Although all has been quiet around here, I have been getting out and about.
Well, ‘out’, at least.
Since my last posting all of my walks have been from the front door and I’m afraid that there were only so many times I could write about the same routes, and I exceeded that number long ago.
Not that it’s all been uninteresting. With the killer horses being grazed elsewhere this year, one of my abandoned routes (9 or 11 miles, depending what I do when I get to the canal) has become doable again. I do have to trespass to avoid one overgrown bit, have to battle with a field cropped to its boundary and I have been chased by a tribe of completely fearless bullocks every time (so fearless that once I get over the stile I can pat those at the front of the herd on the nose without them flinching), but otherwise I’m happy to have become reacquainted with that route.
I’ve also been beating speed records. Probably a simple case of boredom with the same routes. My record has been averaging 4.25mph over a 7 mile route. It’s not big or clever, but in the absence of hills, I guess that it’s keeping a small amount of fitness intact – which is the main aim of the outings.
Even with a bit of a drop-off in July, the year so far looks like this from a monthly mileage point of view:
All being well (touching wood, praying to the God of Uninjuriedness and all that), by the end of August I should have exceeded my previous highest calendar-year mileage.
At some point, I may even do something worthy of writing about.
Fearless bullocks
I didn’t mention the ‘field of thistles’ did I? I have now found the least prickly route through, but it still involves five minutes of dense thistles.
Well, you could always invent a bit of excitement, like wot I do....
ReplyDeleteThey look the cleanest bullocks i have ever seen. They look dressed for market.
ReplyDeleteMike - If I don't find myself walking more than 10 miles from home sometime soon, I may have to make use of that suggestion!
ReplyDeleteAlan - Now you mention it, they are remarkably clean (as are the couple of fields of (non-troublesome) young cows through which I walk). Either the farmers around here have 'clean livestock' on their daily to-do lists, or the current lack of mud is helping to maintain the cleanliness of the herds.
Yes the "clean me" must be on the to do list, however it's not usually mud they are normally covered in, it's usually shhhhh.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear you are still out and about. 4.25 mph - that must be more or less running?
ReplyDeletePhew
ReplyDeleteI knew all along that you couldn't have eloped with a slow man. Not at that speed anyway. Have you found all the wildlife? All the caches? Tried running? (4.25 is definitely Not running.) Tried to get up to 10 mph? Used a pogo stick? Walked backwards? Given Mick a piggy back? (I know he's too knackered for that to be the other way around!)
Can you tell, I'm just seeking a bit of light relief from trying to sort out a Blackberry/Roxio software problem, and a broken monitor nightmare! Don't load the Blackberry software if you don't need to!
Have fun.
M
Conrad - I am generally acknowledged to be one of the slowest runners in the universe, however, I can manage a smidge over 5mph when running, and on a good day I've been known to hit 6mph or above. 4.25mph is most definitely still walking, albeit maybe with a bit more arm-swinging than usual!
ReplyDeleteMartin - I probably haven't found *all* the wildlife. There are generally lots of flutterbys, a few BBJs and some squiggles that are obvious (and sometimes some dead voley things too), but I'd imagine that there's a whole lot more if I really looked. Problem is that I'm usually not paying attention (just got a wild-flower book today though, so may be taking some more leisurely flower-spotting walks soon).
ReplyDeleteI have found all of the caches on my routes. There is one that's not far away that I could go and find, except that it's outside of someone's house and I'd feel a bit self-conscious looking for it by myself.
Running. That'd be nice, but I'm still afeared for the achilles. I've progressed into a different pair of shoes now, and did try a short jog-ette the other day with no ill effects. Bored as I am with the walking routes, I probably still prefer walking to running though (all down my my ingrained laziness, you see...).
10mph is only a speed I reach when running from bulls (actually, I just make sure I take my poles and swing them around a bit when I have to go through the bullocks)!
I did walk backwards the other day. Or at least, I walked a route in the opposite direction to usual. It didn't half look different.
Can't give Mick a piggy-back as he's not with me. He's busy marathon training (up to 18 miles now; beat my mileage this week with 38 miles run to my 35 miles walked).
Hope your Blackberry/Roxio software problems are getting resolved!
Thanks, Gayle. Roxio still a nightmare - may need to pay for an expert to sort it. Tideswell tomorrow. Are you coming along? See topwalks.com.
ReplyDeleteWord = 'lorest' - I think they mis-spelt it.
Martin - 'fraid that by the time I saw your comment, and your planned walk for today, it was a bit late to come along. Today was a scheduled Big Run Day anyway (which involved Mick running 18 miles, and me meeting him after 11 miles to pass him a new bottle of water and five jelly babies).
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling rather glad that I have no idea what Roxio software is!
Five! jelly babies?
ReplyDeleteAre you starving him?
Sorry not to see you both yesterday. I think you may have kept up - 10.51 miles in 5.624 hours.