Wherein I Encounter A Viking Ship (But No Hobbit House)

   I finally headed out for a run today, after a little over a month of only occasionally throwing in a long walk or two. My only goal when I left the house was to run---it didn't have to be fast and it didn't need to be continual. All I really needed was to run.
   This was kind of a refreshing approach because any of the last runs I'd done that month ago were all performance-based. I'd been desperately wanting to get my 5K times down and, slowly but surely, that's what was happening. And then I stopped running. Not sure why.
   It's still very autumn-like, weather-wise, here in London and today was a great day for running. I wore shorts and just a couple of layers up top. For some reason the top of me gets cold much faster than my bottom half and I need to be warm at the beginning of a run but still be mindful of the fact that I will warm up, eventually.
   There are a couple of cool things I wanted to be able to show you all today so I took just a bit of a detour from my usual 5K route. I wanted to show you the little hobbit house but when I ran by there was a pickup parked right in front of it, so that was kind of a no-go. Too bad, too, cuz I had to run up a freakin' hill to get there.
   There is, however, a miniature Viking ship right around the corner and I was able to get a pic. I'm a little far away due to the fact that there are no sidewalks on that side of the street . As have most viking ships, it's fallen into a bit of disrepair, its sail lies, bedraggled, atop its stern.

   From here, I just continued to run along at my very slow speed and was kind of loving it. I did time it and it ended up being a little over 42 minutes. I could not have run any more slowly but that was fine with me!

   I needed to make sure I took pics today because Crystal of Running With Rhyno fame had strongly suggested I run yesterday. But I whined and fussed and she said I could run today but needed to provide pictorial proof. So here it is, Crystal! Even a tiny bead of sweat on my left cheek, a bit of a foggy-breath effect, and a dilapidated Viking ship in the background...

   I can always tell when I've gotten into a better headspace with my running---I feel like going out again the same day. Today was one of those days because tonight I definitely feel as though I could run again. My plan is to hopefully feel like that again tomorrow and to maybe go hunting for that hobbit house I told you about!

A happier-looking me!

 

Finding Nemo...er...Nathan, I mean

   Well....over a month later and I'm blogging again...
   In my last post, I spent some time glorying in the recent running success I'd been having and how I finally had the feeling that the whole running thing was back on track.
   This was obviously the kiss of death as I have not run since.
   Kinda hard to put a finger on just exactly why this has happened---I just simply have not felt like running.
   Part of it, I think, was that I spent four days in Sault Ste. Marie, essentially eating at one kind of restaurant or another, all of which served huge portions. That, and just generally being thrown way off my routine made it especially hard to recover when I finally made it back to London. And nothing has really changed since!
   I have forced myself to get out and go for long walks, however, so, for better or worse, I am now a walking blogger!
   A couple of days ago I headed out into nearby Warbler Woods, as part of a 5K route I've had mapped out for quite some time now. My idea was to walk as briskly as possible and maybe even to run up a couple of the hills I knew I would encounter.
   One or two of my long, purposeful strides, however, nearly had me flat on my substantial ass. This time of year, of course, forest pathways are covered with leaves and there has been enough moisture in these parts to lay down a slick layer of mud underneath. This layer of mud was then camouflaged by the layer of leaves covering it and several times I took a step only to find myself sliding an extra six to seven inches, unexpectedly. Suddenly, I was actually happy I wasn't trying to run through it!
   This time of year, the woods are entirely different and quite spectacular in their own way. Without a leafy canopy, you can see much deeper into them and get a much better sense of the topography involved. If only the footing were better...
   So I walked until I normally make a  hard left and start on the trail which ultimately leads me away from the woods. When I got there, though, this was the sign and the fence which blocked my path:

A bent sign, to boot! Hiker rage??

   This was annoying and I briefly contemplated totally ignoring the sign, thinking to myself "what possible ecological damage could I do?" It then occurred to me that if everyone thought that same way we'd be in big trouble, so I relented. I also knew that if I just followed my original path I would soon encounter a series of very steep hills. Normally this is not a problem for me (I run them all the time) but in those slippery conditions I just didn't want to risk anything. So I turned to go out the same way I came in.
   And am I ever glad I did because I found Nemo!
   Well, no, not Nemo exactly but possibly a cousin named Nathan.
   I was walking past a tree and noticed a small blue box resting at its base. The box had an inscription on it so I bent down to read it. Here is the box:

   When I realized what I was holding, I very reverentially placed the box back at the base of the tree. No "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" for me! Actually, I thought this was pretty sweet and kinda cool to find so I was glad in a way that the blocked trail had sent me back this way.
   The rest of my walk in the woods was pretty uneventful and I was happy that I had at least worked up a sweat. Hopefully, walking is only a pre-cursor to actually running again. I'm pretty sure that it is. Fingers crossed.