Feeble Forest 5

My apologies for the alliteration. I hate alliteration. But today’s run was feeble. And it was in a forest. And it was 5 miles. So calling this post Really Energetic Urban 14 wouldn’t really be appropriate.

I get up with the good intentions of going to practice running in the forest with my new trail shoes as I only have two training weekends before the Orion 15 which is being held in the forest so I get the train down to Chingford and I see the bus station and I think oh yes, this is definitely where I ended up when I was drunk a few weeks ago and I find the forest and there’s a sign that says BEWARE CATTLE

and I get unduly excited by the possibility of seeing some cows and I head off in the direction of the trees and on the right there’s something that looks distinctly like a hill and I think to myself that I should go up the hill as there’s hills in the race but my feet have other ideas and lead me off to the left and into the foresty bit and I haven’t even gone a mile and I’m knackered already and I’m not sure I like running on lumpy bumpy mud and I think I’m going to twist my ankle and it’s only just got better today after it having been hurting since Tuesday and I realise I haven’t a clue where I am in the forest and I’ll probably get lost and there’s hardly anyone around, just a few horseriders and dog walkers, and I keep on going but walk up anything that even slightly resembles a hill and I’m thinking is this the same girl who did a hilly half last Sunday? and then I get to a lakey thing

and I think ooh that’s nice, I didn’t know there was a lakey thing in the forest and I go round it and there’s a map and it says it’s Connaught Water which I’ve never heard of and looking at the map it seems I’m not far from the station and I’m wondering whether I should just ditch the run and go home as this running thing’s not really happening for me today and there’s no way I’m going to manage 14 miles but I decide to continue on but after about three yards I stop to walk again and so I think fuck this, I’m going home and I run back down to the station and go past a dead fox and I get the train home and I am feeble and I didn’t even see any cows. Bah.

Today’s route

Stats:
Distance: 5.32 miles
Time: 1:06:12
Pace: 12:27
Calories: 475
Hills run up: 0
Walking breaks: Lots
Lakey things: 1
Cows: 0
Dead foxes: 1
Music:
The Twang
Hole
Faith No More
Muse
The Damned

7 comments

  • “A lakey thing” that had me pissing myself.
    These huge runs you enter now are very impressive 🙂

  • Sorry i forgot to ask. It seems your GPS worked okay in the woods if i go near a tree it stops working.

    I take it you had no problems judging the route on the map etc?

  • Dead foxes – the only thing I see out running is smack heads huddling under the flyover. I’m with you on the running on mud bit, I love it but my ankles hate it 🙁

  • GPS is fine in the woods. At least I assume so. Or maybe I really did do 14 miles and not 5. I don’t understand what you mean by judging the route on the map? I didn’t plot out a route before I left the house, probably should have done really, I had no idea where I was.

    I’m such a townie, I prefer running on paths. Mud? Bah.

  • It was meant to say Judging by the route on the map the signals for the GPS seems to have got through ok.

    But i left all the important words out. 🙂

  • ‘lakey thing’ it really sounds nice….I wish I could come up with such nice words, but i’m a bl**dy foreigner, so that’s not happening :-))))))
    I prefer running on pavements and roads and I really, truly and passionately HATE hills !!

  • I hate hills too. Hills are evil and best to be avoided.

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