Good to be back running....

After a weeks break for one reason and another it was really good to be back running this morning.

A gentle 6 miles along the river not long after sun rise :) for the first part of the run the fields were still full of mist and you could feel the coolness of it against your skin countered by the warmth of the sun as it started to burn through.

The river route is always a popular one with other walkers, cyclists and runners... I love the friendliness of people and quite often end up stopping to chat.

Anyway, this is a photo from this mornings run, taken from the footbridge across the river...

Running in shorts is not always wise !

Well, in between work and looking after (playing with) Millie I have been out running, I just haven't had the time to update my blog quite as much as I would have liked....
Last week I ran a route I haven't been along for awhile, last time it was knee deep in water and with the ongoing rain I thought it may all still be a bit soggy.
But, I went out on a lovely evening, hoping I may see the barn owl that lives in the area. The route I run up the Adur isn't as popular with people as the southern section and I think less people have been that way since the heavy rain for the same reason as me. The river bank path was knee high in grass, not too much of a problem but it does slow you down a bit... The bit that was a problem was when I turned inland. The path was almost completely overgrown with a mix of cow parsley, brambles and nettles and I was in shorts !
The other thing that was missing from this area are all the rabbits that used to be here, they used to keep the paths quite well trimmed and you would see loads of them out early evening but the were all gone. I wonder if their burrows were flooded and they all moved to higher/less flooded ground.
Anyway, seeing as I didn't have a machete with me I did a strange mix of running, hopping and a kind of skipping over the brambles and nettles, as well as stopping at times to see if there was an easier way through....at the end of it I was wishing I had worn some longer trousers...
Anyway, these are a couple of photos from that run..


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Quick update....

Millie is settling in well, we have had a few nights with very little sleep but hopefully she is getting past the howling all night stage.

It really is like having a small child again although I know it won't take her 18 years to grow up.

I'm really looking forward to when she has had all her vaccinations and I can take her out more with me :)

Anyway, this is Millie in the garden with her pheasant.

The heritage of the Olympics

Well, it has been quite a week for sports with the UK team taking more medals than ever...

Hopefully this will have some long term effects :

1. We live in a great country, let's celebrate it !

2. Stop selling off school sports fields, the next generation won't get involved in sports to the same degree because they can't. This will lead to more of a class divide in the top end of sports because it is the public schools that still have their sports fields.

3. Stop the non-competitive sports days. We need to teach children what it feels like to win and that you need to put the effort in to do so. BUT we also need to find the time to encourage personal development and get children used to competing against their own PBs and recognise the achievements that each child makes. At the end of the day there is only one Gold medal in each event, that means only one winner, it really is no different in the rest of life after all each job vacancy only has one successful applicant !

4. Encourage more people in to a wide range of sports; I really do believe that there is something for everyone, it is just finding it that can take the time...

5. Positive role models - lets get rid of the pseudo celebrities and start celebrating REAL people who have REAL achievements ! Watching some of the Olympics on tv you realise that many of our athletes also have full time jobs that they will go back to when this is over. They are real people who work hard at what they do, they are not all paid £10k plus a week, they don't do it for the money or the celebrity status but for the true sense of achievement.

In a country with growing obesity levels we need to harness this opportunity and interest in sport to make a difference.



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