Yesterday I had a slightly nostalgic run along the Grand Union canal. Nostalgic because I’d often run on the towpath when my younger daughter Hannah was paddling in her kayak on the water. This time it was nostalgic, easy going and flat. Certainly a nice way to burn 978 calories.
So, the run in numbers:
Distance: 7.04 miles
Calories: 978
Moving time: 1 hour 3 minutes
Average pace: 8:58 minutes/mile
Boats on the move: 4
Other runners: 0
Cyclists: 2. First was young man on smart looking Surly trekking bike with pannier bags front and rear. I wonder where he was from and where he was going? Second cyclist was on a Bike Shaped Object. Both said “hi”.
Pee/poo stops: 0
Number of people who spoke to me: 1, the lady who took the above photo.
Running on the canal towpath is always nice and it is lovely seeing the different seasons change. Nice seeing the different boats – from floating gin paces dripping with money, through to bohemian shacks which are only just afloat. A real charm to each and everyone.
Yesterday the light was a milky, watery, hazy kind of light with mostly thin, high cloud. Only a slight movement of air pointed towards the mellow days of autumn which I have come to appreciate more and more. If I am feeling slightly melancholy I think autumn might be my phase on life.
I enjoyed the pace of the run, it was fairly consistent and I enjoyed pushing myself a little faster from time to time. The only difficulty was finding how Slapton Lock had clearly moved; it wasn’t where I remember it! It seemed further away, hence clocking up 7 miles, which is further than I had originally planned.
While I did it okay, this morning I was oh so sleepy. It was so hard turning over in bed or even opening my eyes. I was sooooo tired. Rachel was already up, bustling around and although I could easily have fallen back to sleep for a couple more hours, it was definitely time to make a move. It was hard, seriously hard. I needed some caffeine before I could really function – what on earth does that say about me!
Even now, 24 hours later I am still very tired. Knackered in fact.
It was worth it!