This weekend was a lovely sunny quiet weekend with lots of time for resting and reading. Both mornings involved a little run in the countryside at home first thing though, as a run just sets me up for the day. It wakes me up, releases all that adrenalin, empties my mind and allows me to be in the moment and really appreciate the important things in life. It also allows me to burn off some calories to partake in one of my other favourite activities, eating! I am sure if I did not run I would be at least twice the size that I am.
However, my runs are normally eventful and something usually happens on every run that stops me in my tracks and makes me think, and this weekend was no different!
Run number one on Saturday morning was around the nearby village of Bradfield and Dale Dyke Dam. A lovely 9 miles of pure beautifulness. Up and off early, no make-up, not a care in the world and I even forgot to brush my hair. Sunshine, lambs, moors, a traffic jam of sheep, streams, pretty villages and daffodils………………a gorgeous hour and a half to set me up for the rest of the day of relaxation!
Bradfield is a lovely little village. Very pretty, a few cafes and the area’s best brewery! I recommend the Farmers Blonde, Brown Cow and Belgian Blue…… I’ve sampled them all, but those 3 are my favourites. There is a lot of history here too, some of it not so happy. It is home to Dale Dyke Dam which when being filled for the first time on 11th March 1864 developed a crack in its embankment and burst. Three million cubic metres of water swept through the village and down the valley, flooding 4,000 homes and killing 240 people in what is known as The Sheffield Flood. Fortunately the dam is stable today and is so peaceful and beautiful you would never guess what went before.
Anyway, what happened today? Well, something that really amused me. I’m interested in people. I love to chat and learn about different peoples’ perspectives on life, interests, and, well, just people in general. So earlier that week, I had been interviewing for a post at work with one of my school Governors. In between candidates, we were having a good old chatter. He was talking to me all about spirituality and manifestation. Which led me to ask, “What’s manifestation?” Because I’m not really into that sort of stuff. Now, I’m a bit of a black and white sort of girl, I don’t do fuzzy grey areas. If there’s no scientific basis that you can show me that proves something, I’m not going to believe you and am very unlikely to buy into an idea. I’m a scientist and mathematician, show me the proof. I’ve never had my cards read or fortune told, I don’t believe in ghosts or anything like that. So he went on to explain manifestation to me. He basically explained it as the process where you visualise your desires and think aspirational thoughts with the purpose of making them real, and they will become real. Then he went on to give me a couple of examples of his own. Now, I was sceptical. My argument was that there was more than spirituality about it. You might have the thought, but surely it’s the action that you take which makes it come true, nothing else. For example, I’m a doer, not a going to do sort of person. If I desire something I find out what I need to do to achieve it and get on and do it, taking lots of small steps if needed. That’s what I’ve done all my life. I’m not manifesting, I’m just ‘doing’, because I’m a motivated and driven sort of person. There’s nothing spiritual about it, it’s down to the action. Surely you can think all you like, but without the action it’s not going to happen is it??
So there I was running along. It was hot, I was thirsty as I hadn’t taken water with it being a relatively short run. At numerous times during the run I had visualisations and thoughts about ice cream……..I often do! I wanted one so much to cool me down. Mr Whippy with chocolate flake, Solero ice lolly, my favourite pistacchio flavour gelato………any really, I just wanted an ice cream and had decided it would be my reward when I got home. I would call in the supermarket on my way back home and get an ice cream. Anyway, a visit to the supermarket was not required and this is why. I manifested an ice cream van!!!!! Yes, I got back to my Mini, and parked right next to it was Monty’s ice cream van. Well, I just could not stop laughing to myself. I’m still not sold on the idea and am putting it entirely down to coincidence but it did make me laugh and will have great pleasure in relaying the story to said Governor next week about how I actually manifested an ice cream van. You make your own mind up, but to me, that’s coincidence, not manifestation!
So that was the high of this weekend’s running. Now, for the low which literally did stop me in my tracks!
I’ve signed up with running club to be in a 10 man team to run the Barnsley Boundary Relay race. The race takes place on the route of the Barnsley Boundary Path, which forms a big circular route around the countryside of the town. It’s a 73-mile long, mainly off-road, trail route, and it is split into 10 legs with it being run like a relay. Duly assigned to leg 3 of just over 7 miles, I thought I better go and do a little recce on Sunday morning as this leg is right at the other side of town to home, and I have never run around there. I could see from the map that there were lots of places where wrong turnings could be made in fields so my plan was and is to run leg 3 a few times before the day of the race and commit it to memory, so that on race day I can just run, without a map, and hopefully not go wrong as my worst nightmare would be letting the team down.
I was very pleasantly surprised and it started well. The start is a bit industrial but you are soon out in the open countryside and it was much prettier than I thought it would be. I only took a few wrong turns which I’ll hopefully remember next time. There were cows, woods, pretty villages, bluebells (I love these) and fields full of rapeseed flowers. The latter was a bit of an issue as the route goes straight through the middle of a field of it and I am so allergic to it in terms of hayfever. I paid for it half an hour later and the rest of the afternoon so antihistamines will be required on the day!
However, shortly after the rapeseed field it all went slightly wrong as I fell down! I am so clumsy! There I was running through a dark wood on a little path. It all happened so quickly, one minute I was upright the next I was laid face down in the mud. I’d tripped up over an old metal fence post that was stuck up about three centimetres, camouflaged on the path. My second most spectacular face plant ever! Not quite as spectacular as my last one which needed a hospital visit and stitches, but impressive nonetheless and would definitely have got me a penalty on a football pitch. I flew through the air for a couple of metres and just lay there in shock for a moment wondering what on earth had happened. It had been raining the day before and was muddy so I had mud all up both legs, all over my skort, all up my arm and hands, in my hair…….everywhere!! So there was blood, sweat……but no tears. I did feel like crying because ouch, it hurt. You don’t bounce as well at 52 as you do at 12, but I put a brave face on and ran the last 3 miles. So now, I’m nursing a lovely black swollen knee. So the recce was worthwhile. Lessons learned: turn left not right at the first set of steps one mile in; take antihistamines before; beware of the fencepost sticking out of the path in the second wood!!
So there you go, the highs and lows of this weekend’s running, manifestation and clumsiness. So, how did I replace my calories this weekend, other than ice cream? No cake treats this weekend you’ll be surprised to know. After two afternoons of rest and relaxation the evening was an out to dinner night to try a new restaurant at Bradfield. Chicken liver parfait followed by seabass with chorizo, blistered cherry tomatoes, sauteed potatoes and lemon caper beurre blanc……………………………oh my, it was delicious! So good that I could not fit dessert in, which is most unusual for me.
