I’ve had a particularly enjoyable week, lecturing at either Birkbeck or Brighton Business School on all five working days. My students were delightfully engaged post graduates looking to get ahead in some area of business or marketing and were suitably curious and cognitively challenging.
They were also flexible enough to allow me to experiment with both the material and the delivery and as a result I had FUN! To top it off, I had an additional meeting after the Friday session which has left my head buzzing with ideas!
Having spent yesterday afternoon and this morning finishing off a set of condensed notes for the students, I rewarded myself with a run.
The sun was bright in a chilly blue sky and having not run last weekend I opted for a favoured short route through the local woods. I first headed out to Wivelsfield, then followed the path through West Wood to Ditchling Common Industrial Estate.
It was beautiful, with autumn leaves covering the ground and sun filtering through the empty trees.
It was also muddy!
In the summer, or when the ground is largely dry, I tend to avoid any muddy puddles. But at this time of year there is no point whatsoever and I revel in running straight through the mud, avoiding only those patches that might stop me in my tracks or swallow a trainer… which has happened a couple of times in the past!
Near the industrial estate there a subtle fork in the track which reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem about two roads converging in a yellow wood. I call the one less travelled the Magical Path and it was on good form today, a narrow alley through the autumn trees.
At the other end I headed out across Ditchling Common and back towards home, my trainers sodden and legs suitably mud-splattered from the way.
5.2 miles was covered in 52 minutes, a steady 6mph average despite uncooperative lungs!