Fun in the Forest!
Sunday 24/09/06:
Well its not often that I have an entire day stretching ahead of me, with nothing to do but exactly as I please... But due to Courtney going off to a sleep-over birthday party yesterday afternoon and not being expected home till 7.30pm tonight, thats exactly the position I was in.
Made the most of it, slept in till 8am, then took my coffee back to bed and read my book for an hour... This may be the norm for some (and was for me once upon a time!) but its now a rare commodity! Got up and had a lazy breakfast, then thought about where I wanted to run today.
It was so nice not to have to squeeze it in between other "must do" activities for a change!
The thing I have missed the most about not being able to run hills, is being able to run off-road. All of the trails that are nearby and that I was introduced too just before being banned from hills, are extremely hilly! Now I knew that after yesterdays effort, I should probably avoid any hills today and stick to the plans suggested 35mins jogging...
BUT.... knowing it and doing it are two different things! It was a beautiful sunny day, abit windy but a warm wind at that. In the end I just couldn't resist. I jumped in the car and drove 15mins on country roads out to Whitford Forest. It was just gorgeous when I arrived at 10am and from where I parked the car I had a beautiful view out over the water and could see all the way across to the city in the far distance. As I was stretching, a family pulled up and out they all jumped with their mountain bikes. Whitford Forest has one main access road (gravel) which is a large loop and off it there are about a dozen trails, ideal for mountain biking. The local mountain biking club has full access, the rest of us use it at our own risk!
After a little deliberation, I had decided to wear the new shoes today. Lets face it, they're going to get dirty soon enough anyway! They felt oh so nice and soft and comfortable! Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that my little toe is feeling a bit better. I very carefully performed some minor surgery on it, as when examined in the natural light, I could see that some tough skin had infact grown over one side of the nail. This was very hard to see, being such a tiny nail and all, but since I have managed to free it up a bit, it is feeling much better. Think I may still lose the nail though, its definately lifted on the opposite side and is starting to look a funny colour!
Anyway, back to todays run - once I started off, I knew I'd have to make the most of it and do more than 35mins, but made sure I kept the pace easy and vowed to walk the hills if they became too steep or if I was feeling my hamstring at all. Have to say though, I was wearing the Skins to run in and it felt perfect despite yesterdays hills.
I had only run here once before, a couple of months ago with James, and we'd only ventured a wee way into the forest. Today I kept heading into the forest on the access road for 30mins before turning around. This included lots of hills, fantastic scenery and the peaceful sound of the wind thru the huge pine trees above. I really did not want to turn back as I was enjoying myself so much and feeling great, but as I did not know how long the loop was, I thought I had better - it could be 50kms for all I knew! On the way back I saw a pheasant right in front of me and heard lots of other gorgeous birds too. Surprisingly (and just slightly worrying) I did not see another soul until I was almost back at the entrance gate, when two mountain bikers went past. Felt perfectly safe out there alone, but it does not bare thinking about what would happen if you were to break an ankle or something out there... I really should have been carrying my mobile.
Arrived back at the car in just under the hour and estimate I covered about 10kms. Did plenty of stretching and sat on the bonnet in the sunshine drinking my Replace and enjoying the view.
Then it was back home to wash the car and water the new lawn (joy!) all while still wearing the trusty Skins. Have to say, I'm loving them.
Running is one of the very few things that makes me feel happy and good right now... Runs like this are especially enjoyable and I am very thankful to live in a place where I can experience this sort of run.
Total distance run this week: 58kms.
Well its not often that I have an entire day stretching ahead of me, with nothing to do but exactly as I please... But due to Courtney going off to a sleep-over birthday party yesterday afternoon and not being expected home till 7.30pm tonight, thats exactly the position I was in.
Made the most of it, slept in till 8am, then took my coffee back to bed and read my book for an hour... This may be the norm for some (and was for me once upon a time!) but its now a rare commodity! Got up and had a lazy breakfast, then thought about where I wanted to run today.
It was so nice not to have to squeeze it in between other "must do" activities for a change!
The thing I have missed the most about not being able to run hills, is being able to run off-road. All of the trails that are nearby and that I was introduced too just before being banned from hills, are extremely hilly! Now I knew that after yesterdays effort, I should probably avoid any hills today and stick to the plans suggested 35mins jogging...
BUT.... knowing it and doing it are two different things! It was a beautiful sunny day, abit windy but a warm wind at that. In the end I just couldn't resist. I jumped in the car and drove 15mins on country roads out to Whitford Forest. It was just gorgeous when I arrived at 10am and from where I parked the car I had a beautiful view out over the water and could see all the way across to the city in the far distance. As I was stretching, a family pulled up and out they all jumped with their mountain bikes. Whitford Forest has one main access road (gravel) which is a large loop and off it there are about a dozen trails, ideal for mountain biking. The local mountain biking club has full access, the rest of us use it at our own risk!
After a little deliberation, I had decided to wear the new shoes today. Lets face it, they're going to get dirty soon enough anyway! They felt oh so nice and soft and comfortable! Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that my little toe is feeling a bit better. I very carefully performed some minor surgery on it, as when examined in the natural light, I could see that some tough skin had infact grown over one side of the nail. This was very hard to see, being such a tiny nail and all, but since I have managed to free it up a bit, it is feeling much better. Think I may still lose the nail though, its definately lifted on the opposite side and is starting to look a funny colour!
Anyway, back to todays run - once I started off, I knew I'd have to make the most of it and do more than 35mins, but made sure I kept the pace easy and vowed to walk the hills if they became too steep or if I was feeling my hamstring at all. Have to say though, I was wearing the Skins to run in and it felt perfect despite yesterdays hills.
I had only run here once before, a couple of months ago with James, and we'd only ventured a wee way into the forest. Today I kept heading into the forest on the access road for 30mins before turning around. This included lots of hills, fantastic scenery and the peaceful sound of the wind thru the huge pine trees above. I really did not want to turn back as I was enjoying myself so much and feeling great, but as I did not know how long the loop was, I thought I had better - it could be 50kms for all I knew! On the way back I saw a pheasant right in front of me and heard lots of other gorgeous birds too. Surprisingly (and just slightly worrying) I did not see another soul until I was almost back at the entrance gate, when two mountain bikers went past. Felt perfectly safe out there alone, but it does not bare thinking about what would happen if you were to break an ankle or something out there... I really should have been carrying my mobile.
Arrived back at the car in just under the hour and estimate I covered about 10kms. Did plenty of stretching and sat on the bonnet in the sunshine drinking my Replace and enjoying the view.
Then it was back home to wash the car and water the new lawn (joy!) all while still wearing the trusty Skins. Have to say, I'm loving them.
Running is one of the very few things that makes me feel happy and good right now... Runs like this are especially enjoyable and I am very thankful to live in a place where I can experience this sort of run.
Total distance run this week: 58kms.
posted by Vicky @ 9/24/2006 05:33:00 pm
2 Comments:
At Mon Sept 25, 11:27:00 am,
Anonymous said…
Hey Vicky, nice shows....I am yet to do the whole posting pics of my runners on my blog too I thnk that day is fast approaching lol. I would be taking that toe to see a podiatrist if I were you, you can't be too careful with your feet.
The forest run sounds sensational. I can picture a runner kicking back on the boot of their car reflecting after such a run....You have to take a moment to appreciate the good ones.
At Mon Sept 25, 02:44:00 pm,
Chris said…
Glad you enjoyed some Vicky Time!
I'm also a huge SKINS fan, reckon they are worth every cent (even though I won mine!)
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