It was quite eerie at times running today over the Downs. When I woke up this morning I couldn’t see anything of the hills…. And considering we live at the bottom of them that gives you an idea of the visibility !
I found the first few miles quite tough going. It was a lot muddier than earlier in the week due to the heavy rain yesterday and overnight, some parts I ended up walking because I just couldn’t keep my footing and the places you can end up if you slip would cause serious injury….
As well as the mud the visibility was limited to about 20m, I know the area quite well so this doesn’t bother me that much, it just means you miss out on the views at the top. When I got to the top of Chanctonbury Ring I couldn’t see the trees until I was almost on top of them… This weather also deadens all the background sounds that drift up so it was really very silent at times, quite spooky on the mist and the reason I didn’t take any photos today !
Once I was past Cissbury Ring the weather improved a bit and you could see over the fields, not a lot further though, but I could see and hear the songbirds swooping down in to the fields, I don’t recognise what they are but it is a lovely sound, I could also hear the unmistakable sound of a woodpecker in the distance.
It was quite a bit warmer today than it has been recently, I think the shorter running trousers will be out soon 🙂 you never know I may end up getting a tan on my legs. I have rather optimistically bought some shorts for the summer, whether I have the confidence to wear them or not is another matter !
I ran a total of 10.8 miles this morning, just a relaxing enjoyable run rather all out for time, sometimes I love just being out there. Over the summer I want to increase the length of these runs to about 15 miles, this should make the next half marathon I have entered in October feel slightly easier… I may even record a new PB 🙂 I will have to look on the map and work out where and how I can add extra miles in to the route that I run, I guess one would be a loop around Cissbury Ring, at the moment I know I can extend the route to 13.5 miles just by going back up to Chanctonbury before heading back down… Maybe next week……
Anyway, I will post more details on this weeks totals later, I’m meant to be going for another run with Holly later today (just a short one…)
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