20th-26th January Run notes

Tuesday

Black cat crossed my muddy trail
Eyes flash, swoosh of a bushy tail
Dark morning clouds with a ripple of red
Time for the sun to get out of his bed.

Thursday

What's the opposite of gloaming I wonder as I set off in the tentative half light just before a full sunrise. There wasn't really a good reason to bring my head torch and I chuck it into my bag by the time I reach Middleton Park. I'm charting a trail avoiding the roads as much as possible cutting from Middleton Park to Sissons Wood. As I come down the slope into the main clearing before the golf course I see a bunch of work men digging up the ground. I'm still unclear what exactly is going on in the old golf course, are they planting more trees? They've laid down new footpaths throughout, whilst churning up a great deal of earth. Maybe by summer it'll be clearer what the plan is. I reach the Thorpe trig point and cut across the fields towards home. The farmer has been in and ploughed up the fields ready for planting and I get my shoes all claggy with mud, next time I'll follow the other footpath.

Sunday

A full kit pack race ahead of Punk Panther's Harrogate Hustle half-marathon on the 7th. I'd plotted a road-to-trail route that would get me on an excellent circular from Ardsley to Kirkhamgate and back. The trails were pretty quiet, with lots of enjoyable undulating, hoping over stiles and little brooks and squelching through soggy fields. Am I going easy enough I wondered a couple of times, the run wasn't super hard but harder than the road and I possibly could have eased off in some sections but getting swept up in the adventure gets to your head/feet. After crossing the motorway back to Ardsley I have an unfortunate encounter with a dog walker, who's red dog Rosie is off her lead and decides to give me a nip. Of all my many runs or encounters with dogs I've never been bitten so this comes as a shock and takes the shine off the run slightly. I'm able to continue and get it checked out afterwards but not a pleasant encounter and will sadly be more on my guard with dogs off-lead in future. After working my way back through Ardsley and Tingley I right my wrong from Thursday and enter the fields by the trig point and follow the right footpath to avoid the claggy field. Bar the bite this is definitely a route for the favourites list.