Skip to main content

Walking Pace


Traeth Bach
Eye worries apart, I decide I can’t sit around like Chicken Licken waiting for the sky to fall in so I take myself out for a run. It feels good, so good in fact that I discover when I check my watch that I’ve run my fastest 5k ever. 
Hmm, so much for taking it easy. 
But I also make time for plenty of reading; some new fiction and some old favourites too, like BB’s Little Grey Men and Down The Bright Stream, prescient depictions of a fragile English countryside irrevocably changed by human activity. Non-fiction draws me back to another comfort read, Roger Deakin’s Waterlog which is now on my Kindle so I can revisit the secret world of wild swimming whenever I like and his Wildwood which is a treat in store.

The weekend brings a visit from Rose and her husband Si so we decide to take a slow walk to the secret beach. Although the weather’s grey there’s a wealth of autumn colour along the way.

Mr & Mrs Fitz prepare for rain.
A precarious coastal path.

And an even more precarious descent!

But you do get the beach to yourself.

Well, almost!

All you have to do is climb back up.
Then it's a slow walk home for a well-deserved cup of tea and a big slice of home-made cake!

Comments

Clare Chase said…
Congratulations on the 5K personal best! (And I love the sound of the tea and cake at the weekend. And the walk, obviously!)
27 October 2014 at 11:17
Jane Lovering said…
What a fabulous walk! And tea and cake do no harm either. But do take it easy in the eye department, don't go looking at too many things... x
27 October 2014 at 11:18
mountainear said…
Very hard to rest your eyes when there are so many good books to be read and sights to be seen.
27 October 2014 at 11:45
Frances said…
Chris, congrats on the best time, but do take care! We are coming up to the time of the annual NY Marathon, so I should soon be seeing a lot of international runners appearing around the City streets and Park roads. (I will look both ways before crossing any of those Park roads!)

The pathway to the secret beach really does insure its privacy. Rather wonderful for you and yours.

xo
27 October 2014 at 13:57
Frances said…
Chris, congrats on the best time, but do take care! We are coming up to the time of the annual NY Marathon, so I should soon be seeing a lot of international runners appearing around the City streets and Park roads. (I will look both ways before crossing any of those Park roads!)

The pathway to the secret beach really does insure its privacy. Rather wonderful for you and yours.

xo
27 October 2014 at 13:59
Irish Eyes said…
I can only add to the foregoing exhortations to mind those eyes lady. Your powers of description are fabulous. We walk with you to the secret beach, although I an still awaiting my slice of cake - hope it's gluten free ;-).

The photos are lovely and what a wonderful asset to have on hand in that beach.

Hope you're not getting the winds we are tonight. Yak !

As always a blog to sit and sip tea, polish off a bis-quit as the Panda in the add calls them and relax with a wonderful read. Regards to Tom. Mind yourself and well done on the run-time. X
27 October 2014 at 16:24
Flowerpot said…
That's brilliant Chris - well done. And the walk looks fabulous too..... take care of yourself. x
30 October 2014 at 07:16
Chris Stovell said…
Thanks, Clare - we needed the cake after that!

You're so right, Jane - all this Looking and Gazing, especially at views, really gives those eyes a workout! x

It is, Mountainear! I'll just have to pace myself!

Frances, I've been looking at the results for the NY marathon - I also saw it was windy and cold. Hope you took care crossing the streets! Yes, we're lucking to have such a wonderful beach on our doorstep... well, sort of! x

I was thinking of you this morning I.E. looking across Cardigan Bay - a lovely sparkly start to the day but with a little too much rain across the sea to see you. Hope all is well there.x

Thank you, Sue - trying to, but like you not very good at resting! x
3 November 2014 at 04:04
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Winter's Tale

Thursday 2 December Feeling confined in her snow-muffled flat, Ma takes a walk up her front path to take the morning air. As she returns a cat jumps over the wall and startles her. She slips on the icy path and lands heavily on her shoulder. When her injury doesn’t spontaneously heal, she eventually gives in and calls her local GP surgery. In the evening a GP visits and summons an ambulance ‘sooner rather than later’. Around 10.30 pm Ma is admitted to her local hospital. X-rays suggest she has a fractured scapula which will require emergency surgery. She is put on a nil by mouth regime that night and transferred to a larger hospital for an emergency operation. However, she’s picked a busy period for her accident so the operation doesn’t take place. Saturday 4 December The operation is rescheduled for this morning, so Ma’s had a second night of nil by mouth. A CT scan shows that Ma’s humerus is broken in four places. Despite her obviously smashed-up arm, which is in a sling and...
44 comments
Read more

The Winds of Change

‘Good’, says my dear friend, Jill, when I tell her that Storm Ciara means the Llanelli Half Marathon has been postponed. ‘My guardian angel is working overtime!’. Jill’s guardian angel has indeed been very busy looking after her and her loved ones lately, so I’m impressed that she’s squeezed in a few extra hours to whip up a storm which will give me another four weeks to recover from my accident before I race. Bit tough on everyone else being battered by strong winds, of course, but yes, part of me is relieved. Llanelli’s one of my favourite races so I was reluctant to pull out, but a bit daunted by the prospect of running 13.1 miles just at the moment. My ribs have stopped clicking at last, but I’m afraid to sneeze without holding tight to the damaged area. So far as getting back to normal goes, my chipped front tooth has been repaired and most of my traumatised teeth have survived a ‘vitality test’ with electric pulp testing … which I have to say doesn’t half make you jump....
2 comments
Read more

Forever Young

Looking at the blurb for my new Lacura WrinkleStop from Aldi, I see that its active ingredient has been ‘proven to help • Reduce forehead wrinkles by 52% • Reduce crow’s feet by 24% • Restrict 82% of wrinkle muscle activity’ That’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Frankly, after years when my face looked like a lunar landscape thanks to the joys of acne, these days I’m just grateful to see a fairly blemish-free skin. Part of me wants to believe that the wonder cream’s making everything looking a bit smoother and tidier, but, hey, there’s also a lot of ‘aqua’ and ‘glycerin’ in the stuff, too. Besides, I could tamper with my skin as much as I like (and I don’t), but I’ve only got to stand next to my beautiful daughters to see the difference. Ma has wonderful skin, so the chances are there are some helpful genes in the mix, but my dad died far too young of cancer, so it’s not all good news. My dad was a carpenter. ‘You can’t get age from a tin, Miss Chris,’ he’d say when rubbing his hands o...
26 comments
Read more