With a thick mist it looked pretty chilly this morning, but it was actually still warm enough for shorts and I quickly shed the hat and gloves that I had worn as a precaution.
I started out along the normal loop, but was drawn to run along a neglected path from a previous loop… neglected by me and everyone else by all accounts. It was muddier than my normal route and the brambles had made a really good job of reclaiming it for the wood. It took me across behind the former Royal Oak, which has been sold for some time yet is still awaiting redevelopment.
Then it was back to the normal route, through the end of West Woods and down Hundred Acre Lane. One of the pleasures of being an Occasional Runner is that the opportunity to stop to chat with people is as important as completing the run. As I came back through the woods, so I ran into Lew in his truck and stopped for a natter… we’ve not caught up for ages and though it seemed like a ten-minute conversation (before I started to get chilly), we were actually there for almost an hour!
I ran back through the relatively warm mirk and wet mud via the Common, completing 7.3 miles in 66 minutes (not including talking time) according to Strava, an average of 6.6 mph.
