Homeward Bound

I was struggling yesterday to work out how to go about doing my long run and fit in all the other things I had to do today. It was one of my friend's kids' birthday party today in Radcliffe which, for anyone who knows me, is where I'm from and where my parents live. I decided that I'd just run to Radcliffe and that should solve the problem. Duncan and my brother were spending the day going round various bike shops so I told Duncan to meet me at my mum and dad's after he had dropped my brother off, who also lives in the Radcliffe area.

I set off from home and headed up Chorley Old Road, turning left at Doffcocker Roundabout and heading out to Crompton Way. I ran all the way along Crompton Way and then out onto Bury and Bolton Road, through Bradley Fold and into Radcliffe. I tried to turn right at Cams Lane School to go over the canal towards Sion Street, part of the route of the Radcliffe 10k but part way down to the canal there was a sign saying the bridge was closed. I'm not sure if it was an old sign or whether the bridge was indeed closed, but rather than run further to find out, I turned back up to the main road. I cut through over the canal just past the Tesco Express and ran down into Radcliffe Asda (where I bought the presents and card for the party I was going to - talk about last minute). My mum and dad's is only a few minutes away from Asda so I put the presents in my rucksack and continued on my way.

I was pretty knackered by the time I got there and for some strange reason my left heel is still hurting but I quite enjoyed the change of scenery, even though it was a road run. It's weird because the thought of running from the far side of Horwich to Radcliffe in my head is a really long way, but it's only actually the same distance as if I ran from home to the Pigeon Tower and back three times, which really doesn't compute in my head.

Total distance - 12.4 miles (much less than expected to be honest)

Week's total distance - 29.25 miles (still not as much as I hoped to get in this week)