through the gap in the hedge. I stopped here, and decided to put on some music. I have no idea what I had got playing, but I was, I have to say, fairly out of breath and glad of this small rest. Headed back down the now empty buttercup field, and over the Steam track, back towards the opposite village..now..why I decided to go left here, I have no idea, but I did; through the long grasses waving at the edge of the field, downhill, and suddenly was aware of strange noises emanating from my ear buds.. I was breathing heavily and my feet and legs swishing through the grass made it even harder to hear. I never have the volume turned up very high anyway.
It sounded like.. well... I didn't know, low guttural growling and indiscernible words..strangely un-natural noises...terrifying... until, as I rounded the corner along the flat bit where the grass was shorter, I managed to hear the words....." keep on...keep right on..." this slightly unsettling murmuring went on for quite some time, as I bounded along through the grasses, I turned and headed back up the hill at a fast walk and along the track, leading towards home , serenaded by, "...keep on, keep right on doing it..." ! Well I did..keep on doing it! I headed back over the track and along past the big field which hasn't been cut. On a whim.. I decided to detour through there and cut through to daughter's house. Mistake!
Why do I do these things? The grass here was very long, very, very long, and intermingled in the grass were thistles.. and nettles. No running now... even Barry...(yes, it was Barry White)... where he had come from is a mystery, but he had given up doing it too! I battled through, uncomfortably aware of the prickling and scratchiness through my running tights. I was heading for the fence and the orchard at the back of my daughter's house... On reaching the fence, glad to be getting out of the sea of stinginess, I put one foot out and it went down a hole..full of water. There has always been a shallow ditch, but no hole! There was now. So scratched, stung and soggy.. I hobbled up through the trees and into their garden. Pyjama clad LMTB greeted me by the raspberries... her look was enough. I was very pink and very bedraggled, my right foot squelched as I walked. Trying to look relaxed and not out of breath at all, I managed to gasp..."How long has that hole been outside the fence? "
A glass of water later, plans made for the day, I headed slightly wearily and wetly down the lane back towards the village. Thank goodness it was still early. I trogged up the hill, leaving one wet footprint on the pavement behind me, with each step; my right leg was itching unbearably on the knee, and I was peeling off my leggings almost as I went through the gate into my garden!
An interesting run...( they all are), very different, the walk and the runs, probably... no, certainly, need to be choreographed more carefully. I think I may do this again... with a careful plan, route, distance and speed. I will be trying desperately to avoid all stinging sections and Barry will not be accompanying me.
xxx
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