First (Running) Day of Spring

Out today for a surprisingly hard 12 miles over the South Downs. 

A beautiful day for running. Blue skies and sunshine. I parked in the Park and Ride at Winchester, and set off (with a 5kg pack) on a 12 mile circuit up (and down and up) onto the South Downs.

There are some lovely paths on the Downs.  Hard packed chalk and mud under blue skies and hazel. But the aftermath of the rain is still lurking in the valleys and I came across 300 yards of calf deep water filling my path. No option but to wade through it - too deep for running. As it cleared I met a mountain biker coming the other day and wished him good luck with the water feature. He told me he'd just been through one, and sure enough, there was another section where the path provided the line of least resistance for all the water pouring out of the saturated soil and chalk Another 200 yards of wadingwalking and then a couple of hundred more of splashy running until the path climbed high enough to dry out.

I got to the high point at nine miles (Cheesefoot Head), but I knew I was tired from the long climb. I had spotted myself stopping to read the map for longer than was necessary, and walking a few extra paces after going through a gate before starting to run again. 

From the top it was a welcome three miles downhill along the South Downs Way back into Winchester. It struck me that the South Downs Way isn't very friendly at its start. After the historical splendour of England's ancient capital, the path goes is uphill for miles, through a housing estate and over the motorway. Not very encouraging to the novice walker!

By the time I got back into Winchester I was knackered, and when I got lost trying to find the car park I gave up running and walked.  I'd done the 12 miles I'd set out to do, but I was surprisingly tired from the hills. I'll need to do better than that if I am to run the hills in Wales.

Beautiful Paths for Running

  

Hard to tell from the picture, but this entire path is currently a stream, 3 inches deep in crystal clear water!