Singing squirrels

It was a lovely day and having had a midweek run I was happy to run the larger of my normal loops.

As you can see below, autumn was well underway… the colours were lovely.

Part way round I was surprised by  something crying in the tree above me as I negotiated a stile.  I paused to look and realised that it was a squirrel, singing (or maybe scolding, since it sounded pretty annoyed) from the branches.  I can’t remember ever having heard them do this before… it seems by the comments on Gardeners World that I’m not the only one to be surprised.

According to Strava my run was 7 miles, completed in 64 minutes, an average of 6.5 mph.

IMG_4537 IMG_4538 IMG_4541 IMG_4542 IMG_4543 IMG_4544 IMG_4545 IMG_4546

Cumulonimbus passing

Really lovely run with Daren, on a day that looked like it might be very wet.  Actually, looking at his face as I drew up next to his car, I thought it might be a good day for a cup of tea rather than a run!

As we ran so we watched dark cumulonimbus clouds drenching the area just to the north of us, but these missed us and had soon blown away into a lovely morning.

We completed our normal loop with our normal depth of conversation (delightfully  d e e p) and even found it easier than last time to keep running up the tank tracks.

According to Strava is was 6.5 miles in 71 minutes, 5.5 mph.

IMG_4521 IMG_4522 IMG_4523 IMG_4524 IMG_4525

Fun(tiona) run

I didn’t find time to run last weekend and even though it was only ten days since my run with Daren, I still didn’t feel on form this morning.

However, it was warm enough for me to sit outside with my quadspresso and it seemed a shame not to get out and complete at least a short functional run.  I ran out towards Wivelsfield on the normal short route, but then turned right into West Wood rather than putting the recent additional loop on.

IMG_4496 IMG_4498 IMG_4497

As I ran past Ditchling Common Industrial Estate so my foot caught a root and I came down heavily on my hands… not particularly painful, but it did wake me up a bit!

IMG_4499

Then it was back down the Magical Path before again taking the more direct path home.

IMG_4500 IMG_4501 IMG_4502

No loops meant that I completed only 5.7 miles in 55 minutes (route shown here on Strava), an average of 6.2 mph.

Nirvana

I’m not sure that it gets much better than this…

IMG_4427 IMG_4428 IMG_4429 IMG_4430 IMG_4431IMG_4425

I met Daren upstairs at Jack & Jill ten minutes after sunrise… the view was spectacular, as you can probably see from the photos above.

We did our normal loop up to Wolstonbury, down to Clayton and up the tank tracks to Home Hill, deep in conversation the whole way round… although it did lapse towards the top of the tank tracks as we were both struggling to not stop!

IMG_4432 IMG_4433 IMG_4434 IMG_4435

Our delightful run was 6.4 miles, completed in 72 minutes (route shown here on Strava), an average of 5.3 mph.

The sun continues to shine

I awoke to yet another glorious day, though the passing of the autumn equinox means that the nights and early mornings are starting to get demonstrably colder.  I sat in the teahouse contemplating to the sound of the waterfall while I supped my quadspresso, then got out into the warming day for a run.

I had a clear sense of my route for a change, with one particular path through the woods in mind.

Compared to last week’s lack of energy, today I felt invigorated as I trotted off merrily down the road… it’s October and I’m still wearing shorts and t-shirt.  It was lovely to see evidence of good land stewardship on the fringes of Ditchling Common, neglected for years.  It must have involved considerable hard work (WELL DONE to whoever undertook it!) and it suggests that locals will be able to make use of a huge additional area that was previously impenetrable scrub.

IMG_4396

I ran out to the fringes of Wivelsfield and along through West Wood on the path I had been thinking about.  It was a simple pleasure.  At the far end of the wood is a nice sharp hill and then I ran on along Hundred Acre Lane and back across farmland to Ditchling Common.

IMG_4397

With the stile at the end of Janes Lane now negotiable (I’ve always thought it odd that it was there at all, given that there was no way through the sharp & matted stuff on the other side) it seemed rude not to use it and I ran through the newly cleared area with a smile on my face.

IMG_4398 IMG_4399

Then it was back to base with energy to spare.

According to Strava, the 6.8 mile run was completed in under 62 minutes, which I think is the fastest I’ve run this particular loop to date.  At an average of 6.58 mph, it was only marginally slower than my run with the Bok at the beginning of August!