Week 32 - Fitness back on track and a huge week of rugby.
Sunday 12 November 2017. It was a beautiful autumn day. I went for a walk after lunch. The colours in The Glen were beautiful. I took a lot of photos and a few videos. I also collected any litter I came across. It was cold, but clear with the sun low in the sky. I walked to the waterfall and then twice around The Glen, so as to cover all the footpaths. The only person I passed was an old school friend walking a dog. I did hear others taking, through the trees, but didn't see them. The water in the river was so clear today and I took a video of it by the waterfall.
Crystal clear waters on a beautiful autumn day, by the waterfall in Irish Glen.
At 4.10 pm I had changed and was off for a run. I ran from home and down into The Glen, then set off on my laps on the upper paths. Underfoot, I had to be careful as all the paths were strewn with fallen leaves and the colours camouflaged hidden dangers. I've tripped up a few times, and I didn't want to again. There was a woman walking her three dogs and a few people out for a walk, some also with a dog. I completed 5 full laps, plus 12 extra laps of the old reservoir, and ran most of way home. In total, I ran just over 8 km (or 5 miles) and walked 3 miles today.
At least I got home today before it got dark. For a change I wasn't fighting against the dimming light. I stretched, changed and walked to and back from the local shop. I was hoping to watch Switzerland v Northern Ireland in World Cup Qualifying, but it wasn't on TV. Switzerland qualified.
I stayed up until after 7 am to see if I could get a photo or video of the Venus / Jupiter Event, but by taking advice from the BBC, I ended up looking at the horizon and not above the moon. I should have researched it more, and if so, I would have got some great photos and videos.
Monday 13 November 2017. Due to my late, but unsuccessful night, trying to get a photo or video of the Venus / Jupiter Event, I was tired today and didn't go for a walk or a run.
Tuesday 14 November 2017. I set off walking towards The Glen at 3.10 pm. As I passed the horse's field he got a bit exited to see me and walked along the hedge, parallel to me, as far as the gate. I had to tell him I had no apples. He looked sad, and I just walked on. I jogged down into The Glen. It was raining gently and continued to do for my first two laps. I felt good as I set off along the upper paths on my laps. Even though the sun was not out, the colours today were even more impressive than during my walk on Sunday. Also, because of the rain, over the last couple of days, the river was a few inches higher. It also wasn't as crystal clear as in the video from Sunday, as the faster flow was collecting mud from the banks.
On my first lap, I passed a young woman out for a walk and, soon afterwards, a man walking a dog. The dog was very well behaved. I passed them both many times on my run. Later I passed a woman with her three dogs, and again I passed her many times.
By my fourth lap my legs, and my body, started to feel tired, Although, I always set off with no plan in my head, and just run what my body tells me to, I still wanted a good run tonight and I wouldn't be happy with just four laps. I did start to think, I maybe going faster than I should, but as I continued, and thought about it, I didn't feel as if I was. The only thing in my mind was to get a few more laps under my belt, as it's times like this, when you put in that extra effort, you reap the benefits in the future.
On the fifth lap, I also felt weary. I was doing no extra laps of the old reservoir. Instead I was just concentrating on completing full laps of The Glen. On the next lap, I decided to add a lap of the reservoir, then two on the seventh. I was getting to the point of a decent distance and the thought of this, plus the ease of running around the reservoir, made me feel a bit better.
I managed to complete nine laps, adding three extra of the reservoir on the eight and four on the ninth. I finished at the waterfall and stretched, by the bench, for just over a minute. It made a change as it was still daylight. However, I did feel tired, but I was happy.
I jogged slowly back into The Glen and over the exit footbridge. The climb up out of The Glen was tough, but I managed to run all the way to the horse's gate. I walked the rest of the way home, stretched, rubbed myself down, changed and walked to a shop at the other end of the village and back. I was tempted to go to the pub and watch Ireland v Denmark in soccer, but at present I'm writing this and watching on TV - Ireland currently lead 1-0 after ten minutes. I must admit, my quads do hurt slightly tonight. Hopefully, they'll be OK in the morning.
Overall, today I ran 10.6 km (or 6.6 miles) and 0.7 km. A total of just over 7 miles. I also walked about 1.5 miles.
As for the football, I was glad I didn't go to the pub to watch, as Ireland went down 5-1 to Denmark.
Wednesday 15 November 2017. I went for a walk just after lunch, armed with my camcorder and a carrier bag to collect any litter I came across in The Glen. I also had an apple for the horse. When I got to his field, he was on top of the old railway and was not for moving. I just left the apple by his gate and will give it to him on the way back.
Even though the sun was hiding behind the clouds, the colours in The Glen were wonderful. There was a very gentle breeze, but it didn't feel cold. Lots of leaves were falling from the trees and birds were singing.
As usual, I walked to the waterfall, at the northern end of The Glen first. The river was still quite high, due to all the recent rain. I walked around all the footpaths taking lots of photos as I went. The only person I passed was a young woman jogging. There were a few grey squirrels about, and every time I tried I tried to take a video of one it scarpered. However, I eventually managed to get a short one of a squirrel climbing a tree.
On the walk home, I stopped and picked up the apple. The horse was still on top of the old railway embankment. This time, he wasn't so stubborn and started walking towards me, even before I called him. He was soon running and, as you'll see below, didn't take long for him to make short work of it.
After putting some food on, for later, and completing a few other chores, I changed and prepared to go for a run. By the time I set off, it was 3.30 pm - it was due to get dark at 4.26 pm. I walked quickly towards The Glen and started jogging shortly before I got there. I ran down the path and over the entrance bridge, then set off on my laps. I was a bit worried, as my quads still felt sore from yesterday.
As I passed through the car park, on the first lap, I passed a man emptying the litter bin. He was driving a small local council van. I had always envisaged a larger bin lorry doing this job.
I managed to complete six laps of The Glen, using the two upper paths. On the first, I also added an extra lap of the old disused reservoir, two on the second, ..., up to six on sixth. On my second lap, I also passed a tall, blond young woman jogging. She seemed to be moving a bit faster than me. We passed each other many times. At one stage I was running about 150 m behind her. I sped up and managed to maintain the same distance for a lap.
I finished at the waterfall and stretched for a couple of minutes. To my surprise, it was only starting to get dark. I done some extra stretches today, especially with my quads in mind.
Instead of jogging back out of The Glen and towards home, I decided I had done enough for today, so I started walking towards home. As I approached the exit bridge a woman jogged into The Glen, she was accompanied by a small black dog. She only jogged for a short distance, then started walking. As she disappeared into the distance, she started to jog again. I passed two teenage girls as I climbed out of The Glen. Soon afterwards I was stopped by a young boy, on a bike, asking if I had seen his mum. I hadn't seen him before, so I'm wouldn't know what his mum looked like. He said she had a small black dog with her. It must have been the woman I had just seen, walking and jogging. I replied I think I just saw her go over the footbridge and turn left. He was quickly on his bike after her.
When I got home, I changed and finished making sweet and sour chicken for my parents for later. It's my mother's bingo night again and she never eats until afterwards. At the bingo, I won a fiver, my aunt £10, but nothing for my mother or sister.
Overall today I ran 8.9 km (or just over 5.5 miles). I also walked about 3.5 miles.
Thursday 16 November 2017. Today was a rest day. The weather was not that pleasant and, for some reason, I couldn't drum up the energy to go for either a jog or a walk. I did walk up the town to the shop and back. I then got everything ready for my mother's friends arriving. That means red wine, crisps, cheese and biscuits. Shortly after they arrived (well only one of them), I walked to and back from my youngest brother's pub for the quiz. As usual, my team finished second in the quiz. So I suppose I did walk 2 miles.
Friday 17 November 2017. I went for a longer walk today. To The Glen and twice around so as to take in all the footpaths. I took some photos and collected some litter. As I passed through the car park, on my first lap, a young woman was cooling down after her run. I passed another young woman jogging later. It was a pleasant, but chilly day.
On the way home I diverted to the local shop for a few beers as I wanted to watch Gloucester play Saracens in the English Premiership later. It's not often Saracens loose these days, but they did tonight. I walked about 3.5 miles today.
Saturday 18 November 2017. Today is one of the busiest rugby union international days of the year. I wanted to watch the rugby and this meant going out early. I showered, stretched and set off at 12.15 pm. The horse was quick to come for his apple as I passed his field.
Before reaching The Glen, I started jogging. Then down into The Glen, over the river and off on my laps. There was one man, in a track suit, who was jogging and walking. A few people were walking their dogs and a teenage couple were out for a romantic walk. They were holding hands and the young lad kept calling me Sir - I think I know why.
On my second lap, I added an extra lap of the old reservoir, two on my third and so on, up to 8 on my ninth lap. On my tenth lap, I got a bit carried away and added twenty laps of the reservoir. It was the last day of the week and I wanted to get a long run in. However, I didn't expect to run this far. I intended to finish by the waterfall, but as I approached it, I could the two teenagers on the bench, looking like they didn't want disturbed. So I turned around and ran back to the footbridge over the river. I felt tired and my legs ached. After a few stretches, I decided I had done enough and just walked home.
To my surprise it was 2.45 pm when I arrived home and some of the rugby had already started. I watched Wales v Georgia. Wales won 13 - 6, but Georgia probably left a few scores on the field and not on the board.
After the game I walked to the local shop to get a few beers for Ireland v Fiji. Ireland played a young team and just held on to win 23 - 20. This was a great game to watch. I then caught up on the highlights of England beating the Aussies 30 - 6. The score did flatter England a bit. Lastly, I watched Scotland v New Zealand. I expected the All Blacks to run away with this, but Scotland were unlucky to go down 17 - 22. Scotland did have a great opportunity to win it at the end, but somehow the All Blacks seem to come away with the win. In the other games, Italy were beaten by Argentina and France lost by a point to South Africa.
Back to my "Long Run Back to Fitness", I ran 11 miles today and walked a mile. It brings my totals for the week to 28.5 miles running and 15 miles walking. It's been a good week and I'm pleased with the distances I have covered.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/et8ssGdGBELoJ4XB2
The colours of autumn.
At least I got home today before it got dark. For a change I wasn't fighting against the dimming light. I stretched, changed and walked to and back from the local shop. I was hoping to watch Switzerland v Northern Ireland in World Cup Qualifying, but it wasn't on TV. Switzerland qualified.
I stayed up until after 7 am to see if I could get a photo or video of the Venus / Jupiter Event, but by taking advice from the BBC, I ended up looking at the horizon and not above the moon. I should have researched it more, and if so, I would have got some great photos and videos.
Monday 13 November 2017. Due to my late, but unsuccessful night, trying to get a photo or video of the Venus / Jupiter Event, I was tired today and didn't go for a walk or a run.
Tuesday 14 November 2017. I set off walking towards The Glen at 3.10 pm. As I passed the horse's field he got a bit exited to see me and walked along the hedge, parallel to me, as far as the gate. I had to tell him I had no apples. He looked sad, and I just walked on. I jogged down into The Glen. It was raining gently and continued to do for my first two laps. I felt good as I set off along the upper paths on my laps. Even though the sun was not out, the colours today were even more impressive than during my walk on Sunday. Also, because of the rain, over the last couple of days, the river was a few inches higher. It also wasn't as crystal clear as in the video from Sunday, as the faster flow was collecting mud from the banks.
On my first lap, I passed a young woman out for a walk and, soon afterwards, a man walking a dog. The dog was very well behaved. I passed them both many times on my run. Later I passed a woman with her three dogs, and again I passed her many times.
By my fourth lap my legs, and my body, started to feel tired, Although, I always set off with no plan in my head, and just run what my body tells me to, I still wanted a good run tonight and I wouldn't be happy with just four laps. I did start to think, I maybe going faster than I should, but as I continued, and thought about it, I didn't feel as if I was. The only thing in my mind was to get a few more laps under my belt, as it's times like this, when you put in that extra effort, you reap the benefits in the future.
On the fifth lap, I also felt weary. I was doing no extra laps of the old reservoir. Instead I was just concentrating on completing full laps of The Glen. On the next lap, I decided to add a lap of the reservoir, then two on the seventh. I was getting to the point of a decent distance and the thought of this, plus the ease of running around the reservoir, made me feel a bit better.
The path around the old disused reservoir.
I managed to complete nine laps, adding three extra of the reservoir on the eight and four on the ninth. I finished at the waterfall and stretched, by the bench, for just over a minute. It made a change as it was still daylight. However, I did feel tired, but I was happy.
I jogged slowly back into The Glen and over the exit footbridge. The climb up out of The Glen was tough, but I managed to run all the way to the horse's gate. I walked the rest of the way home, stretched, rubbed myself down, changed and walked to a shop at the other end of the village and back. I was tempted to go to the pub and watch Ireland v Denmark in soccer, but at present I'm writing this and watching on TV - Ireland currently lead 1-0 after ten minutes. I must admit, my quads do hurt slightly tonight. Hopefully, they'll be OK in the morning.
Overall, today I ran 10.6 km (or 6.6 miles) and 0.7 km. A total of just over 7 miles. I also walked about 1.5 miles.
As for the football, I was glad I didn't go to the pub to watch, as Ireland went down 5-1 to Denmark.
Wednesday 15 November 2017. I went for a walk just after lunch, armed with my camcorder and a carrier bag to collect any litter I came across in The Glen. I also had an apple for the horse. When I got to his field, he was on top of the old railway and was not for moving. I just left the apple by his gate and will give it to him on the way back.
Even though the sun was hiding behind the clouds, the colours in The Glen were wonderful. There was a very gentle breeze, but it didn't feel cold. Lots of leaves were falling from the trees and birds were singing.
Leaves falling and birds singing in The Glen.
As usual, I walked to the waterfall, at the northern end of The Glen first. The river was still quite high, due to all the recent rain. I walked around all the footpaths taking lots of photos as I went. The only person I passed was a young woman jogging. There were a few grey squirrels about, and every time I tried I tried to take a video of one it scarpered. However, I eventually managed to get a short one of a squirrel climbing a tree.
Squirrel climbing a tree.
On the walk home, I stopped and picked up the apple. The horse was still on top of the old railway embankment. This time, he wasn't so stubborn and started walking towards me, even before I called him. He was soon running and, as you'll see below, didn't take long for him to make short work of it.
Horse eventually comes running for his apple.
After putting some food on, for later, and completing a few other chores, I changed and prepared to go for a run. By the time I set off, it was 3.30 pm - it was due to get dark at 4.26 pm. I walked quickly towards The Glen and started jogging shortly before I got there. I ran down the path and over the entrance bridge, then set off on my laps. I was a bit worried, as my quads still felt sore from yesterday.
As I passed through the car park, on the first lap, I passed a man emptying the litter bin. He was driving a small local council van. I had always envisaged a larger bin lorry doing this job.
I managed to complete six laps of The Glen, using the two upper paths. On the first, I also added an extra lap of the old disused reservoir, two on the second, ..., up to six on sixth. On my second lap, I also passed a tall, blond young woman jogging. She seemed to be moving a bit faster than me. We passed each other many times. At one stage I was running about 150 m behind her. I sped up and managed to maintain the same distance for a lap.
I finished at the waterfall and stretched for a couple of minutes. To my surprise, it was only starting to get dark. I done some extra stretches today, especially with my quads in mind.
The waterfall from earlier today.
Instead of jogging back out of The Glen and towards home, I decided I had done enough for today, so I started walking towards home. As I approached the exit bridge a woman jogged into The Glen, she was accompanied by a small black dog. She only jogged for a short distance, then started walking. As she disappeared into the distance, she started to jog again. I passed two teenage girls as I climbed out of The Glen. Soon afterwards I was stopped by a young boy, on a bike, asking if I had seen his mum. I hadn't seen him before, so I'm wouldn't know what his mum looked like. He said she had a small black dog with her. It must have been the woman I had just seen, walking and jogging. I replied I think I just saw her go over the footbridge and turn left. He was quickly on his bike after her.
When I got home, I changed and finished making sweet and sour chicken for my parents for later. It's my mother's bingo night again and she never eats until afterwards. At the bingo, I won a fiver, my aunt £10, but nothing for my mother or sister.
Overall today I ran 8.9 km (or just over 5.5 miles). I also walked about 3.5 miles.
Thursday 16 November 2017. Today was a rest day. The weather was not that pleasant and, for some reason, I couldn't drum up the energy to go for either a jog or a walk. I did walk up the town to the shop and back. I then got everything ready for my mother's friends arriving. That means red wine, crisps, cheese and biscuits. Shortly after they arrived (well only one of them), I walked to and back from my youngest brother's pub for the quiz. As usual, my team finished second in the quiz. So I suppose I did walk 2 miles.
Friday 17 November 2017. I went for a longer walk today. To The Glen and twice around so as to take in all the footpaths. I took some photos and collected some litter. As I passed through the car park, on my first lap, a young woman was cooling down after her run. I passed another young woman jogging later. It was a pleasant, but chilly day.
On the way home I diverted to the local shop for a few beers as I wanted to watch Gloucester play Saracens in the English Premiership later. It's not often Saracens loose these days, but they did tonight. I walked about 3.5 miles today.
Saturday 18 November 2017. Today is one of the busiest rugby union international days of the year. I wanted to watch the rugby and this meant going out early. I showered, stretched and set off at 12.15 pm. The horse was quick to come for his apple as I passed his field.
Before reaching The Glen, I started jogging. Then down into The Glen, over the river and off on my laps. There was one man, in a track suit, who was jogging and walking. A few people were walking their dogs and a teenage couple were out for a romantic walk. They were holding hands and the young lad kept calling me Sir - I think I know why.
On my second lap, I added an extra lap of the old reservoir, two on my third and so on, up to 8 on my ninth lap. On my tenth lap, I got a bit carried away and added twenty laps of the reservoir. It was the last day of the week and I wanted to get a long run in. However, I didn't expect to run this far. I intended to finish by the waterfall, but as I approached it, I could the two teenagers on the bench, looking like they didn't want disturbed. So I turned around and ran back to the footbridge over the river. I felt tired and my legs ached. After a few stretches, I decided I had done enough and just walked home.
To my surprise it was 2.45 pm when I arrived home and some of the rugby had already started. I watched Wales v Georgia. Wales won 13 - 6, but Georgia probably left a few scores on the field and not on the board.
After the game I walked to the local shop to get a few beers for Ireland v Fiji. Ireland played a young team and just held on to win 23 - 20. This was a great game to watch. I then caught up on the highlights of England beating the Aussies 30 - 6. The score did flatter England a bit. Lastly, I watched Scotland v New Zealand. I expected the All Blacks to run away with this, but Scotland were unlucky to go down 17 - 22. Scotland did have a great opportunity to win it at the end, but somehow the All Blacks seem to come away with the win. In the other games, Italy were beaten by Argentina and France lost by a point to South Africa.
Back to my "Long Run Back to Fitness", I ran 11 miles today and walked a mile. It brings my totals for the week to 28.5 miles running and 15 miles walking. It's been a good week and I'm pleased with the distances I have covered.
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