After a fun-packed day of sculpting and Scouting yesterday, the alarm this morning was an unwelcome intrusion… especially as it was still dark. I even fell asleep again on a chair in the space between putting the coffee-pot on and it boiling! But it was all for a good cause as I was meeting Mark at 8am for a run.
Kim and I had returned to Skelton Workshops yesterday for a very pleasant morning to push our sculptures on a little more… it really is such a relaxing environment to work!
Then it was off to Denton for the unveiling of a Blue Plaque, in memory of Ralph Reader of Scouting Gang Show fame, on Cliff & Nessie’s house, which was followed by a mini Gang Show in the local Scout hall.
Last night we had been due to go to a gig in Ardingly, but alas it was cancelled, so instead we used the firewood that Kim had reclaimed last weekend (back when it was hot!) to start the first fire of the season.
This morning was a grey day that threatened heavy rain, but since it was milder than the cold snap in the week, both Mark & I arrived in shorts. I told Mark that he wouldn’t need his jacket (as I put mine on over a t-shirt) but he wouldn’t listen and stripped to the waist (fortunately from the top down) in the now-filling car-park in order to copy me.
We basically ran to the A27 at Newmarket, with a slight variation on the normal route and then back again. Neither of us was particularly on form, Mark having picked up a cold from his daughter (for the second time) and me with lingering backache.
Our detour en route took us through the Bronze Age settlements above Plumpton and whilst there were none of our forbears around, it was still lovely to see the landscape where they lived.
Nearing the turn-point, the view of the fields was also worth pausing to capture.
We reached the halfway mark at 1.10, six minutes behind our run with Mach 2 two weeks ago, though some of this difference might have been in the diversion which included a stout hill to climb. However, the return leg was a slowness of a whole different level… it took us 1.26. We just got slower and slower.
To be fair, we were, as ever, in deep conversation, but something wasn’t right when a guy walking his dogs caught up with us! Admittedly he was an ex-runner and was using walking sticks (one of the secrets to our speed in the TMB walk), but it was still disheartening to be caught up with by him not once, but three times in about half a mile!
As we neared the end, Mark admitted that he would have been happy to run a shorter circuit, a feeling that I echoed in spades… a perfect example of the Abilene paradox if ever there was one! And we didn’t need our jackets either!
So, 14 miles in a laughable 2.36 (I’m not even going to work out how fast that is) before a return to the horizontal on the sofa!