Hows it going with your running? Any plans or goals you are working towards? Any cleared milestones? This is race season after all. Or are you dealing with running injuries or stresses? Pull up a chair and lets chat about it.
I am free-styling it at the moment as my last race was in September and I am just out enjoying the glorious Autumn colours here. I saw a beautiful Blue Heron early this morn on my long run which just made it worthwhile. I find encounters like this with wild birds or animals so inspiring primarily because I can’t force it or plan it. It just has to unfold naturally at the right place and the right time. It’s something I look forward to on every trail run.
How about you? Where do you draw inspiration from to get yourself out of bed and out the door?
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Good morning Decker. Great fall photos. I am just exercising my way through a calf problem. It seems to be on the way to recovery; my physio will soon tell me tomorrow!
One of the benefits of running where I live, on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, is the promise of wildlife encounters. There are plenty of kestrels, sparrow hawks and buzzards at present. I seem to attract them…maybe hoping for an easy meal.
I occasionally see deer and foxes too, as well as rabbits being chased by stoats. It is a good time of year for sightings with fewer visitors coming out from town now that the weather is changing. Running with nature 🙂
Sounds like you have an active wildlife population there. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any creatures of note on my runs, so the heron was a welcome surprise. In the past I’ve been visited by deer crashing through the bush, and the odd coyote or fox. We have a falcon family nearby too. I think the early runs allow us a bit more time with these wildlife before all the people show up and scare them off.
Hi Decker, thank you for hosting the chat this week. 👍 Glad to read that you’re still enjoying the running over there. It’s such a beautiful time of year as nature prepares for the winter months. Your pictures continue to both inspire and amaze me. Long may they continue 😊
I’m continuing to focus on the winter training schedule and something called a force velocity profile which should help me identify areas of strength and weakness in my technique.
I’m hitting the gym hard at least once per week and morning workouts are becoming more established. Just mindful of a niggle in my left ankle so I’ve backed off any max speed training for now.
Not much room in there for enjoying nature for now but that’s something I tend to leave for my walking days.
Your structure and discipline are what inspires me Brian. Strength work is something I really need to focus on. I’ve just wrenched my back hauling an old TV up from the basement with my son. 🙄Hoping I can stretch and roll it out.
I know your training will continue to pay off as it has to date. Best of luck!
Your photos never cease to amaze Decker. So beautiful. 😍 Perfect running conditions for you before the cold sets in. Enjoy!
I have an old route that I don’t do so much nowadays that took me along the riverbank. I’d see lots of varied wildlife there, as well as dogs and horses. Never a dull moment.
My little common is mostly frequented by dogs, but on quiet early mornings there are bunnies, snakes (😳) and all sorts of birds. It’s lovely even though EasyJets come in to land every so often!
The gym has no wildlife, but it gives a wonderful opportunity to people watch. Being the nosy type I can wile away the miles and minutes quite happily! 🏃♀️
Snakes are not my favourite creatures, although you live well away from the only venomous snake in Ontario. We get adders on the moorland around here; people and dogs do get bitten but all usually ends well. It pays to keep your eyes open! TailChaser has a woman/ man-eating tortoise 🐢….is nowhere safe?
An adder ‘helped’ killed my horse a few years ago BC. He was bitten on the fetlock and the venom attacked the tendon within, turning it spongy, and therefore non weight bearing. He would have ended up spending months, at least, in a stable which he wouldn’t have tolerated, so I had to make the call.
That is so unlucky as well as being very upsetting for you cheeky. Sometimes you don’t know that an animal has been bitten until you look at a spot they have been licking. They should be hibernating soon.
Yes that’s very true. Harvey wouldn’t take a step forward one morning - unusual as he used to mug me for his breakfast. He’d been sheltering under a tree overnight and it seems like he disturbed an adder who was under the leaves. It was April, so probably just coming out of hibernation. We found the fang marks when the vet shaved his leg to find a wound. They tried their best, but clearly weren’t quick enough with the anti-venom. An unfortunate accident, and very unlucky as you say. 🥹
You’re right BC. No venomous creatures near us no nothing to fear. I shudder to think how an encounter with this monster tortoise would end. Forget bears , it’s the tortoises we should worry about!
Oh look at that beauty! 🐍 I’m not a huge fan (one bit my horse and he was put to sleep a couple of weeks later), but I do think they’re fascinating creatures.
Oh no cheeky! I saw your reply to BC. That must have been traumatic. Very understandable you’d not be a fan. I am also in the fascination camp when it comes to these creatures - not quite a fan, just interested.
Thanks for hosting this week's chat Decker , and for the utterly breathtaking photos too.
I'm almost never inspired to get out of bed and out of the door! I've run before breakfast out of guilt and to avoid high temperatures, but I very rarely enjoy morning runs.
My inspiration is much more of the where would I like to go and what would I like to experience today variety, with a large dose of let's just see what happens. A lazy runner's version of surrealist automatism!
Classic example: went out two days ago in the evening to test the cheapy front-and-back running lights I bought months back. Thought maybe 30 minutes max, gentle 4k-ish pootle down to the village and back. Off I go and find myself not carrying straight on downhill, but turning up the road that winds through the forest. Result: a 7k, 55-minute, 213m elevation gain run.
If I can get back a bit of confidence and avoid any further falls and injuries over the next few months I'll be happy. Ambition can wait.
I love the “let’s just see what happens “ approach too. I usually get up at 5 without an alarm but I’m not always feeling the run vibe. Especially when the weather is poor and it’s so dark before the time change this time of year. Your “on the fly” decisions are something I can relate to, and usually end well but sometimes catch me out. Like when on a whim I tried a side trail which wound around and gradually disappeared into a patch of poison ivy. But often they end well, like with the heron sighting. Good for you to challenge yourself like that. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink it and just get in there.
I know your confidence will keep coming back and probably stronger than before. 👊 One step at a time 🙂
Hi Decker and everyone. Gorgeous photos from you as usual, the autumn colours are just stunning.
I’m very lucky as I live in an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) which is basically an area of land that is protected due to the beauty of its landscape. I wonder if you have something similar in Canada?
Anyway, I just need to run from my doorstep to have gorgeous running routes so I have no excuse! But the place I really adore and that feeds my soul is the arboretum which is a short car journey away. And at the minute, it’s absolutely glorious 🍂🍁although extremely busy.
I went this morning so here is a photo 😍
The running return is going well and I’m now at 25 minutes. Yeah! The back is good and for the first time in months I’m not feeling any tightness.
Enjoy your free-styling Decker and your autumn and have a good week everyone x
Absolutely beautiful photo IP beautiful 🤩. So fortunate to live close to such beautiful protected spots. Yes we have similar national and provincial parks here and a number of my routes like the Rouge park are lovely now too.
I'm still riding a bit of a wave and pushing the seasonal envelope 🙈!!! Chester Metric marathon and Great South Run are both done and I am still injury free, so I'm heading to Lincoln this weekend for a10k 🥰
With PBs for MM (first time, so that was a given), HM and 10 miles, will I be able to get another for 10k? Somehow I think not but hopefully I'll have fun trying! It's nice that the distance is getting less each time - maybe a Parkrun PB next 😍
I seem to need very little to persuade me out of bed for a run - I just love it!!!
It’s so great that you are back firing on all cylinders now Linda! I do think there is a good chance you can smash that 10k PR and Parkrun too! Best of luck in Lincoln and I will try to channel some of your morning energy next time its cold and rainy on a dark run morning 😁
I always enjoy reading of your running and seeing your beautiful photos. Thank you.
I am under a physio for knee, hamstring and Achilles. The knee is the more serious injury. Now back up to 5.5km running and carrying out my physio exercises too. I also enjoy spotting birds on my runs the most unusual for me have been a heron (twice), egret (perhaps 5 times), a kingfisher(perhaps 8 times) and some mandarin ducks.
You’re still running! That sounds very good news 🥳 All we can do is keep going with our exercises and keep running gently. We’ll get where we want to be eventually 🤞
I don’t know that plant at all but it looks very strange!
First off - it's wonderful to hear you are up to the shorter runs. I'm sure as your physio work progresses it will continue to get better. There are so many lovely birds out there. I was once at eye level with a red tail hawk which was really special. I've only seen an Egret once up here. That plant is so unusual! I've only recently found out you can use your iphone to tell you what plant is in any photo. And it works most of the time!
Blue heron! I think I’ve seen one on our nature reserve! I rubbed my eyes to make sure. They’re bigger and have blue brown tipped wing feathers. Great to be out running in cooler weather. I loved the summer mind you. I got drowned again yesterday but wasn’t out too long. Marathon training has to get done 🏃♀️🙂
Have a great weekend everyone. Bit late in my posting but I’ve been busy with family staying over and then went away til Wednesday pm ⚽️
Yes such a nice time of year! We have a few herons about still. It's getting colder here (-3 on my run this morn) so they will likely move on soon. They really are graceful looking birds.
Good for you for getting out in the wet - I dont mind it as long as its not too cold and I am layered up.
No worries - I'm late with my replies too, between work and family life 🙂
My “blue heron” sighting was confirmed this morning. There were some guys with those big lens cameras in the place where I’d first seen the bird. They confirmed it was indeed a blue heron I thought I was seeing things ☺️
That’s brilliant! It looks elegant there. Sometimes they’re seemingly quite clunky and you think they won’t touch down or lift off without incident. Inevitably they do 😀
Our new “washlands” is getting rapidly populated with wildlife despite its history of pollution. The trees and shrubs, ponds, marshes, reed beds etc are developing nicely.
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