Lovely evening run (especially the shady bits!)

[Deryn61]

I was due to do a 3 mile easy run today. It was so hot I decided I had better wait till evening but couldn't leave it too late as I have started going back to Pilates after a 4 year break (I had forgotten how much I loved this!) and I had a class booked for 8.15.

I had had my 20 month old niece for most of the day and she wore me out ! We had a fab time! We had mini olympics in my garden, lots of sprints (well short fast runs), then longer runs round and round the garden, (including one round where we had to pretend we were aeroplanes), then "not very long jump" then hopping. She even had a game of tug of war with my Bedlington Terrier and a pop sock - amazing how far a pop sock can stretch lol! To get her off to sleep for her afternoon nap I had to resort to putting her in the car and going for a drive as she had no intention of lying down quietly! I had 30 mins respite whilst she napped. I took her home at 3 as I had a dentist appointment.

So at about 6.45 I took the dog up the forestry in Afan Argoed. I realised once I had got there that I had forgotten my Garmin. So I just decided to plod up the track till I got to approx 1.5 miles (going on previous runs) and then back. It was LOVELY in the shade but then I got to a part where they had chopped loads of the spruce down so there was no shade and it was HOT!. I turned round back into the shade but gave myself a talking to as if I had carried on I would have been back at the car at about 1.6 miles.

I ran back up, and then decided to "do the loop". I used to walk this quite often up until last year, but it has been closed off, initially due to a landslide, but now they have been constructing more mountain bike paths.

This involves a steady climb up rough forestry road, then a sharp descent (no one around so I ran down as fast as I could laughing like a big kid!) then a gradual climb then a short very steep section - ok, I walked this bit - and then you either rejoin a very straight boring old dram road, or you can instead follow the prettiest undulating woodland path before you rejoin the track with a very gradual slope down back to the car park. Where they had closed off the path I had to clamber over boulders that they had put in the way to try and stop people going through, but that all added to the fun!

And the views, on such a lovely sunny evening, are to die for, honest! The photo is one I found on the net and doesnt convey the beauty of the evening sunlight but it gives you a flavour.

I have estimated I did 3.2 miles.

Then Pilates. Where in a perverse twist of fate, we concentrated on leg work! EEK! I will no doubt ache the day after tomorrow but its all worth it!

[Burstcouch Graduate]

Lucky thing, its so different from the weather in Scotland right now, which rained non stop for almost 18 hours yesterday. No sun for us! So I am not cooking here!

[Deryn61 Graduate in reply to Burstcouch]

Oh sorry, didnt mean to rub it in! We have had nothing but rain for nigh on 2 months here, so I get very excited when it stops! I actually prefer it cool but even I have been started to feel like I am doomed to live the rest of my life in a post apocalyptic "blade runner"-esque perpetual rainstorm!

[Burstcouch Graduate]

totally agree Deryn . Rain for almost every day since I moved to Scotland in June.

Might be dry tomorrow and am getting excited about it!!!

[TJFlute]

stunning! Well done with all of those hills