The Long Slow(ish) Solo Sunday Slog

I've been on a few lovely runs this week, even if they have been solo efforts.  It's been a quiet week work wise, due to many clients being away on holiday, but that has meant I've had more time to get out for some early morning runs.
On Monday evening I only had two people show up to my kettlebell class.  This meant it was fairly easy for me to also have a workout and at the same time keep an eye on my two clients.  I tried to do the same in my lunchtime class on Wednesday, but that time I had nine clients to keep an eye on, so not as easy.

Tuesday morning I went on a short 5 mile tempo run around Cambridge Airport, which is my favourite route if I'm in a rush.  It's not the most inspiring route as it's alongside busy roads, but most of the circuit sticks close to the boundary fence of the airport and is completely uninterrupted by side roads, so great for fast paced tempo runs.

On Wednesday I decided to start my day with a leisurely 8 mile run up to Bates Bite Lock in Milton.  As I was getting ready to go I spotted a sparrowhawk land on our brick barbecue, which is reasonably close to the kitchen window and also fairly close to a few bird feeders in the garden.  Strangely, at the time there were no other birds to be seen.  I did get out my bird watchers' guide book, just to make sure it was indeed a sparrowhawk, and sure enough it was one male sparrowhawk.  After a couple of minutes it got bored waiting for sparrows to arrive at our feeders and flew off in the direction of Coldham's Common.

On the off chance that I might get a second glimpse of our neighbourhood bird of prey I decided to start my morning run with a circuit of the Common.  To my absolute delight, just as I was entering a wooded section of the Common I was brought to a complete standstill by the sight of a pair of sparrowhawks that were clearly chasing another male away from their territory.  Perhaps the pursued bird was the same one that I'd seen in our garden!  I watched for a few seconds, which was all the time it took for the outnumbered male to decide he'd be better off elsewhere and for the pair to then retreat into the woods.  I continued on my run without any other major incident.  I returned home via Coldham's Common just in case I got another glimpse of sparrowhawks, but it wasn't to be.  It did add an extra mile onto my planned run, though.

After my busy exercise schedule over the beginning of the week I then did no real exercise until today.  My excuse is that Ruth and I have been busy repainting the kitchen, which is a right fiddly job, but it's looking pretty good, although not quite finished.  However, so far I'm very happy with our handy work.

Today I went for a solo 21 mile run from home to the water tower on top of the hill over looking the village of Linton.  It's one of my favourite runs, as much of it is off road and it is also reasonably hilly for Cambridgeshire.  As soon as I reached the first hill I got the impression that it was going to be a hard run.  I haven't been on this run for several weeks and the first hill up to the start of the Roman Road seemed steeper than normal.  It was also quite warm and humid and I was dripping with more sweat than is normal for me.  Thankfully, I seemed to get into my stride once I was on the Roman Road and the next 7 miles to the water tower seemed to fly by.  It was also fairly uneventful.  I hardly saw another person, just one dog walker and a couple out on mountain bikes.  There was also no interesting wildlife to report back on.

At the water tower I stopped for a couple of minutes whilst I wrestled with an energy gel wrapper and took a big slurp of water to wash it down.  I also made sure I stopped long enough to take in the view.  There are not many opportunities around here to stand on top of hills and look down on the surrounding countryside, and I like to make the most of whatever views we do get.

On the return leg of my run it seemed as if the rest of the world had eventually got out of bed.  I passed one horse rider coming towards me on the bridleway, then I overtook a group of three runners, saw another two heading towards me, also passed two other horse riders, a couple of groups of cyclists and several groups of walkers.   What a difference an hour makes!

The whole 21 mile run took me 2 hours 35 minutes at an average pace a little under 7 minutes 30 seconds per mile.  Not bad for a hot and hilly Sunday outing.  However, I have one big blister on the ball of my foot and my legs have been complaining ever since.  I must do a few more stretches before going to bed.  I'm up early to see a couple of clients, one of whom I'll be running with.

In the week I discovered that I've missed the boat with regards to next year's London Marathon.  I was merrily assuming that I had until September to apply for my Good For Age place, based on my finishing time from this year, as this was the cut-off time for fast runners to apply last year.  However, when I checked the website in the week I discovered that Fast Good For Age entries were closed in July.  It serves me right for assuming that the application process would stay the same from year to year.  As it happens, I had been considering not running London next year in favour of running Paris marathon for a change.  My disorganisation now means that that decision has been made for me.  I've checked the Paris Marathon website and it's not possible to enter until September.  Next year Paris Marathon will be held one day before my birthday, so it will make for a birthday weekend trip away from home.  Maybe not everyone's first choice for a birthday activity, but it will do for me.