What I saw on my run today...

I have spent all day feeling drained and exhausted. We'd had a lovely time in York, getting back at 11pm on Saturday evening, then we were up again on Sunday and out of the house by 6am to go up to London for the book fairs and the Help for Heroes concert at Twickenham (I pretty much agree with the review you'll find if you follow that hyperlink, so I won't say much more - other than I was glad to be there with a friend who knew who the likes of Pixie Lott, Alexandra Burke and Plan B were). I was so tired that I didn't think it was possible that I would manage a run, but I decided that I ought to make the effort.

I rewarded myself with one of my favourite routes. Not sure if that hyperlink will take you to the route, or if you'd need a password, but it is a lovely route - up the long (over a mile), steep (9%) Brockham Hill and then back through a scenic and undulating route to and through neighbouring villages. I was lucky with the weather, it only started to spit with rain when I hit mile 6. The views over the Hampshire countryside make the steep climbs worthwhile (although I wish I could run up them a bit faster).

Sadly, the route seems to have become a haven for fly tippers. I fail to understand why one would drive to such a remote location (single track road leading nowhere much!) to dump an old TV or fridge. There is a really good municipal tip in the centre of town, open all day every day! Such a hazard to wildlife to leave them lying on the side of the road (I doubt many children walk that route so probably not much risk to them), and so thoughtless and unnecessary!

Still, the run went well, I set off with an audio book (Bleeding Hearts by Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey) rather than music, as I knew that this would slow me down a bit, and I didn't feel like pushing it today. It is a while since I listened to a book while running, and I'd forgotten how enjoyable it is. For whole sections of the run (the downhill and easy bits!) I almost forgot I was running, and I you don't get the annoyingly up tempo song start just as you start the steepest bit of the hill! I needed a good run that didn't feel too hard. I was beginning to doubt whether I would be able to manage 10 miles on 26th September. I feel better about that now, and don't feel that I will let down the sponsors who have been kind enough to sponsor us as we raise money for Combat Stress.