Weather, walking, and running

It's official, summer has abandoned us in England.  We gave up and turned the heat on for an hour in an attempt to take the edge off the chill and yes we are bundled up in hoodies and socks.  Out of curiosity I checked the weather back in Arkansas and it is currently 34C(94F) with a real feel of 42C(108F)...here? Slightly cooler at 13C(55F) with rain and wind.  I'd settle for something halfway between that :-)

A running friend spotted this not long ago, wonder how it ended up in the middle of England

The temps are nice for running however, a small group of us headed out for a mid-morning run yesterday and I wore a long sleeve shirt for the beginning of it although it ended up tied around my waist mid-way through. Except for the nearly mile long uphill to get to the meeting point it was a great route. The leader yesterday knows the area quite well so we went on some trails I hadn't ran before and it was all mostly spontaneous "Should we go left or right?" decisions, my favourite sort of run.  

We didn't stop here though

I'm sure you've noticed the frequency I've been mentioning Nordic Walking lately, it's something I decided to learn on the spur of the moment last January and I absolutely adore it. I've gotten to meet some fantastic people and it's amazing cross-training that's low impact.  If you're a new ex-pat that's looking to get to know the area you have moved to it can be an invaluable source of information for things like the best butcher, shops etc--little but important things like for me yesterday, where to buy fresh okra.  The British Nordic Walking site has some great information and you can search for groups and instructors nearby.  Running clubs and Ramblers groups are also excellent for meeting up with like-minded people that you wouldn't necessarily have a chance to get acquainted with otherwise.  

Don't we look like a fun group to hang out with? 

Bad attitude

Some days it is hard to force yourself out the door but usually once you do and you get that first mile under your feet then everything else falls into place. Today was not that day for me.  For some reason the not having anyone to share my long run miles with this morning hit me harder than usual and I just didn't want to go.  Yes, Elsie the Miniature Schnauzer Menace usually accompanies me on my easy runs but she doesn't talk back when you're trying to make conversation.

So today's suckfest included my feet hurting for the first 1.5 miles (think it's time to replace my Brooks PureFlows), Elsie getting harassed by a big black dog that kept running from its owner and charging at her repeatedly, a headwind on the return portion, I accidentally cut off a cyclist twice (he didn't let me know he was behind me until the 2nd time), last night's pizza coming back to haunt me, my back started aching, and my garmin lost satellite reception at mile 7 and never got it back.  Oh and I didn't have anyone to commiserate with! Mostly it was just my bad attitude causing the run to suck and I AM thankful I have the ability to complete 9 or so miles.  Bright spot of the day: a woman cycling telling me "Cheers, duckie" when I stepped aside to let her pass by.

I did stop and take pics of a bridge and church that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago

Quality is terrible but it was horribly overcast and my phone camera couldn't compensate for it

Looking back over the post I'm a bit ashamed my attitude was so bad, there really wasn't any reason for it but I just couldn't get into the groove with things this morning.  Maybe it's because I didn't have my usual cup of tea before heading out.......or maybe I'm just a grouch, lol.  Things could certainly be worse weather-wise, back in my home state of Arkansas it is a whopping 23.4F/-4.8C while it is 46.4F/8C here in the UK Midlands.  

La Femme de Velo Tour

A friend of mine (that I haven't spoken to in quite a while) and my favorite not so local anymore bike shop is sponsoring Arkansas' first only female cycling tour this fall!  Very, very, very cool! Unfortunately, I will be on vacation in the UK on the day of, so no chance of me getting to participate in the La Femme de Velo Tour.

La Femme de Velo Tour

 First Annual-No Men Allowed!

 Sponsored by Bike City, Searcy Arkansas

 October 1, 2011

 20, 30, 50 mile options

   La Femme de Velo Tour-$30.00

 Check-In at St. James Catholic Church in Searcy no later than 7:15. 

Tour begins at 7:30am.

All riders MUST wear helmets!

This ride will offer limited support,

including directional signs, aid stations, and sag support.

There will be no local law enforcement acting as escorts or traffic control.

Register HERE.  And even though men are not allowed to ride in the tour, they most certainly are welcome to volunteer :-))).

As a side note, good luck and congratulations to Duane and Becky on their retirement. The shop is not gonna be the same for me with y'all gone