Slow and cautious

I like to run before work. It means that it’s a task that’s done and usually sets me up for the day. Winter runs are variable, they can be cold, wet, both and are certainly dark! The spring and autumn are the best times in many ways because I can watch the sunrise while I’m out which is always uplifting, even if the weather isn’t!

This morning I set out at 6:30, it was dark and wet, but unseasonably mild. This meant that my glasses were both splattered with rain AND steamed up. I have a cap that I wear to keep the worst of the rain off, but this morning, I had to take it (and my gloves) off because I was too warm! This is January, what a contrast to this time last year when the snow and ice were on the roads and pavements for weeks.

Today was not really any safer than 12 months ago though. The street lighting here is not good. The council in their wisdom thought that it was wise to turn all street lighting off on places where there are no houses and in some places where there are. I think also that this morning there may have been some faulty lighting, because it was certainly darker than usual on my regular early morning route.

In 2007 I fell in a badly light road where the council in their wisdom had been resurfacing and had left part of it unsurfaced. The resulting fracture lost me my Rome Marathon bid for that year!

This makes me rather more cautious when I can’t quite see where I’m going, so a rather slower 5.25 miles for me today. I finished feeling good and ready to face the day though.

My intention was to do a ‘doubler’ today, I try to do this on one day a week, it builds the mileage and keeps my metabolism up. However, I’m rather tired and still achey from yesterdays body pump class, so I took the sensible decision to rest. Thursday will now be my ‘doubler’ - you heard it here first folks.