HM training week7 day5 - 70 minutes in zones 1&2

A dramatic start to the day. They took down the last of the cooling towers at Didcot power station today. I was walking the dogs at 7am when BOOM. It evoked an unexpected emotional response from me and I found myself quite choked and tearful - not entirely sure why, though I did think of all the wildlife that was probably killed in the process, plus the four people who lost their lives when the first lot of towers were destroyed. Anyway, it set off car alarms all over the place. I got back and the girl from three doors up rang the bell to ask if I had power. I checked and found it was off. No phone signal either.

I decided to put my trail shoes on and run over the fields to take a photo. The first photo was taken earlier in the summer and the second from the same place today. I’m sad they have gone. They were iconic and beautiful and had become a spectacular part of the landscape, much painted and photographed by artists over the years.

I was awake at 4am so quite tired, so my heart rate flew away from me several times. Cold, dreary and grey today too, and it started raining heavily when I was five minutes from home.

Time for a hot bath.

[AlMorr Half Marathon]

Sorry for the four people that lost their lives at Didcot when the first towers fell.

This morning must have been a rude awakening for many around 7.00am

Yes indeed Flick, those cooling towers will be sadly missed as part of the landscape from now on, but let's face it, they were ugly monstrosities blotting the countryside, hopefully they will be replaced by nice country walks and landscaping where you will be able to enjoy your runs. 🏃 😊

[Hidden in reply to AlMorr]

Oh, i thought they were beautiful. They had a sculptural shape and were amazing silhouetted against sunset or sunrise. Anyway, they are gone!

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Hidden]

Sorry, so 😔 sad.

[Hidden in reply to AlMorr]

😊👍🏼

[Snuffy_T Half Marathon]

We used to drive past them quite regularly, strangely I was quite attached to them as well. We have a wind farm out on the ocean in Brighton, I wasn't sure about it at first, but I like it now. Also its renewable energy, so that's got to be a good thing.

[Hidden in reply to Snuffy_T]

Its true - I would probably have been against them when they were first built. The cooling towers I mean. I find the wind terminals beautiful too.

[SlowLoris]

Everything has it’s time. Everything is always changing.

[Hidden in reply to SlowLoris]

Meaning of life mate!|

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Oh gosh Flick, I can see why you were emotional. Yes they were only buildings, but they were such a major part of the landscape for so many years - and the human/wildlife loss is so sad. 😢 I was living in the USA at the time of 9/11. Driving past the drastically altered skyline of NYC would get me every time.

You still ran though. Any run is a good one, so hold onto that and press the reset button for the next one. ❤️

[Hidden in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I saw Ground Zero in 2003, when I was in New York doing workshops and book signings. They still had rubble and a huge cross made of girders. It was awful, poignant and tragic.

Yes, the next run will be better. It’s always hard when I’m doing the training runs in zones 1&2 - over an hour at that pace is hard. The moment your mind drifts, your pace increases and your hr goes up 🤨

[Agelesslass Metric Marathon]

Aw so this on the tele, no more cooling towers, oh dear. Emotions do run high when certain things that have been there all your life are suddenly gone, end of an era but onwards and upwards you go, keep running, your AMA ing 😀😀👍

[Hidden in reply to Agelesslass]

Bless you for saying they had been there all my life 😊❤️ They were actually commissioned in 1968 and I was 21 by then, and I’ve only lived here since this February, though I’ve lived in Oxfordshire on and off since the year they were built. But I’m happy to knock 21 years off my age 😄

Aw, thanks re the running. I couldn’t do it if I didn’t love it, though this HM training is hard at times x

[Aldlib Half Marathon]

And another week done 😀. Sometimes I love change and sometimes I yearn for consistency. There is something about running training plans that reminds me of life. Week 8 here we come xx

[Hidden in reply to Aldlib]

I'm going to miss it when it's over. I'm going to use it for the Blenheim half next year and try their 10k plan for Oxford Town & Gown in the spring. I'm also thinking of doing a certain amount of heart rate zone training into my road runs in future. Week 8 here we come, though it's a rest/swim day today!

[Xylem 10 Miles]

I missed the demolition as was running through torrential rain in central oxford at the time (seems to have been the same cloud!) but whenever I’ve passed the towers on the train (at least once a week) I’ve taken them as a welcome sign that I’m nearly home (even though I am not local and have only been here a couple of years) but I’ve also thought about those who lost their lives, so can totally understand how they evoke mixed emotions.

[Hidden in reply to Xylem]

So many people have said they were a sign of being nearly home. Just about everyone local says how the landscape looks wrong now.