Hello blog lovers.
You know how things just happen and it happens at the exact moment you need it! Well Mr.S, Chief Monkey Feet himself was back to running. Sometimes life, work and just stuff get in the way of your running, and that then puts the running bug to sleep! Our Mr.S is a LiRF and a very good one too. He messaged me last night about leading group 1 and some time. Well sometime was this time! My legs were still so tired and achy! Tonight was a perfect time for Mr.S to lead. I don't think he was quite expecting that, "I shall let the announcers know that you will leading group 1 tomorrow night" I said to him last night! "No pressure then" he said in reply! I knew he would do a brilliant job of leading.
So I gave him the group pace and the distance that we normally do, and he created a new route for us all! When Nicola did the introductions and said that Mr.S would be leading group 1 I could hear just a little buzz through the crowd! I haven't missed many group runs, but when I have turned up I have always lead. But I knew that Mr. S will make a great group 1 leader. Firstly because he himself is coming back to running after having some time away from it, and secondly, he really is an amusing guy, inspiring, inventive and totally encouraging! I am sure those that haven't met him yet will enjoy his company.
As for me, well, I will be at the back with the sweepers, or maybe in the middle but I can be talking to all our members now and enjoying my recovery run! The route he chose for us was quite a good route, a little incline of Petts Wood Road, running up from Crossways to the Memorial hall. It's funny, because this road don't see half as bad running up here first rather than at the end of a run! I didn't really notice it much at all!
He took the 'troll bridge' to get on the other side of the railway lines, I did notice that Michael wasn't stamping across it waking the troll up! Maybe next time Mr.S leads then he will tease him with his heavy footed running! He kept us running all the way to where 'Woolworths' used to be! I so like that shop! We ran further than I would have ran with them but being at the back I could see that everyone did really well with keeping up! I shall take note of that, for when it's my turn to lead again!
Our next gathering stop would be at the off license, not too far. J.J. had told Mr.S "The Old Girl usually runs from the front all the way to the back to see how we are" I chuckled at this, and just let it slide! "Oh right OK" he said. And so as we were running just pass the garage Mr. S came running by me to the 3 ladies at the back to see how they were and then started to run back to the front again! As he passed me I said "You know, I don't usually do that at all, I just send the others on while I wait for the sweepers to meet me!" What a tease we are in group 1!
Once we got to the off license and then we turned left to go over the bridge with the usual call of "Lip" to avoid tripping up on the raised pavement that goes from bridge to pavement, Mr.S. came up with his revenge! Actually he probably had it planned all along! In fact he did the whole proper LiRF thing of doing a warm up routine before our running too! His plan was to use lampposts. I know, I use lampposts too, but his was slightly different than mine. By around this time I was right at the back with K and J.J. and LittleJ were middle sweepers, Mr.S's plan was to run to the first lamppost and then to run back around me and K, who would be running at this nice steady pace, and then they were to run on to the next lamppost and then back, around me and K again. A great plan. It gives the front faster runners a chance to stretch their legs and to also keep the whole group together with the added factor of keeping everyone running together as a perfect running group!
We had to run along the road until we got to St. Johns road before he implementing that activity but it worked brilliantly. We did the lamppost running for a few lampposts before we got back to just running forward. We got back to Tudor way and Mr. S wanted to cross over the road and got down pass the Daylight inn. He started to cross the road.....at the wrong place! "The Old Girl always crosses at the bollards" said our Carol, "Health and safety first" she said. So we all crossed by the Bollards.
We ran along the high street to the memorial hall and had a little break. "Right then" Mr S said "Right then, run along here" (pointing to Towncourt Road) "Run all the way down, turn right and then right again, go at your own pace" he said with authority! It just goes to show you have sometimes we just take things for granted, because the faster runners started off running down Towncourt, then the turned right, but then turn would have had to turn left to go up Crossways and back to the rec! They were going the way that we normally go when we are at that distance from the rec, but Mr.S wanted us to run all the way along Towncourt then turn right into Hazlemere and then turn right into Crossways! Simples once you realised that we should get out of our usual habits and to do something new! We had to call Michael and Carol back, and I think someone else from Kingsway!
Back at the rec and our group seemed to merge into group 2 to join in the stretches. After having a head count to make sure that we were all back at the rec, by they way, there were 15 of us in group 1, that left the rec and 14 of us that came back, Stephen decided he would bail out at the rail station to go home!
A brilliant run, I really enjoyed it and it really was a perfect recovery run for me. It is so good to have Mr. S. back running with us. I look forward to more group running with him.
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