It's a cold bright morning, Mr JCR mowing the lawn and woodcutting, we've had unseasonable mildish weather and the grass is growing visibly, as is his grumpy mood. Too early to be mowing he says...
Too early and too cold for me to be running, but not too early nor too cold to take out Fibi Fardashian and Bobster the Monster. We are in re-hab mode - Bobster can't take tarmac or gravelly roads, Fibi can't take uneven ground. So we compromise on Argo's loop, the olive grove. Laundry Lane, the Village Via, and finally the Slope of Hope. A bit of tarmac, a bit of field.
F and B are ex-racers, adopted here in Italy from Ireland, racing history known - Bob won some, Feebs didn't - no real surprise she's a diva. Clearly both were 'let go' at an early age - Feebs 12 months, Bobster 2 years. Both are described as 'not cat safe'. Prey drive too strong, which means they're mainly muzzled in towns and we keep a close lead in the country.
We know where the 'cat issues' are - the cat sanctuary, and various homesteads, but feral cats abound and they are less likely to turn tail and run when they see greyhounds. They prefer to stand their ground and why not when they live on their wits?
I was using the walk to see if the olive grove was dry enough to run through - it wasn't - cue soggy feet ....
Walk with dogs uneventful until we left the olive grove - two feral cats having a scrap too far away to cause an issue but close enough to mean that both dogs kept turning around to look. Further on there's an abandoned window company, again a magnet for cats and sure enough a little one taking the sun, this did involve much hauling on the harnesses and the tut tutting noise which I'm assured acts as a distraction. Judging by two pairs of very perky ears and two sets of biceps straining at the leash, I remain to be convinced....
The stats - one walk, two dogs, three cats unharmed just over 3km done. Now for the run.
Same route except I stay on Argo's Loop and turn into Laundry Lane. sheps listening to your track on Spotify - Retro Runners - all animal based and yes cats do feature - Stray Cat Strut, The Lion Sleeps Tonight and more...
I started out to Tight Fit and The Lion Sleeps etc - Wim a way is a great chorus to do your warm up walk to! In Argo's Loop approaching the cat sanctuary and there's a new kitten taking the lunchtime air, followed quickly by two more feeding from a bowl. Thank heavens I'm running and not dog walking. At this stage Stray Cat Strut is playing which makes me smile and it coincides with the second run - the three minuter, all the animal stuff keeps me pleasantly distracted so it didn't seem to be a problem at all.
Mid way on the run, the Union of The Snake was perhaps a bit too peppy for comfort but you never know until after the run whether you overcooked it. Jo Cool had suggested that mixing up routes would be helpful to keep the momentum and interest - so far the change of playlists is doing that for me.
Past the old 'laundry' on Laundry Lane - think rocks and a water spring and that covers it, and I'm aiming for the mini run which makes me happy because in Week 1 a run of 90 seconds would have seemed hard, but now I can call it a mini-run that's progress for sure.
Then fortuitously The Eye of The Tiger kicked me off on the last 3 minutes run, it was hard because I was running up Village Via which is 14% gradient and then bliss, Jo Cool told me I'd done the run - I kept on going because I wasn't quite up the ramp - only about 20 paces or so, but I was soooo happy having done just that little bit more.
Warm down walk to the Monkees, followed by the Korgis and yes everyone has to learn sometime, and my lesson today was
Cats counting down - three this morning three on the run 3 x 3 =9 - and today is my ninth run. I'm not as shattered as I was, so that's new news and whilst I'm not exactly dog-tired I thought my run should have had a track by this Countdown Conundrum
Can you guess who?
ACTIONATA
No prizes just a shared puzzle.
Week 3 I got you, Week 4 you're in my sights...
Week 3 Run 3
Week 8 Run 3 - Marmite, tears and dangerous cats!
W7R1 Worst weather + thinking time = best run!
Are you a dog lover or a cat lover?
A blustery week 4 run
