That Was The Weekend That Was

Well yesterday's run was a muddy, wet 12 miles.  All relatively flat (6 of the miles along the canal path) but the going was horrid especially on the canal.  I really don't understand why it gets so churned up as the further I run along it the less boats I come across and in all the times I have run it I have only ever come across one or two people.  Needless to say with the weather yesterday I didn't come across anybody! 

Today I ran with Calne Running Club as I usually do on one of my weekend days.  The plan was to run 20 miles but the going and the weather was so horrendous that the majority of us bailed out just after the halfway point and ended up covering 17 miles.  Despite the weather and the going underfoot I felt surprisingly strong today and spent most of the time up in front so that was a nice boost.  However, one of our gang was very slow and so we kept having to stop to allow him to catch up.  This is normally never a problem and is one of the conventions of running in a group in that everyone waits for everyone else or, alternatively, runs on ahead and then runs back to the group if they are wanting to do a tougher run.  Most of the time it's nice to have a quick pit stop, especially on a longer run however today it was just a miserable experience.  The route was very exposed and so there was never a good place to rest and wait; I honestly don't think I have ever been as cold running as I got today.  I couldn't face any more towards the end so I said my goodbyes and ran on ahead to get back to my car and home as quickly as possible.  Even falling over and sliding on my bum for about 10 feet because I was running too fast downhill did not tempt me to slow down.  By the time I got back to my car I was shivering uncontrollably and I wasn't able to put my nice dry coat on as I had to sit on it due to the volume of mud on my derriere!  I don't know how I drove the 8 miles home as I couldn't feel my hands or feet by this point.  A long hot shower and several cups of coffee later, I just about felt human again.

Wet and bedraggled and with another 7 miles to go!