Last day of the holidays

Only three days into Janathon, and already I've enjoyed the lease of life it has brought my running. The 2011 working year begins again tomorrow with a bump, and our plodding exploits will have one more thing to fit around between Monday and Friday.

The working week is often a bit of an unknown for me. With very little notice I can find myself in other parts of the country, and whilst this might give me the opportunity to log some miles in interesting locations, finding (and fitting in) a good run, of an appropriate distance, with easy directions can be a test. I'm also very wary of rocking up at a B&B at 10pm, in fell shoes, caked in a cocktail of mud and sweat to ask for a room.


So for today's run I was keen to make the most of the time available. I was pondering where I might head to, when I got a text from a running-club buddy, Fiona, asking whether I might like to join her and Angela for a gentle morning run. This sounded perfect, as she suggested a location I run from very rarely, so at 9:30 we met in the wharf carpark by the Barley Mow pub in Dogmersfield, and joined by Angela, set off for a bimble along the country lanes towards Hartley Wintney and Winchfield.  

GV & Angela at Barley Mow Bridge (pic taken by Fiona)

Chatting as we ran, we discussed Janathon (it seems both Angela and Fiona have been following blogs via Facebook), aswell as their own trail-run and marathon goals for this year. They're both keen (and strong) runners and like many of us are looking forward to getting back into their strides after the holidays.

Both of them ran a tough cross-country for our club yesterday in really sticky conditions, so an easy pace suited us all round, and after a five and a half mile lap, they headed off for a cuppa, while I decided to make the most of the Basingstoke Canal towpath. I was looking forward to a little blast from the past, as this section of the canal harks back to my childhood, when I used to cycle the ten miles from my home to this point, and then onwards, to try and discover the canal's end.

The intention was to try and log another five miles or so, but as I continued to enjoy this trip down memory lane, under old brick bridges that now only carry pedestrians and horses, I realised that I wasn't too far from the western extent of the canal, the Greywell Tunnel. Apparently the canal used to connect Basingstoke to the river Wey, and then the Thames, but was never a commercial success. Hence when a section of roof collapsed within the Greywell Tunnel, the canal fell into disrepair, until a society was formed to rejuvenate it, along with over thirty miles of towpath. With colonies of protected bats now resident at Greywell, this is as far as the canal will ever stretch, and today, this also marked my target, and turning point. 





Odiham Castle & GV, more than a little dilapidated

On the return leg I paused to take a couple of snaps of the remains of Odiham Castle, which has always struck me as one of the most penetrable looking fortresses you might find. Constructed from little bits of flint and a lot of mortar, I suspect that its inherent vulnerability, and lack of decent building materials is the reason it remains standing to this day. I could imagine the disappointment for its first assailants, as having swiflty undermined, or smashed its walls, they realised it was simply too fragile to be worth rebuilding in situ, and its materials too poor to be worth pinching for other buildings, and it has probably stood here since.

The return to the Barley Mow was more smooth running, and as I felt increasingly loose, I was aware my pace continued to creep upwards. I made a mental note of the recuperative effects of an easy five miles at the beginning of a long-ish run, and quietly thanked Angela and Fiona for setting me up so well for this little extension, hoping they'd be proud of my Day Three efforts.

Another great run in a new location, which I wouldn't have done were it not for Janathon. I'm slightly nervous about the next four days, and the impact of the day-job, when I'll have to plan a collection of much shorter outings. However, I'm sure my legs will thank me for the respite, and with luck, be refreshed for next weekend.


Summary:
Today: 15.2 miles, 2:03 hrs, 2136 cals
January: 45.7 miles, 6:28 hrs, 6253 cals