Friday, June 11, 2010
Yes- I Am Still Alive... Just!!
I have been quite good at exercising this week- I just haven't been so good at updating my blog... really must get organised...
This week has finally seen a return to the gym and some walking and- gasp- running going on...
I have been concentrating on doing interval type workouts on the treadmill to try to increase speed, and did another longish walk/ run last Saturday- 14 miles from Barrow-On-Soar. I'd done this one before but not for a couple of years, and, being as I was on plant watering duties for mum, I decided to fit in a walk fairly local to where they live and kill two birds with one stone.
I parked up at Barrow and set off along the canal- the path starts off with the canal on your left, but shortly after a field containing a mare and foal, a footbridge is crossed so that the canal remains on your right;
Footbridge Over The Grand Union Canal
Shortly after this, the path crosses under a railway bridge;
It was a lovely hot day, and I soon found myself dripping sweat (I always sweat when I walk or run though even if it's freezing!) I took plenty of water with me, and made myself run as much as I could along the canal. Well, for 'run', read 'slow, shambling jog interspersed with spells of walking and photo taking).
The route passes across the road into Mountsorrel and past the pub (tempting!) before marching on to Sileby Locks;
Sileby Locks
The path runs for around another 1 1/2 miles before reaching Cossington Mill. I managed to jog most of it which I was quite pleased about. The only sticky moment came near to the Mill when I encountered a herd of cows in the field- standing practically on the path! I am not that keen on cows, ever since I read about people getting trampled to death (that kind of thing does make you slightly wary!) but luckily these were the kind that were so used to human traffic that they barely batted a bovine eye brow.
I had a bit of a road march into Rothley and round the church before picking up the path across Rothley Park and into the golf course. I did walk across the golf course, in case I was taken out by a spare golf ball! After going through a railway tunnel and across a couple of fields I was in Thurcaston.
Now, the footpath the guide book instructed me to follow into Cropston is one I have never actually been successfully able to follow as I can never work out where it's supposed to go! Today was no exception, and I gave up when I found myself floundering in a blog. I retraced my steps through a lot of nettles back to the road, and noticed another footpath a little further up. This one gave the option of reaching Cropston Road earlier, but I pressed on, hoping to find the original footpath. Eventually I gave up though- it appears to have completely disappeared so I had to use the other path into the village and walk down the road to my next path- to Swithland.
I ran along the fields and woods, stopping to gather some wild garlic stems- there is loads of wild garlic growing round here and it smelt lovely. There were some good views across to Bradgate Park;
Bradgate Park & Plastic Fields!!
Swithland is a lovely traditional village, characterised by thatched cottages;
Swithland
It was a lot cloudier now, but still very warm. The route followed fields to a railway bridge, and was easily runable as it was downhill! I was feeling the effects of the heat a little; the railway track serves the steam railway running from Loughborough through to Rothley, and I was tempted to stop a while to see if one would come along (I knew they were running as for a few miles I had heard the hoot of their horns) but decided to press on to Quorn. Typically enough, 5 minutes later I heard one go past...
The path to Quorn is one I have followed loads of times, and always seems endless (it comes near to the end of the Charnwood Challenge). I made myself jog until I reached Quorn, and bought a welcome drink from a shop. Whilst I was drinking, I spotted a funny sculpture carved out of a tree trunk;
Quorn
Then it was just a matter of finding the footbridge over the A6 and getting back to the car- I managed it in just under 4 hours, and what with all the to-ing and fro-ing trying to find that footpath, I probably did around 14 1/2 miles- quite a good result for me!
I decided to give mum's plants a real good soak as I wasn't sure when it would next rain- and so we then had torrential rain for the next few days!! We had a couple of storms Saturday night- I attempted to photograph the lightening, but failed miserably...
I have a family do this weekend so will be a bit more limited to what I can do, but am feeling much more confident about my fitness than I did a few weeks ago, and am feeling quite a bit more motivated.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
This week has finally seen a return to the gym and some walking and- gasp- running going on...
I have been concentrating on doing interval type workouts on the treadmill to try to increase speed, and did another longish walk/ run last Saturday- 14 miles from Barrow-On-Soar. I'd done this one before but not for a couple of years, and, being as I was on plant watering duties for mum, I decided to fit in a walk fairly local to where they live and kill two birds with one stone.
I parked up at Barrow and set off along the canal- the path starts off with the canal on your left, but shortly after a field containing a mare and foal, a footbridge is crossed so that the canal remains on your right;
Shortly after this, the path crosses under a railway bridge;
It was a lovely hot day, and I soon found myself dripping sweat (I always sweat when I walk or run though even if it's freezing!) I took plenty of water with me, and made myself run as much as I could along the canal. Well, for 'run', read 'slow, shambling jog interspersed with spells of walking and photo taking).
The route passes across the road into Mountsorrel and past the pub (tempting!) before marching on to Sileby Locks;
The path runs for around another 1 1/2 miles before reaching Cossington Mill. I managed to jog most of it which I was quite pleased about. The only sticky moment came near to the Mill when I encountered a herd of cows in the field- standing practically on the path! I am not that keen on cows, ever since I read about people getting trampled to death (that kind of thing does make you slightly wary!) but luckily these were the kind that were so used to human traffic that they barely batted a bovine eye brow.
I had a bit of a road march into Rothley and round the church before picking up the path across Rothley Park and into the golf course. I did walk across the golf course, in case I was taken out by a spare golf ball! After going through a railway tunnel and across a couple of fields I was in Thurcaston.
Now, the footpath the guide book instructed me to follow into Cropston is one I have never actually been successfully able to follow as I can never work out where it's supposed to go! Today was no exception, and I gave up when I found myself floundering in a blog. I retraced my steps through a lot of nettles back to the road, and noticed another footpath a little further up. This one gave the option of reaching Cropston Road earlier, but I pressed on, hoping to find the original footpath. Eventually I gave up though- it appears to have completely disappeared so I had to use the other path into the village and walk down the road to my next path- to Swithland.
I ran along the fields and woods, stopping to gather some wild garlic stems- there is loads of wild garlic growing round here and it smelt lovely. There were some good views across to Bradgate Park;
Swithland is a lovely traditional village, characterised by thatched cottages;
It was a lot cloudier now, but still very warm. The route followed fields to a railway bridge, and was easily runable as it was downhill! I was feeling the effects of the heat a little; the railway track serves the steam railway running from Loughborough through to Rothley, and I was tempted to stop a while to see if one would come along (I knew they were running as for a few miles I had heard the hoot of their horns) but decided to press on to Quorn. Typically enough, 5 minutes later I heard one go past...
The path to Quorn is one I have followed loads of times, and always seems endless (it comes near to the end of the Charnwood Challenge). I made myself jog until I reached Quorn, and bought a welcome drink from a shop. Whilst I was drinking, I spotted a funny sculpture carved out of a tree trunk;
Then it was just a matter of finding the footbridge over the A6 and getting back to the car- I managed it in just under 4 hours, and what with all the to-ing and fro-ing trying to find that footpath, I probably did around 14 1/2 miles- quite a good result for me!
I decided to give mum's plants a real good soak as I wasn't sure when it would next rain- and so we then had torrential rain for the next few days!! We had a couple of storms Saturday night- I attempted to photograph the lightening, but failed miserably...
I have a family do this weekend so will be a bit more limited to what I can do, but am feeling much more confident about my fitness than I did a few weeks ago, and am feeling quite a bit more motivated.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Labels: barrow-on-soar, Bradgate Park
