Wednesday X-C in photos

After last night’s pancakes, I am happy to report that I managed to get through todays run without needing to pop into a bush or two. As the alarm went off at 6am, I was a tad tired. Fi had come home late from her book club last night and clearly had too much caffeine. After disscussing the progress of my book, she told me that I needed to run more races and do something more adventerious. Luckily I was sitting down at the time, albeit I subsequently could not get to sleep with all the race plans swirling through my mind.

 I was still dreaming of them as the alarm startled me into the land of the awake. I pulled on my tights, top and headed out the door with a coffee under one arm and a rucksack under the other. It was still dark as I pulled into Flitwick train station where I left my car, amidst the swarm of commuters heading into the big smoke for another days drudgery. 

I felt a little glee that they were commuting and I had at least two hours cross country fun in front of me before I turned back into a slightly smelly super solicitor bloke due to lack of showers in the office. I had my camera and took a few snaps of the commuters and station as I ran by, catching one strange looking women struggling up the stairs towards where I was standing. I knew I looked a bit odd but wasn’t expecting a complaint. Rather bizzarely, it turned out to be Niki Rouse from the club, on her way into London. Of all the people to take pictures of on the platform, it was her. I promptly apologised and said I didn’t recognise her with clothes on, which drew a few glances from the other commuters. She was in civvies and I have only ever seen her wearing running gear. I guess that’s true in reverse, including this morning as I was wearing running gear.

 I headed out of Flitwick, through the town moor and over towards Greenfield and then across country to Pulloxhill.

 There is a very large water tower at the top of the brow,that looks back towards Flitwick in one direction and Luton the other, which is where I was heading. I know the route very well and took every possible trail, with limited road running and at that point great views.

 I headed down the hill from the water tower on the other side, pausing to take a few snaps of the panoramic view in front of me. This is around the four mile mark and its about this time that the squirts hit, if they are going to make a guest appearance. They decided not to, as I ran past three places where I have stopped en-route before. I decided not to log my previous log stops on camera, even thought he physical evidence had long since gone. 

I carried on through a farm at the bottom and over even more fields, before reaching the outskirts of Barton Mill, which has been turned into a gathering of odds and sods shops which hadnt yet opened. 

I went through the grounds and for a time ran alongside the busy A6 heading into Luton, still feeling slighlty superior to the poor peeps in their cars. Will be me again tommorrow. 

Under the bypass and through a private road with a few expensive looking house’s. Some bloke in a very expensive looking Range Rover was about to shout, ‘’Gerrrr oofff mmmyyy lanndd’’, but I was away past him before he could pull up in his tank.

 Coming out of the security concious road, I turned right and started to cliumb up a steep, enclosed path through woods. At the top, I paused to look back, take a few more snaps and headed off towards a higher trig point above Luton Golf Club, still skirting around all the main roads into the town. By now, the wind had picked up and I struggled a wee bit through the course and up to the trig itself. At the top, Iooked back at the water tower to one side, uton directly in front of me and the magnificent views of the Hertfordshire countryside behind. I resisted the temptation to blow off work and instead, wound my way as far into the outskirts of Luton as I could before having to hit a few roads.

 I took a few more snaps of the cars and could only imagine what I looked like. There I was , standing very close to the road, cars going everywhere, wearing tight lycra running longs and top, rucksack, sweating,  somewhat dirty and certainly wind swepted clicking away at people in their cars as they drove past me. 

Having lost all sense of shame, I decided to run right down the high street snapping away at all and sundry. I eventually made it into work around thirty minutes late, tired, muddy but happy.