What a lovely weekend in the snow. Conditions were gorgeous last Saturday, as was evident when looking out of the window at home (see pic). The previous day's snow covered the countryside, the roads were generally clear, it was bitterly cold and the sky was blue. After being warned by Claudie to take care, I wrote my name and number down on a piece of paper and popped it into a pocket in case I fell or collapsed (again Claudie rightly insisted on this as well as asking what my route was - this should be done as a matter of course as previously blogged about), I set off in the sunshine.
To non-runners it is almost impossible to explain the pleasure of the sport, but on days like this I'm reminded of why I've battled to avoid hanging up my trainers for the joys of the golf course. One of Haruki Murakami's memorable quotes, which I've used on here before, also came to mind:
"I have only a few reasons to keep on running,
and a truckload of them to quit.
All I can do is keep those few reasons nicely polished."
This was a glorious run in the delightful surroundings of Cirencester Park. Although the snow was fresh and wasn't deep, care was needed as each step crushed down on the white stuff. as a consequence my pace was even slower than usual. Since I've been back doing a modicum of training I've invariably run too fast and therefore tired very easily. Again to the non-runner this must sound bizarre but it is difficult to run slowly at times, especially when running alone. The snow forced the issue, so despite the extra effort needed underfoot I did not get fatigued at all. It was one of those all too rare days - other runners will recognise this - when running felt effortless and one could run forever.
As ever with this great sport we are always learning - in my case after nearly 45 years of trying to get it right - we all run too fast on our steady runs. Slow down!
The next day was just as bitter but cloudy instead of sunny; the snow was 24 hours older and therefore harder to run through and there was lots of dodgy ice. The park was, however, still at its majesterial best and for me there was the great bonus of bumping into two of my best running buddies, neither of whom normally run in the park on a Sunday. I therefore turned round and joined them; having done virtually all of my running alone since starting back, it was a pleasure to swap inane banter as we ran easily through the park. A very positive weekend.
