The beginning of the end?

Sorry, Blogger wants the photos before the text....

And so, my cold has dragged on. 3 weeks now. This weekend I ran anyway but needed to breathe through a mound of gunk that gradually made its way out my nose or down my throat. I’ve become quite adept at the ‘footballer spit’, but I wouldn’t recommend visiting Folkestone Leas for a few weeks!

I’m glad to report that today (Tuesday) was a snot free run. It was also coincided with a clear, sunny day which made for great running conditions. There was a stiff breeze, but I planned my route carefully to shield myself on the way out and be exposed to the elements when it was behind me.

Part of the run took me through woodland. It was amazing being among the newly denuded trees; gold and red leaves scattered across the muddy trails and stark branches reaching into the sky, casting shadows along the path.

My feet made soft, crisp sounds as they crushed the fallen leaf litter beneath their soles. Mud sprayed up my legs and squelched noisily as it splashed out of the boggy puddles. At one point I found a rope swing and stopped to do a Tarzan impression. I revelled in the fact that, apart from the birds looking on quizzically, I was the only person around.

From the woodland I headed down to the canal and then on to the sea. Huge trucks were ferrying shingle from one end of the beach to the other. Giant diggers scooped up the pebbles and dropped them into the backs of the yellow monsters that carved out tracks along the shore.

Every year the sea carries the stones from Hythe along to Folkestone with the prevailing south-westerly winds. There are no groynes to stop the movement and therefore they have to be physically replaced.

I arrived back in the office having completed 8.3 miles in just over an hour. I felt good until after my shower when I felt a sharp pain in the ball of my foot. It had been sore for the last few days, but I hadn’t felt a thing on my run. Now I can barely put my weight on it. Dr Google suggests it may be metatarsalgia. A condition that means the bones linking the ankle and the toes are injured or inflamed.

As always rest is encouraged.