22nd February Wet Wednesday in the woods (R5)

I try as best as I can to keep either Monday or preferably Wednesday night free in my diary. The reason being is that these are the two nights of the week that the local running clubs are out and about and it is nice to be able to run with other folks at least once a week. Mondays are out for the foreseeable future as I shall be hosting a study group for the next six weeks during Lent. So it looks as if its Wednesdays that should be my focus up until Easter.

Tonight it was trail running night. Not as popular as the Monday pounding the hills of Ravenshead / street of Hucknall as a lot of the group don't seem to like the idea of running through the woods and bridle paths in the dark armed with only a headtorch for some reason. I on the other hand much prefer this more radical option. Firsly the pace is a little bit slower as folks navigate their way under low hanging branckes, skip around puddles / mud and generally take a bit more time deciding where to put their feet. Secondly, well its just much more enjoyable.

At a little after six last night, after a lovely sunset that turned the sky a fabulous shade of pinky orange,  four of us plus three dogs set off from the car park at Thieves Wood, a place that has in the recent past (before the Police blocked access) been used for dogging of a very different variety. 

As we headed off into the inky blackness, I tried unsuccesfully to tilt my head torch so that it sat at just the right angle to illuminate the ground before me as I ran, proving that I really shoudn't try to triple task ie adjust, run and breathall at the same time. 

Because it was dark, at times it was difficult to orientate myself and know exactly where I was on the run, at other times relatively easy with various sections of route feeling familiar. But how we managed to connect those sections is still a mystery. 

What was pleasing though was despite the pace being a bit slower due to the conditions underfoot, I did manage to keep up with the group and keep moving more or les constantly (apart from road crossings ) for the whole 6 miles. Which on top of the 7.2m jolly around Carsington on Saturday counts as another win in my book, as was this stunning sunset on route to the sun.