Midweek Run - 16km (...and an update on my week off)

dannewton just finished a 16.93km run, that lasted for 104 minutes.
This run helped dannewton burn 1330.0 calories.

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Description from Strava: Apologies for the lack of updates... I've currently in the middle of a rather enjoyable weeks holiday from work. I say 'holiday' but we haven't gone away anywhere, as money is a little bit tight at the moment.

Instead, we having been heading out on various day trips... there is still plenty of local places we haven't visited before, and a week without having to work is always a plus!

The first trip out was to Besthorpe Nature Reserve, out near Collingham (Newark) on Monday. It is a place that apparently used to be an Gravel Pit where heavy machinary extracted the raw materials. After that was completed, the land was turned over to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, who flooded the quarry in order to provide vital wetland habitat for local wildlife (SOURCE)

The weather was gloomy and overcast, and there was plenty of rain forecast later, but we were on holiday, and so decided just to take a chance and see what happened.

and as it turned out, the black clouds passed over just completely, and we didn't get any rain at all!

I'll be writing a proper post on this later, but for now I can say it was a lovley reserve. A decent size so there were plenty of different habitats (wetland, river, scrub, hedgerow and meadow) but quiet and out of the way so that for the most of the day we seemed to have the whole place to ourselves...

In the one of the bird hides was a diary left so visitors could record what they had seen we added the 14 species we saw while we were sat in there... lots of the usual suspects for a lake... but seeing several Grey Herons, and then a Spoonbill right in the distance was a highlight .

Well worth a trip out, and a reserve we will be returning to later in the year for sure!

After we arrived back home, I quickly got changed and headed out for a run (it is Monday after all!) Just becuase I'm on holiday, doesn't mean the training stops!

Mondays run was mostly a gentle plod up the bypass and back, but I did sneak in a couple of Hill reps in the middle just to make it interesting!

Tuesday was a day at home, to sort out a few things round the house. We also went to do a proper food shop at Morrisons Supermarket. I did some 'yoga' in the morning with my partner. It is something I have tried to incorporate into training recently, although I do use 'yoga' as a general term for a range of stretching and mobility exercises... there was Warrior Poses 1 and 2 along with a couple of other poses, along with the more generic stretches)

Later that morning I went out for a little run, just a casual loop to Branston and back. Once again rain was forecast, and once again I lucked out and avoided it.

technically they were small/short thunderstorms, but they are localized, so very hit and miss. Some places got drenched, and others stayed dry.

I stayed dry of course, although as it was so humid, I did get soaked in sweat lol

Wednesday was time for another day, and this time we went a little further afield by heading to Fineshade Wood. Managed by Forestry England, its a large and well established forest with a range of different trees and habitats. Its bigger than the usual reserves we visit as it actually has facilities on site (parking/cafe/marked trails). There are plenty of routes for walkers and also for cyclists

I suspect it gets busy at the weekends, but on a random Wednesday, it was quite quiet, and a pleasant place to walk around. Again I took a proper camera, and my little action camera as well, and there will be a proper post coming on that shortly.

And then for Thursday was some more stuff at home. We've had the survey come round to measure up for the new fitted wardrobes (to be put in in a few weeks time fingers crossed). We also finally sorted out the Front Garden. It had been looking a little disheveled and overgrown, so we managed to tidy it up and get it looking good again. Most of the time was spent trying to remove the brambles that had taken route on the right hand side of it.

RUN SCREENSHOT

And then later in the afternoon it was time for the run. This was the standard 10-mile route that has become a staple of my training in recent months. I pushed a little harder on this one then I usually would, mostly as I fancied a change of pace compared to the zone 2 heart rate stuff. It felt pretty good out there, although it was once again hot and humid.

And it is with that in mind that I am determined to set up the moth trap tonight.... the last 4 days have been warm and dry, and more importantly the temperature seems to be starting to get warmer overnight, gotta be worth a shot!

Tomorrow we will be heading back out, this time to a place called Scotter Common, which is a great example of heathland habitat apparently, and we will be looking for reptiles (its a good site for both lizards and snakes). I will of course be taking my proper camera, and the video camera, and we will see what we can find

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If you would like to check out this activity on strava you can see it here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/11698401184

About the Athlete: Living in the UK, I am an intermittent Runner, but always striving for more consistency. When I'm not training I can be found photographing insects or listening to really loud angry music (which is the best type of music obviously!)

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