When I say busy day, it's all very enjoyable busy stuff! Running and cycling! First of was yesterdays run through the woods. I was hoping for a long run but things didn't work out that way! The time just sort of got eaten up by the day. So I eventually got out in the evening, with the Old Boy.
We did one of the routes that we always used to do, parking up at Tent Peg Lane and then running through Jubilee Park and up Goss hill. A great route, and a perfect opportunity to check out the woods for a run on Thursday!
It's been a while since the Old Boy did a run but somehow that hasn't affected his speed or stamina! He still made it up Goss Hill in one go! Even though it was really muggy he still made it! I didn't as you can probably guess, but I did as much as I could.
When I popped out of the woods into Little Thrift, after crossing two of the three bridges, I saw the Old boy and a chap looking at something flying about. When I got closer I could see what the Old Boy was pointing at! It was a stag beetle! I'm not a lover of anything creepy crawly, but I can see the beauty in such things and have empathy for creatures declining in numbers! The stag beetle is declining in numbers, so it was really good to see this little creature flying about!
Just over the next bridge and we were back to the car after just finishing off running through the last of the woods. A great run, but a slow one, because sometimes it is just great to stop and smell the roses! Or in our case to just capture the country side in our view and watch stag beetles flying! I just wish I had my phone with me and then I could have taken a photo!
Geeky stats.
So on to today. This morning is was my cycle ride, which will be written up on my cycling blog, and then this evening it was two runs! First with Group 0.
Now going through the woods yesterday helped me decide where I was taking my group 0 today. I wanted to go up Botany Bay (the horrible hill as Denise had said) I always call Goss Hill a horrible hill and didn't realise that she called this horrible too! But at least this one has a nicer name, and sounds very exotic, Botany Bay Lane!
There were 4 of us today in the group, and I had already pre warned them that we will be going through the woods, so if they have lovely bright new shoes we can soon sort that out! The miles seem to go by so much quicker in the woods, and I am hoping that the new lady will see that and lean to love the woods as I do. But not only that, there is those lovely hills! I say lovely hills, because they are pretty, I say lovely hills because I need to learn to love them, I say lovely hills because I need to impart the good that can be gained from running hills! Hills are in our woods, and try as I might I cannon pound them down at all. With all the miles I must have done in these woods over the years they are still as hilly as ever!
The ladies did very well. It's a whole different experience running through woods. With the ups and downs, the roots and the uneven floor of the woods, it's a great workout for your legs, which means 2.5 miles in the woods is tougher than on the pavements, which means you can treat yourself to something after! That is my theory any way!
A great run with them today, enjoyed it immensely! Here's the geeky stats.
Then there was group 1. I was feeling a tad tired by now, and my Garmin was showing the low battery sign , if I had a battery sign I am sure mine will be showing low as well! So I was just going to run and have fun, no pressure about how fast I am going (or slow in my case) and just try and keep up with the group! The first thing we did after entering the woods at 'Dog Poo Ally' was to go up the hill on the right! See what I mean about loving hills!?
I ran and walked up the hill, in the sweeper position! And then we got to the top! The nice bit of flat running started! Illustrious Leader was leading today and she had a route planned that was going to take us down Botany Bay Lane! The same hill that I had ran up with group 0 earlier! But at least we were going to be running down it!
We turned left to head into the woods, it was a little bit muddy, but at least it was wet and puddly type of muddy. It was just a little soft in places. I just knew that the lovely clean shoes I had noticed before we started the run, and I was just waiting to see how they would cope with the bottom of the hill, as we run along the railway lines.
As we ran along here Sam, one of our lovely lovely group one ladies, needed her back scratched. Being as that we were in the woods I suggested a twig! "This calls for a tree" she said, in great Baloo the Bear style! I just had to take a picture! Here, take a look!
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| Baloo the Bear Style! |
Still at the back, I ran after the group and then caught them up as they had just been lead around one of the two memorial stones we have in the woods, and I.L. has just lead them around it! But just after that I noticed the group veer to the right! I just presumed that Illustrious leader had a new route, but it turned out that she was just pointing out where the road was in conjunction to where we were going to be! Looking for new routes! Well that is how it was mentioned!
After we back tracked, after of course all agreeing that it was good to see the exactly where this part of the woods comes out of (in fact I realised this is the path that I am always looking for and can never find!) we ran along heading for Botany Bay Lane. I.L. decided to change the route again, just everso slight and turn left and left again, before we got to Botany Bay, which will take us back to the middle of the woods to go down that path. This is my favourite path to be running down, I must say! This really, really is my fav 'running down' path. It has everything. Roots, little hills, slight banks, muddy parts and also going past the other memorial we have in the woods.
The run was soon over as we reached the bottom and ran through 'Dog Poo Ally'! A great run today, a bit of a tough one for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I also gave out the wrong information to some of my Group 0 and to group 1 members, so if you have managed to get to the bottom of this blog please not that the Midsummers Eve run is on the 24th, not next week!
No geeky stats as explained, but some of the others had their geeky stats and we did about 3 miles, at least those that ran once around the green to finish on did!
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