9th-16th February Run notes

Tuesday

First run post race and things are still achey but an easy plod around the woods helps. It's damp underfoot but as I get away from the road the birds have become noticeably louder. Spring feels close.

Thursday

I fancy a longer explore of Spring Lane Sidings near Ardsley so make my way down from Thorpe and along Dolphin Beck. Since I've last been here the trees have been thinned out and wood chipping scattered. It feels much more open along the footpath beside the marsh which I'm sure will be nicer in the summer but right now it feels a bit brutal. I get all the way to Lingwell Gate Lane and head into the Sidings taking an early left turn. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going at this point and end up climbing a small hill into East Ardsley proper. I manage to get my bearing and head down towards the railway and find the path back onto the Sidings. I pass some dog walkers and curse loudly as an excitable dog gets too close, I'll never look at a dog the same way after that bite!

Friday

I decide to swap my trail shoes for the road today and do the classic Robin Hood loop. I feel tired from the week so it takes a bit to get going. The greenway is very quiet and I get some good uninterrupted bursts in but decide to leave off doing too many. The morning chorus of birds is a welcome change from the road which is busy with cars. It's been a few weeks since I've done a road run and with all the traffic it definitely appeals less than being out on the trails.

Sunday

A chilly morning, still waiting for a sprung spring. I'm out on the Leeds-Liverpool canal and have to be in Ormskirk for a set time. I haven't thought very hard about the route but know I will probably follow the canal for a way and then cut across to Ormskirk itself. It's still damp underfoot but the canal footpath isn't horribly muddy. I pass lots of pubs along the way: the Saracen's Head, the Ship Inn, the Slipway and also plenty of narrow boats. There's a few hardy souls out fishing along my way and a handful or so of dog walkers. I don't meet any runners or cyclists until I come off the canal and head towards Ormskirk. I spend a long stretch of this in the road because the pathetic excuse of a footpath is so narrow I might as well be in the road anyway. I come past some outrageously swanky looking houses and climb the only hill of the run to pass some more eyebrow raising houses (ornate giraffe and dog statues fill the garden) and come down into town. For a route that's largely been made up on the fly it's been quite good really, certainly fitted the bill of something long but easy. Ending it just in time for brunch also a big plus.

At brunch we sit at a table under a remarkable canvas copy of 'Grain' by Ukrainian artist Tatiana Yablonskaya (profile from Tretyakov Art Gallery Magazine. It's unlike any other picture in the place and really stands out, I ask a waitress where they get them and she says just from some warehouse in Bristol. If it'd fit in the car I'd have asked how much for it but I'll have to settle for getting it as a postcard instead.