Mud, mud, glorious mud...

...or should that be glaurious?[1] Whatever, there is no doubt that being dressed for running gives one the perfect excuse to go out and get good and muddy with impunity.


Yesterday I took myself back to Auchincruive for my weekly tempo run. Last week's crisp and crunchy leaves were this week's sloppy slippery mess concealing puddles of mud beneath. Once I realised that there was no avoiding the puddles I relaxed and enjoyed getting good and dirty.


Last week, my legs had felt a bit dead and I didn't enjoy my run but this week, despite the trickier conditions underfoot, my breathing felt easier, my legs felt fresher and I enjoyed the run a whole lot more. I rather misjudged the timing though and the combination of failing light and slippery conditions underfoot meant that I really would have been better off with my headtorch in the shadier bits.


Despite this, I was a good half minute faster than last week and I'm sure had it been drier & lighter, I would have been a full minute faster. I'm still not completely happy about cutting my running back to four times a week but if my speed continues to improve on this route I'll stick with the plan.

For anyone in the area, here's my route.

Running though the middle of Annbank is less than ideal but overall it's a nice six & a bit mile route with some good hills to test your legs on. The big hill at about 1.3 miles is a small lane that joins with Brocklehill Avenue (presumably named after all the badgers in the area) in Annbank. Getting to the top of it without slowing to a jog is the challenge every time I run it. Quite how to define what "slowing to a jog" is something I haven't worked out yet. ;-) All I know is is that as long as I feel like I "powering" up the hill, I'm think I'm running. "Jogging" is when I've "given in".

After my run I remembered that I'd promised my wife that I'd pick up some oil for her car. Being a high-tech bit of German engineering, it meant I had to go the the main Audi dealer in Ayr by the Whitletts roundabout. Quite what they thought of having a smelly muddy man wearing not much more than shorts, singlet and mud cluttering up their nice showroom I don't know but they were happy enough to take my money. ;-)

[1]
GLAUR, n.1, v.1 Also glar, glaar, glawr, glair, glare. [glQ:r, gl:r, gle:r] I. n. Also in n.Eng. dial. Dims. glaary, glairie. 1. Soft, sticky mud; ooze, slime.