Sunny skies, trails to explore, and some laughter

After a craptastic run on Sunday, the week mostly looked up running wise, had a few gorgeous days and two very gloomy ones. I think at some point we need to invest in some of the full spectrum bulbs for the gloomy doomy days to alleviate some of the moodiness.  Wednesday it was a warm enough day that it was comfortable wearing shorts on our run and I think I could have gotten away with short sleeves.  Tuesday and Thursday were the club runs in the evening and it's nice having others around that are pushing me beyond my comfort zone. Would love to be up to the condition that I was in this time last year (hello 21:50 5k PR!!!) but it's going to take far more work than what I'm putting in at the moment. I think I'm stuck in the 24-25 minute range again.

Elsie the Miniature Schnauzer Menace kept stopping to roll in the leaves so I finally decided to take pics. All the ones with her were blurry though 

You can't make them out in this shot but in the distance there is a wind turbine and water tower that I run by on one of my other routes

Love this shot. Hard to believe that on the other side of me was a busy motorway

Yesterday's run was an attempt to follow a route that I had mapped out the week before where I'd missed a turnoff and ended up doing 2 extra miles. I made the correct turn this time (right after the second field!!) and only had a bit of confusion in a different spot, figured it out much quicker this time, lol.  Maybe I will learn to read an OS map eventually.  

I occasionally do non-running related activities..........this week it was going to see Al Murray aka The Pub Landlord live in an opera house.  Quite entertaining and thankfully we had nosebleed seats so the American (me!) in the audience didn't get singled out. Beautiful venue as well but at the end of the show everyone got shuffled out the doors and you had to wait in line outside in the cold to go back inside if you wanted to purchase a signed copy of his book, very frustrating.  

Our view of the stage pre-show

Beautiful but my phone wasn't cooperating with taking nice photos that night

The Pub Landlord in action

A permanent state of lost and I like it

OS maps and I just don't get along........my partner ordered a personalized one for me last month and despite all my studying of them and taking a copy of what my route is supposed to be I still manage to miss turns and get lost. Not lost-lost where I am doing circles but lost as in I end up having to improvise a fair bit. Each field looks pretty much like the next to me and it's rare that you come across a sign with an actual street name on it where I'm running.

Today I did my usual, look at the map, look at Google Earth, look at the map again and hope for the best.  I knew that I missed where I should have turned off but there were absolutely no bridle trail or public walkway signs pointing in the general direction of where I wanted to go so I did the next best thing and followed some other blue and green tiny arrow signs indicating pathways.  These things hide on poles, posts, the occasional gate and it is quite a scavenger hunt finding them sometimes. It can be even more of an adventure deciphering which direction they are pointing!

Example of an "arrow"

Crossed over the M1 once, followed a very narrow, picturesque lane then crossed back over the M1 where Elsie and I met a large group of walkers with their dogs.  Many sniffs hello later (the dogs, not me and the other people) and we meandered down a path that ran alongside a very posh looking stable where people were out working with the horses.  So far so good.  Then we hit another area where it wasn't marked and with an open gate that had a "Farm Access Only" sign.  Out with the phone to check the map and yes, for once I was headed in the correct direction but since I'm from the states, places that have signage along the lines of private, access only, etc mean you aren't allowed there.........those same "rules" don't apply here if you are on foot (the majority of the time, there are exceptions of course).  Fortunately there was a couple out walking their dogs whom I could ask if it was ok to use that lane and would it lead to where I thought it did. Whew.  

It's quite safe to say that Elsie the Miniature Schnauzer Menace and I are having some adventures, most of them muddy but we are enjoying ourselves immensely even if she doesn't like the cleaning up part afterwards.