Earlier today I posted that I was about to go for a run. Well I managed to get out the door but to be honest it was all a bit much. I didn’t feel like I could run really. I just wanted to turn round and come back in. The sheep needed feeding though and I’d already said to Kath that I’d go. So, in an effort to make this less about running and more about being out and having fun I took my phone to take pictures of our short run loop. It’s about 4 miles from front door to front door but we don’t run the last half mile – you’ll see why later and it’s a nice warm down. So, come with me…

We start on our road, run to the end and turn left. It’s a nice gentle downhill to start off with. When we started running at the start of the year I could barely make it to the end of our road without my heart rate going through the roof and my legs feeling like led. It took a little longer for me to be able to run to the end of the next road even though it’s all downhill.

At the end of the road we turn right and hit the first hill. It took me ages to be able to run up it. Not sure the pictures really show it that well but it’s a steady pull  with a brief flat section and a few steeper metres at the end before another left turn

Then a short downhill which flattens out as we run the last residential street for a while. We then join a track which takes us past our sheep, into and through a little wood and down the golf course.

Going this way round I like the little slope that drops us onto the track – it’s short so not scary and that feeling of your legs being faster than the rest of you reminds me of being a kid. It’s always nice to run past the sheep and see if they are ok. We didn’t run past today, we stopped and fed them – there’s 8 in this field.

When we combine feeding sheep with a run we walk the bit inbetween fields. I didn’t take a picture of field 2 today – that’s where we currently have 3 ram lambs. In field 3 we have 6 ewe lambs and one of our bottle fed ewes we are not lambing next year. The views are pretty stunning on this stretch.

Immediately after the sheep field comes my nemesis – a slope that doesn’t look like much and yet it gets me every time. It is narrow, muddy and feels so so much steeper than it looks. At the top it opens out in the wood and that is one of the most welcome sights ever on this loop. It’s a few steps on the flat and then down the golf course with stunning views (which I haven’t really captured – instead focusing on the path!). Once down the golf course we cross the car park and head down the last little bit of track to the Leeds Liverpool canal.

The rest of the run is flat now  – all along the canal. We turn round at the bridge above (apologies about the silly baseball cap back to front pic – it kept blowing off when on properly) and head back in the direction we came from.

I love the canal views – they change with the seaons and are always interesting. Today, Kath spotted a kingfisher in a tree on the otherside of the canal. I coudln’t spot it but then it flew off – streak of colour flying low above the water. We walked a bit to see if we could sport it again but it was gone. We saw it again further along and again stopped to see if we could see where it had gone but gone it had.

The run finishes at the next canal bridge or sometimes further along the canal depending on our pace. From that canal bridge we walk home – one of the reasons we don’t run home are the hills:

Once up this hill we are back on the route where we started – just a few more steps and then a left turn back into the road that was the first downhill on the way out – now it’s uphill and that gentle slope feels rather less gentle. The pub on the left is always tempting and when we’re not in serious training anymore I reckon we might make that the end point and have a pint and packet of crisps as a treat after a long run!

And then we are home.

It was again nice to be out and my brain functioned a bit better during and immediately after the run. I feel like I achieved something at least today. It was also nice to see that even with our stops to find the kingfisher we were still at 13.5 minute per mile pace so when we’re out there we are within pace – all we need to do is get out there! One foot in front of the other…