Looking back

Today I went for a very easy run, along one of the first routes I did when arriving in Devon a few months ago. It is a nice route, which takes in some of the town and part of the Tarka Trail along the Taw estuary before skirting around a park and arriving at a nice village on the outskirts of town. Running it again with no set agenda or time in mind I was just freely enjoying the scenery and was able to think about how much I'd learned about this area of North Devon through my running over the past few months. I now know the town quite well, perhaps even better then some other areas I've lived in for much longer, because I have studied different routes and footpaths and experimented with different route planning techniques.

I felt really happy today as I ran too. I had the feeling that everything had slotted into place, and after several months of my running being controlled by a training schedule it was nice to be able to just relax and think about where I was running rather than how. I even had one of those weird sensations where you feel nostalgic for something you are currently experiencing rather than something you are looking back on as I thought about how perfect the environment around me was for running. I guess it was some part of my subconscious reminding me to make the most of the conditions in this area and to continue to appreciate them even when I become accustomed to running around here and the routes become second nature.