And it's goodbye week 4 and hello week 5. Even though I graduated last year I still have that nervous tingle of the deadly W5R3. That 20 minutes non stop.
Last August at W5R3 I was at a group sales conference in Pasadena, California so got up at 0430 and went out at 5am to pound the nice, flat, no hills streets in the cool morning air. New surroundings so plenty to be nosey at to take my mind off of the run.
This time around I know I have the Lane of Pain and the Hill of Hurt as I ran along Manure Mile. Which is daft really as I did weeks 8 and 9 along that very route and was up ate 5.5km along that very route before hitting the IC.
But for a change I thought I would try something different for W5R1 this year.
On one side of our tiny village in the middle of Central Bohemia are the forests where I normally run. On the other side are rolling fields and (what looked like) no so steep rolling hills. We walk the dogs up there quite often so I know the area and it never seem to bad when we are walking up it. So after donning the obligatory go faster yellow running top, blue shorts and trainers I was Minioned up and off I set.
All was going well. MJ had said 'HI !!!' at 120db and I was getting into my stride on the 1st 5 minute run. Plenty to look at. Trees are all in blossom and the first crop of rape was turning the fields a glorious yellow as Mother Nature lined the path with colour coordinated supporters to cheer me along and butterflies and birds were swooping and fluttering around the place.
3 minute walk. All is good. Next 5 minute run. Ooh hello.....don't recall it being this steep. Dont recall it going on for so long. And it is only 10am but that sun is getting hot (I had sun cream on. As a freckly ginger I wear SPF Factor 'Blanket'). I slowed my pace right down so as not to give in and lean't forward slightly so as to take on the slope and there you go. The next 5 minutes had passed. My average walking speed is 12 mins a KM and my running over the 5 mins up the hill had averaged 10.5 mins a KM so as you can see, slowing it RIGHT down but keeping moving.
I got to the top of the hill and had a glorious view over the fields to the next village. It was getting time for the last and final run and it was all downhill (literally!) from here.
Ever on the look out for places to walk our dogs I decided to detour down a path that I had often seen before.
And that is when I discovered the 20 beehives.
Bees like pollen. Rape crop flowers are bright yellow. Rape crop is currently in blossom and so the bees are busy. Imagine their delight when they saw the biggest yellow flower they had ever seen come looming around the bend.
Thankfully they realised reasonably soon that there is not a lot of pollen on this one but for a while it did look like the Tom and Jerry cartoons where there is the cloud of bees following them (artistic and literary licence....there was probably 4) but down the fill in our village they were probably thinking 'why is that mad English guy up on the hill practising flag waving semophore?'
I think I will stick to the forests. Never a dull moment.
Enjoy the journey.
GB
Poignant Musical Moments on Your Runs
A pic for O'HRH, Irish Princess.
