Well, 5k done. Note to self: find an easier route next time you dope, or take Scuba gear.

[Pm3eak]

My mission for today- should I have chosen to accept it-was to enjoy a relaxing, first post-grad run with a particular emphasis on keeping my heart rate at a lower rate than of late. 'I know', said I in a flash of inspiration, 'Instead of turning round at half way I'll bimble on down the footpath along the edge of the Moss...it will be nice'. It was indeed nice...for Water Buffalo.

Storm Dylan, on his recent sashay across the country, had dumped a big tree across the path: I tried to vault it, failed miserably and landed on my bum in the branches the other side. That stung: I don't think the tree felt it. Any spare breath was knocked out of me. I almost fell over the stile taking me back on to terra firma, totally cream-crackered and with squelchy feet. It had been like something out of that last episode of Blackadder: up over the stile and running through knee deep mud and water. The heart rate plan was, literally, a wash out as it was hammering away somewhere up around the rhythm of that machine gun at the end of that Blackadder episode.

But it was plain sailing on proper roads after that. It was going to be easy...I thought...until my second realisation that it is actually a steady uphill gradient all the way back home: it had slipped my mind that wet, boggy morasses tend to be at the bottom of things. I think I will remember every step of that last half kilometre as I looked longingly for a big wide vehicle that might force me to take refuge-and a breather-but it never came.

Anyway, 5.3 km done. Not quick though at an average of 7.45 mins/km ...the section through the morass being much, much slower than that ( aren't averages wonderful?)

I've got a bruised bum, torn clothes, wet shoes but am nonetheless happy. I am just looking forward to the Spring.

( the picture is not of today, but of my dogs in the same spot last year when they were pups: you would think I would have expected it to be a tad damp wouldn't you? I really am as dull as a Poundland torch.

Top tip: never follow me anywhere.)

[Anthie Graduate]

Another epic run! Hope you had a nice warm bowl of porridge for post run comfort and try to find a less risky, muddy route for your next 5k...

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to Anthie]

Haha...thanks Anthie: I had the porridge at breakfast...Sweet&Sour Pork tonight...tidy it was too.

Yes, I'm trying to keep off hard surfaces as much as possible and it is pretty difficult to get a circular route once the wet arrives (and then when it dries in Summer the snakes and biting, flying, murderous critters come out on the Moss!).

I'm thinking of walking to suitable places and then running, in addition to majoring on the canal...or rather the tow path. Nice, pleasant, flat...but a bit, erm, a bit linear. It is nice feeling to overtake the boats as well.

[Anthie Graduate in reply to Pm3eak]

Yes, I know about canals (I live in the north of France where there's a whole network) and I really don't like walking for hours along them as the view of that neverending straightline can be quite daunting even when the landscape on both sides is lovely, but for a run, they're fine except that you'll probably get to run against the wind!

So basically youre saying that the Moss is great in autumn and spring but really treacherous for runners the rest of the time? Just make sure you don't break a bone while trying to run/swim in the bogs. So for a longer run and a steady heart, it may be wiser to walk to some dry flat ground. I still envy you as I'm stuck inside again with a bad cold hoping it's not the flu (the privilege of living in a big polluted city that hasn't seen the sun for 3 weeks...).

[Hidden]

Oh dear!!!full marks for effort though 😁 hope you are not too sore tomorrow!!!

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Claire...nah, a few Alder shaped scratches but I'm fine: tough as old boots ( with less soul).

Great to see you progressing well after all your travails.

[Hidden in reply to Pm3eak]

Thankyou...just got to stay healthy 😊

[rolysmate Graduate]

But for all the fun and games that really isn't a shabby pace

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to rolysmate]

''Tis beautiful Rolysmate: hundreds and hundreds of acres of solitude. Come and see us if in this neck of the woods.

[rolysmate Graduate in reply to Pm3eak]

Where is "your neck of the woods"

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to rolysmate]

The 'Meres and Mosses' in North West Shropshire, right on the Welsh Border. Famous for lakes and rare peat wetlands. Between Whitchurch and Ellesmere.

[SaskAlliecat Graduate]

Epic! Great post, I could picture it so vividly 😆. Here's to a much deserved/much needed rest day tomorrow!

PS - love the pic! A stick and water - what else could those beautiful beasts as for? Maybe 2 sticks 😂 . It's like he's saying "Come on, my tuuuuurn" and the other "Gotta catch me first, hahahaha" 😍

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Thank you! Yes, one reason we got them is that they are water-orientated dogs ( they even have webbed feet) so are athome around here. They are brilliant swimmers and love trawling around the wetland. They are a lot bigger now though.

[ClarkeyCat Graduate]

Hats off to you!!

[Pm3eak Graduate in reply to ClarkeyCat]

Thank you!

[Cornet-Carolyn Graduate]

Top post, it brightened my morning and made me laugh so much 😂Sorry, but I just got back from walking the dog and was pleased I'm not running ☔️. Well done for keep going and great pace too 👏

[TJMazz Graduate]

It sounds like a run full of excitement. Never a dull moment. Well done for completing the 5.3k. Love your dogs 🐕

[Pm3eak Graduate]

Thank you! Yes, Jethro and Lucy are Russian Blacks, a breed originally developed and used by the Soviet Army as military dogs. They are my best mates. We bred and trained working sheepdogs for many years so these are a bit of a change.

They are a year older now than in the picture and a lot bigger at 50 and 44kg respectively.

[Hidden]

I am in awe of both your writing skills and your athletic prowess. 5k and with leaping ovr tree trunks as well! You are awesome. well done.

[misswobble Graduate]

Ha ha 😁. Sorry to laugh but best laid plans dump us on our arse! God vomits in your kettle 😃( Also Blackadder)

I once came upon a huge fallen tree blocking our route, me and the dog that is, but because it was in a ravine we couldn’t manage to climb our ways around top,or bottom, as the sides of the embankment were too steep and wet. It had come down very recently, and as I was leading the dog underneath it, it struck me what a dipstick I was and we could easily have been flattened as it was still moving. I reversed and found another route 🙂

Nature has a way of changing our plans so we have to be ready to make fresh ones. Keeps things interesting though 😃🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️💪👍✔️

[Pm3eak Graduate]

Haha. I'd forgotten that Blackadder line: I love it. Yes indeed, the natural world does indeed have a way of slapping the hubris out of you. I was once by an old farmer, years ago, that, 'If you want to make God laugh: make plans'. Seems about right in my experience.