Signs and bulls

Dare I say it...I've started running again.  Not like a mile here or there on the treadmill- more like outside, against the elements, through very muddy trails, at least over 3 miles... a few times a week. There it is out there for everyone to know. Why is it a big deal for people to know or not know?  Because now I will have pressure. When people know you run they ask, "Hey, still running?" or "How are your runs going?" and for the past few years if people asked the answer has been, "Um, no, not so much, here and there, I ran more before the kids....." and I trail off the conversation hoping they don't pay attention and I then have an internal fight about how I should really run more because I enjoy it, but when can I find the time....on and on and on.  See what I mean? Now I've said it and in doing so it will help me keep running. Period.

I should state for the record that I'm not a great runner.  Meaning, my body just wasn't built to run. Flat feet, posture is lacking, I have to think about breathing, I'm not fast and I'm far from graceful.  That being said, I really like it. Mark got me into it 13 years ago and thankfully it has stayed with me.

Lucky for me, I found a friend here, Annie, that has just started to get back into it and we started running together during the week. AND lucky for me (insert sarcasm here), she talked me into a half marathon. Humor aside,  it is a good thing and it isn't until March. I've done half marathons before but it has been a LONG time. Today I ran solo.  It was nice, peaceful and perfect running weather- overcast and 47 degrees. Then I got lost. Not incredibly lost but enough to make me pay attention in the future.  There are several public footpaths that run around and on the Thames, some are clearly defined, others are not.  I took a path that was not well defined (still not sure how it happened). I ended up at a sign on a fence that said:

"ENTER AT OWN RISK. BULL IN FIELD". 

Looked around, I saw a field, no bulls, kept running, turned a corner, and OOOHHHH that is what they meant!!  Twelve feet away there was a bull (cow) with two babies and a few of their ginormous furry friends -staring at me like I was the beef for dinner. I quickly turned around and just ran to another path that looked like a few people had been on and quickly did a Google map search to get bearings. I was going in the wrong direction. Yup- that means back through the bull field I went. Sorry to say I did not stop to take a picture of them for your entertainment.  I was the only human out there and I was not wanted.

However, I did take a picture of one of the locks I ran through on my way back to my car.  I stopped on the top of the bridge to take a picture-and honestly just to shake my nerves a bit, think about life...

I also thought about the sign- shouldn't it have read:

"DO NOT ENTER. BULL IN FIELD"
          (that means you England newbie)

I'm not sure who the sign is intended for, maybe the farmers, maybe for people comfortable with running/walking/biking through live stock. Alas, I am still a city girl still trying to adapt to country life.


Cheerio!