Today the schedule demanded that I go for a four mile run “off road”. So I dutifully donned my running gear after a productive morning and headed down to Burscough. The canal towpath is a pleasant run and something that I haven’t done in months. In fact, I think I last did it when I was starting out and running 3-4k’s maximum.

The weather was bright and warm for this time of year – six degrees! So a t-shirt and some shorts was sufficient. In retrospect, I probably looked like a nutter because everyone else I saw was wrapped up with coats and scarves, but hey ho, I felt fine.

The run starts on a soft gravel section. I quickly discovered that this was ideal for large puddles to form and the grass around the path had reverted to a vast sea of mud. I picked my way through this as best I could, thinking that one false move could end up with me in the canal.

After about a mile the path thins out and becomes a hard mud rut from people walking along the canal. This was fine for about 300 yards. Then I hit a sea of mud that went for the rest of the run until I turned around. Ground churned up variously by bikes, motorbikes, horses, walkers (and possibly the odd person running). With every step I was getting more tired, slipping all over the place and generally concerned that I’d twist my ankle or something else.

This video should give you an idea of what I must have looked like:

I finally made it back to the car after a much slower run than anticipated. The puddles that had looked like vast lakes on the way out now looked like nothing and I was just running through any old water and mud just to get back. My legs felt knackered and overall I was shattered.

All in all, I was happy that I’d done the run and I can see why they had a shorter run off-road than I’ve been doing lately. It’s really very hard.

Tomorrow the schedule says weights. So it’s another NROL break-in workout. I’m very glad that I’ll be giving the legs a teeny tiny rest. Not much though, those squats and lunges can be a killer.

Only four more days until the end of Janathon. You never know, I might just get to the end.