When I arose this morning there was frost on the ground and the temperature on the thermometer (inside, by a vent) read 5 degrees. Having walked around in a t-shirt most of yesterday this was bit of a shock, though I suppose that we are now in October.
A few hours later when I finally put down my book and ventured out, there was little more than a chill in the air, in the sun at least. I chose to wear shorts and a t-shirt on the basis that there will probably be very few more opportunities to do so this year.
My late start meant that I could only afford the time for a short run, which meant that I defaulted to my woodland circuit, despite the fact that most of it is in the shade and thus slightly on the cool side.
I soon warmed up though… or should I say that I soon felt warm, despite not really getting into the flow of the running at any stage. It was particularly hard work today!
I was also startled twice, early on: once when a cyclist came speeding silently out of the woods ahead of me and locked up his back wheel to slow down, causing me to jump and yelp like a wimp; second when a daredevil squirrel launched himself out of a tree above me and misjudged the strength of the branch he landed on… it bent right down towards the ground and we almost looked each other in the eyes.
Okay, I exaggerate slightly, but he certainly made me jump… before he regained his composure and disappearing back into the treetops.
In lieu of much more to report, I offer some photos of the day:
My 5.75 circuit took me 57 minutes, an average of circa 6mph, after which I collapsed onto a chair in the now-rather-hot garden. If I hadn’t put all the rest of the garden furniture away for the winter, I probably would have fallen asleep on the lounger. As it was I eventually made it inside and into an uncomfortably cold shower (yes, I’m still taking them, though I might relent as the temperature outside drops!) which did a pretty good job of waking me up!