Bank Holiday Monday. We’d put our long run off from the weekend due to strong winds forecast and were looking forward to a different route. As restrictions have been lifted a little we’d decided to go a little further afield. It was going to be Dalby Forest but we soon changed our mind after seeing posts on social media over the weekend about how busy it was. Instead we headed to a tiny car park (max 8 cars kind of tiny) near Wykeham Forest. We’d plotted a route and uploaded it to my husband’s Garmin Fenix 5 (that is another post all of its own – how to plot and get a map onto the watch!!) that would take us north-east down through the forest, a very short section on road to pick up a footpath along the river Derwent before bearing right up a very steep hill back up into the forest.
The forest is nice enough, but my favourite section was along the river. It was just beautiful. Narrow tracks, uneven, rickety bridges over streams, nettles, briars, bluebells, wild garlic… it had it all. This is me in my happy running place.
And then the climb back up.
TOUGH!
This shows the elevation over distance of the run – just a bit of a steep hill then.
Once back at the top we picked up the forest roads again before choosing a narrow path through the trees. I loved this and we were laughing as we were running along. Then it all went wrong.
I stumbled. Momentum taking me forward I tried to get my leg out in front to save myself, but that foot caught on a big tree root bringing my leg to a very sudden stop. The pain was instant. Full length out on the forest floor, crying in pain, trying to work out what to do. Very little choice other than to get up! With significant help from my husband I was on my feet but couldn’t put any weight through my right leg. It took a while but he managed to get me onto the road before running on ahead to fetch the car. As the pain was severe and not subsiding the decision was made to get checked out. Pleased to say that it is nothing more severe than a tear of the quad muscle. Frustrating. I’m cross with myself. But now I need to focus on getting it better again.
Miles run = 7.8
a mile run 
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