Today I was given the honour of leading my first ever Running Fource training run. The pressure was almost unbearable but having been instructed to head in the general direction of Peters Green I knew I had to rise to the challenge and deliver a route of fly swallowing awe.
Plan was to re-run a route from a few weeks ago: head up past Sauncey Wood then stay high(ish) on the ridge bearing in the general direction of Luton and more specifically Someries Castle. Then before quite getting to the ruins turn left down Copt Hall Road and back to Harpenden via the Upper Lea Valley Walk. And we stuck to the route … well almost. On approaching Copt Hall Road it was suggested we continued on to have a quick nose at the castle and once there found a footpath that lead down its side and in the general direction of large noisy things with wings. Ah well, nothing ventured nothing gained. So off we headed following random footpath signs across badly rutted fields until somehow finding a vague track across a farmer’s field leading down to the Lower Luton Road. Problem then was that we were on the road whereas we really wanted to be up on the newly paved footpath. The only option was the nettle-fest of the old path and a scramble up an earth bank to the nirvana of new tarmac. Pleasingly the path had been extended since my last visit which gave rise to an injection of pace as we were 1) on a decent surface for the first time for a couple of mile and 2) finally had some confidence we were running in the right direction,
Dave was allowed the honour of being first onto the new footbridge across the Lower Luton Road from where it was a relatively straight canter home. Niall made another miraculous recovery from illness and was happy to keep up with the ever increasing pace. And despite claims to the contrary still had enough in the tank to out sprint me to the finish. You know you can really go off some people.
Well, I would not be the Fit Scottish Bloke if I did not unleash the Kenyan inside every once in a while.
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