I Love Sundays

After 5 frustrating weeks I was finally able to get out today on my first trail run since I got injured. I was supposed to go with my friend Wayne but due to other commitments he couldn't make it. When he told me he couldn't come the temptation was to either stay in bed or do an easier run closer to home. However, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I woke up and couldn't wait to get to Witton park. We had planned to do the Beamer's trail together so I stuck to the plan and set off by myself.
The Beamer's trail is a 6 mile loop around Witton park and will be the first stage of the Ultra run in the summer. Our plan is to run the various sections of the route in the upcoming weeks. This will give us a good feel of what to expect when we run the whole route. The first 1.5 miles of this route is an absolute killer with an ascent through the woods of nearly 600ft. The pictures below give you an idea of the trail. Stopping to take these pictures was in the interest of this blog and not to have a breather....honest!!

Start of the ascent

Billinge Woods

Top of the hill and a view of Blackburn

West Lancashire in all its glory

Once you make it to the top of the woods the rest of the run is pretty straightforward. It was made all the more pleasant due to the recent nice and dry weather we have had in the UK. As you can see from the pictures there are some spectacular views of Lancashire. The majority of the run is a gradual descent through fields and past Pleasington golf course. I stopped to take this picture of the river Darwen as we used it for training for Tough Mudder. We would run to this point and then wade through it for about a 1/4 of a mile to get used to getting cold and wet and then get out and carry on running. It did actually serve us well and was useful in helping us cope with Tough Mudder.

River Darwen

I finished the run in 52mins which I was absolutely delighted with as it beat my previous best time by 10mins. The other thing I was pleased about was that I felt no pain in my calves. I know it's early doors but I really hope I can stay injury free now. I look forward to Sunday mornings so much when I know I can get out on the trails and run. Being injured took this away from me and ruined my weekends. My plan now is to do a couple of short runs this week with a few visits to the gym and the pool.
Sundays are my long run days. What is your favourite day to go for that long run?

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