Thursdays Mud Fest!

Hello blog lovers.

It's my Thursdays session, all eyes on me for the route as I lead these sessions.  It still is all a little weird for me to think that I am a leader, but I had a route planned through the woods, and then I changed my mind when I got to the rec and thought I would do some pavement pounding instead, with the option of a little more challenging climbing up Southborough lane.

We all met up, DiscoRich said that he would be taking his group through the woods.  When I told my group where we were going, and whether they wanted to do the route in an anti clock wise direction which is the more challenging way. They said yes. But I did ask them if they would like to do a bit of running in the woods, which they all agreed to!  I think I should have been more confident and just gone for the woods in the first place!

So the route slightly changed, we headed towards 'Dog Poo ally' and turned left.  I tried to remember the top path that PhysioMike had taken us on when we were with the beginners group.  But I got slightly lost.  But Sherry runs the woods regularly and headed us on the right track.  And it really was a mud fest!  Squishing and squelching our way around and just enjoying the woods, even all the muddy puddles.

We ran along the three bridges which brought us out to Jubilee park.  A bit of tarmac and road to bash the mud of our shoes! When we got to Blackbrook lane, I again, I gave the ladies, who were Sherry, Illustrious Leader and PinkladyJo, a choice of which way to go, which was up Blackbrook and then up Southborough, where we could run so fast the mud would dry on our shoes and we could pound it off on the way back. Or we could really embrace the mud and continue to splash around in it and go back over the top of the woods.  Guess what the unanimous decision was? Yes....MUD!

Of course, turning right and heading that way means we have Goss hill to deal with! Sherry just seems to eat up those hills!  She just headed on up there like she was just out for a morning stroll.  I tried to do a much of the hill as I could with the other two ladies behind going at their speed.

Getting to the top was hard work but we all got there, Sherry was running little circles when I reached the top!  Along the top path now, by the school and towards Botony Bay Lane.  By the time we got to lane I.L. decided that she would finish the route by going down the lane and taking a slightly shorter cut, as she was feeling a little tired.  The rest of us headed up to the top of the woods to continue our mud fest.

All I can say about todays run was that it was bloomin good! Well I enjoyed it, and the others did too.  Running down through the middle of the woods was just as muddy as the rest of it.  Good training for the next instalment our clubs Grand Prix!  Cross country 5 miler.  And todays run we covered just a tad over 4 miles!

We all met back at the rec, and I.L. came running through the cars to join us, and she still enjoyed the route.  So what I have got to learn from todays run is to be more confident in myself and just enjoy our woods, because everyone does, even though they were really muddy at the end of it!

Here is todays geeky stats!