Life up't North

Have been in Glossop for about 6 weeks now...first month entailed 3 separate trips to London to finish off my old job (with Easter and all the bank holidays in the middle) so really it only feels like I've been here a couple of weeks. And my running shows it! I've managed a few short runs to get my legs back into thinking about running, mostly need to get them adjusted to the hills. Running in London is not only tedious but relatively flat, and nowhere near what defines the fells of Derbyshire.

So here's a link to my first serious training run with Glossopdale Harriers - I'll write a separate blog about that run. Glossopdale - first training run by cyclopsrunner at Garmin Connect - Details

Previous to this I've sauntered up to the shooting cabin on Chunal Moor and bashed across to Wormstones - a nice run which included a fair bit of walking on anything going uphill.

view of Wormstones and shooting cabin from Kidd Road

On Monday I did about 7km up to Shelf Benches and back round Shirehill - all on track/grass so no real challenge with the terrain but it was the first outing in my new INOV8's. They felt good, surprisingly good. Not a single pinch or rub which is great; fingers crossed they'll stay that way.  My other shorter runs have been about exploring my new local area, working out where the network of paths immediately out of Glossop end up.

What I love about being up here is that you are out in the hills immediately. And there's so much to see - which can be quite distracting when I'm supposed to be focussing on running and training. But hey, if you can't pause to soak in the view or the wildlife what's the point. So far I've seen nesting buzzards, hares, curlews, lapwings with their very distinct calls, geese a plenty and a cuckoo...plus all the usual bird suspects!