2. The One Where I Ran Around A Field

25 July 2015

Since I had a BBQ to go to in the afternoon in Harpenden, I decided to get up there to avoid the hideous traffic that Saturdays bring and do my next training run near the closest Virgin Active to Harpenden.  This turned out to be Hemel Hempsted.  Despite extensive - some might say excessive - googling, I couldn't find any massively inspiring runs, so I decided to ask the receptionist at Virgin when I got there.

Fuelled by some Oatso Simple and a handful of raisins, I got to Virgin Hemel Hempsted about 09:30.  By the time I'd interrogated the poor receptionist with my list of demands ("I want to run somewhere for about two hours, preferably quite pretty, with some hills, and in an ideal world off road please") it was 10:00.  The receptionist had directed me to a "field" which, in the face of my raised left eyebrow and general air of skepticism, she assured me was really nice.  She also assured me that despite GoogleMaps saying that it was a good fifty minute walk away, it was in fact just over the road.

Not massively convinced, I set off anyway since I hadn't got any better ideas.  The first piece of good news was that GoogleMaps had indeed been drunk (as seems usual these days, even on a Saturday morning) and the field in question was only ten minutes away.  The second piece of good news was that they do not make fields in the country like they do in London - it was enormous!!!!  In London that'd be an entire common!


The aim of the day was to go at least 15 kilometres and preferably 20.  However, I was constrained by time because I had to be changed and at the BBQ by 13:30 latest, so I only had a couple of hours.  In the event, I tottered around the "field" six times which, together with the runs there and back, came to 18 kilometres.  It was all off road, which was perfect, except for the runs there and back, and was perfect for me for the day - undulating but not massively hilly.  It was also full of the most gorgeous dogs, butterflies, birds and flowers, and I absolutely loved it.  I did find the run itself incredibly hard, as I was shattered (probably I hadn't quite recovered from the run the week before) but I at least managed to enjoy it (and to scarf another Bounty Bar, which gave me an impressive boost of energy for the last two rounds of the field).

After the run it was straight off to the BBQ, a few drinks and more to the point, another burger.  The post-run burger is definitely a winner - can't go wrong!

Distance:  18km

Terrain:    Off road

Profile:     Undulating