Weekend Long Run - 25km

dannewton just finished a 25.13km run, that lasted for 153 minutes.
This run helped dannewton burn 1949.0 calories.

Description from Strava: I went out a bit later this morning, My partner is heading back up to University to start the 2nd semester. I helped her to finish packing and put the stuff in the car. Only when she had set off (approx 11am) did I finally get ready for my run. Her journey would take roughly 4 hours, so to distract me from sitting around worrying...

I don't doubt her driving, I worry about all the other idiots on the road...

Anyway, lets think about something else. For this weekends 'long run' I chose to head back out along the Water Railway. I tried this route 2 weeks ago, and it was a nice little route. It is basically a path that runs along side the river between Lincoln and Boston, following the old railway tracks (hence the name).

For that run I ran in one direction for 45 minutes, and then turned and ran back home. Today was different, I wanted a longer runout so I decided to do 12.5km in one direction, and then to turn back for a total of 25km.

the path is 50km long so there's plenty of room!

I have to get to the path via the bypass, and after 3 miles I can take a small path off which leads on to the Water Railway. The view is pretty much what you see in the photo. A relatively smooth surfaced path, with a line of trees and hedges running along most of each side. There is water on both sides as well: the River Witham on one side and the Sincil Dike on the other. The Dike is like a man-made overflow section presumably to manage against flooding?

Dunno, but anyway, compared to my normal urban routes, this feels a bit more wild and interesting. There were all sorts of birds on the River: Swans, Ducks, think I saw a Grebe as well. In the hedges either side were Blackbirds and Robins and Dunnocks. I swear blind I saw a Goldcrest too, but that can't be right lol. The bird spotting helped to stop the long straight out-and-back route from becoming monotonous, and before I knew it, I reached the 12.5km turning point.

On the way back I received a text from my partner. She had only been on the road for 2 hours so I immediately panicked that something was wrong. I stopped and took my phone out of my backpack, and read the message:

I've stopped at the service station for a break and a brew (with a photo of a Costa Coffee)

I breathed a sigh of relief and continued running back.

The weather was a mild 5C. I thought about wearing a jacket today, and decided against it. In the end that was the correct decision, 10 mins after starting I barely noticed the cold. The pace was easy, and it was a pleasant run. There is a village called Bardney further along the route and a total distance to run there and back is 35km, which is a nice round number and something I think I will be trying soon as a stepping stone to reach the full 42km Marathon distance.

oh and I'm sure you'll be pleased to know, at 4pm I received a text: "I have arrived, and now starting to unload my car"

phew, now I can properly relax!

If you would like to check out this activity on strava you can see it here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/8465632694

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!)

50km completed for the week, which explains why I'm ahead of pace lol