Yay! Liquid Sunshine! Let's Run! The view that greeted me from my window this morning was not one to inspire a few early morning miles… But it could have been worse. Drizzle is better than a downpour and bleak is better than windy (my least favourite running conditions!). So, after faffing about a bit more than usual in an act of mild procrastination I laced up, zipped up, put up and headed out from Manchester city centre along the Ashton Canal to... Erm... Well, Ashton funnily enough! A bit damp, sure, but at least it wasn't cold! I was also really very pleasantly surprised to find that I felt totally fresh; no residue of last night’s race in my legs; I was good to go! The miles slipped by smoothly as I waved a 'good morning!' to a couple of other runners and a few barges, pranced past puddles, brushed by branches and dodged dithering ducks. The good thing about the wetter weather in England at this time of year is that everything looks so green and lush! I also appreciated all the wild flowers, especially 'Tudor style' roses. Beautiful and almost enough to counterbalance the puddly muddles! (Muddy puddles in case you weren't sure!)
| Of course one of the advantages of running is the time to empty the mind and let your thoughts be as free as your feet. Though I rarely listen to music whilst running outside these days (I'll save my Runner's World prize to ease monotony on the treadmill!) I do often find songs and lyrics coming to mind and today's sound track was the Levellers song The Boatman. I was particularly in mind of the lines 'on the canals and the rivers free, no hasty words are spoken', though the verse about being a rover and 'If the road was not for me then I would choose another' might be more appropriate generally for running as well as one or two other current 'Life Things'! | |
The result of one too many puddy muddles! Either way, it must have put me in a literary state of mind and as I've been experimenting with mantras for stronger running lately (I know, it sounds weird but it kinda works if you're in the right mood), I even composed a bit of hippy poetry as I avoided angry geese! It goes like this;
Feet like water. Mind like sky.
Part of the universe; I can fly.
Feet like water, Over wet, green Earth
Mind like sky, For a mental rebirth.
I'm not asking you to accept that as the best poem ever but hey, it was part of my run and encapsulates my mood quite well! Anyway, airy-fairy musings aside and ignoring the fact that I got mildly, not lost, just a bit diverted, due to an error in route planning towards the end, the fact is I had a great run! Oh and got to work, saving the grand sum of 10p as I only need a single ticket today!
Feet like water. Mind like sky.
Part of the universe; I can fly.
Feet like water, Over wet, green Earth
Mind like sky, For a mental rebirth.
I'm not asking you to accept that as the best poem ever but hey, it was part of my run and encapsulates my mood quite well! Anyway, airy-fairy musings aside and ignoring the fact that I got mildly, not lost, just a bit diverted, due to an error in route planning towards the end, the fact is I had a great run! Oh and got to work, saving the grand sum of 10p as I only need a single ticket today!
Made it! (and it turns out I <3 art and running!) It turned out to be a jaunt of 8.49 miles and I did it in just over an hour and 8 minutes (an average of 8.03 minutes per mile according to the Garmin!). I was also very grateful to the cleaning staff for opening the college gym shower for me extra early though I can't pretend to have been overjoyed by the discovery that there was no hot water. Still, when you've just run through 8 miles of mud and rain a quick cold shower doesn't seem like much of a hardship, especially when the alternative is being covered in aforementioned mud for the whole day! 'Twas but an additional invigoration!
A quick breakfast waiting for me in the 'fridge and it was off for the second challenge of the day; inflicting four intensive life drawing workshops on a bunch of teens!
An awesome start to a Thursday! I won't do it every day but I wouldn't rule out developing a bit of a penchant! Maybe I'll try running home one day next week... If the weather's better!
A quick breakfast waiting for me in the 'fridge and it was off for the second challenge of the day; inflicting four intensive life drawing workshops on a bunch of teens!
An awesome start to a Thursday! I won't do it every day but I wouldn't rule out developing a bit of a penchant! Maybe I'll try running home one day next week... If the weather's better!
