Monday Afternoon Ten Miles Richmond Park

In the afternoon, while I dozed, there was rain. So it was cooler and cloudier when I went out just after four for my second ten miler of the day.

Physiologically, though, it was a much more pleasant run. My muscles warmed up nicely and there was only the merest of tendon twinges in the left achilles and just a hint of soft tissue tenderness in my feet. Going uphill I savoured the toughness of the climb and on the downside I opened up and let myself fly.

I must have seen a hundred or more deer. There were crows by the dozen, and jackdaws and magpies and two woodpeckers and ducks and smaller birds I couldn't identify and one lone squirrel. There was blossom blowing in the breeze and some trees were budding and others were beginning to green.

Later in the run the clouds were starting to clear and there was warmth again in the low sun.

I did the run comfortably in 90 minutes and I'm feeling good. Now I'm going to shower and soon I'll dine on baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and smoked fish.