2011 Daily Streak Day 2011/365 (Saturday July 30):Run - 3.66 miles, Time - 33min 58 sec, Weather - sun coming up in a clear sky with the promise of a hot day
Another day and another sunrise with the pleasure of being out in the empty countryside. On the run I am passed by a single van and the driver is the only person I see.
Sometimes on a run you feel enough at ease to look around, breath deeply and enjoy the scenery. On others you are more inside yourself as you struggle to keep going. Today was a mixture. I started out slowly and enjoyed the open spaces until I started to vary my pace: fast then slow. Breathing deeply very quickly became breathlessness.
It made me realise how unfit I am. With every increase in pace I felt heavy and clunky, and weak. I can only hope things get better in the future but for some reason I don’t have too much faith.
The main activity of the day was a 6 mile walk, which went through the village/town of Beauvais. As I had a blister I stopped to buy some plasters. Although there were two people serving and only two people in front of me it took an awful long time. One of the customers was an englishman, who spoke no French, struggling to explain the background of a complicated prescription to the pharmacist who spoke little English. The other was an old, very frail lady who needed a long, long conversation with her medicine.
I didn’t mind waiting, I appreciated the fact that here the pace was slower and things could take as long as they took. I was in no hurry.
When the old lady went to leave she walked towards the door and tripped the infra red signal to open the automatic door. Unfortunately she was so slow that by the time she managed to reach the door it had closed again. All she could do was wail that she was trapped. (It was a very short entrapment, someone rescued her by waving at the sensor).
I had to work hard not to laugh. I know it is a sad thing to be too slow for an automatic door but I couldn’t help thinking of it as a comedy sketch.
There are only three things in today’s picture: blue sky. a power wire, and swallows, but each has something to say about the village. First the wire - recently the power feeds in the village were buried, as part of the sprucing up that has happened over the past few years, however there are still wires connecting some buildings and out-buildings. It is part of the rough, rural look to the place, which is part of its charm. Secondly there are the swallows - this time of year there are always plenty of swallows. One of the small pleasures to be had is sitting out of an evening (wine or pineau optional), watching the swallows twist and swoop as they hunt their flying insects. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the blue sky, which is emblematic of the region. In summer time the light is usually fantastically clear with the sky a deep colour, making everything look better.
No comments:
Post a Comment