Janathon Day 22 - Tatton Loops

I had run lot's of different combinations this week, the commute run, hills, even a run to the supermarket! What was left - loops, as today was the Gloucester 50K (4 laps) and some fellow Tweeters were running (@m8dkn and @marcusscotney). It was only obvious to run a couple of laps of the park in their honour. Another very windy day dawned so I decided to make the most of the light and run after lunch.

I drove up to the park after dropping my son and his friend at the leisure centre. I figured I would just start at the main gate and go in a clockwise direction. A rough loop is 4 miles, if you go berserk and go to the furthest reaches you can squeeze out as much as 7 miles. I aimed for something in the middle - 5 miles x 2 laps for 10 miles, that would be enough for today.

The first mile took me through an avenue of trees which lead up to the main house, the volume of mud had increased the width of the trail as more and more people had skirted the mud whilst out walking. The best option was just to plough on through. The wind was pretty strong but the sun was out so not too bad until I ventured out in to the open and then all hell broke loose. A torrential wind-assisted downpour gave me a good pummeling (good for the skin and cheaper than buying moisturiser!!). I skirted the edge of the children's playground where a few hardly souls with their kids were enjoying compulsory Sunday afternoon fun.

The next mile brought me out onto a small road section with the wind behind, these ended up as the two fastest miles of the run at 7:07 (Lap 1) and 7:03 (Lap 2). The path then splits either side of Tatton Mere, the right would take me back down to the start, the left, on through the trees. I took the left fork and now was off-road again and running over the very boggy grass. This route is very picturesque with great views towards the airport and the Peak District hills in the distance. I continued on and entered Dog Wood along a great trail and finally out of the side entrance to the park at 4 miles.

I figured this would leave me 1 mile on the road back round to my starting point. The path went over the railway line, briefly along the main road and then back under the railway line via a small tunnel and out on to the Knutsford Moor. The Moor is at the very end of Tatton Mere and the surrounding area had become very waterlogged. A quick up hill and I ran back through the main gate and 5 miles for 1 Lap. Off we go again I thought, the weather had calmed down and was now just windy. The stats in the end - Lap 1: 38:57, Lap 2 39:24 - another good run, I was tempted to do a 3rd lap but with the previous two half marathon distance days, I was happy to call it a day...

Stats

Distance: 10.02 miles

Time: 1:18:21

Janathon Total Distance: 223.16 miles

Streak Total Distance: 1846 miles