Running in the Herefordshire hills

Today I did my furthest run to date, a not-too-bad-at-all 20 miles! I'm in the country staying with my parents this weekend, so decided to to take them with me. Meet Training Team Hanky a.k.a my Mum and Dad

It was my Mum's first time on a bike for about 20 years (and I think her bike is older than she is!) So after a somewhat wobbly but hilarious start we set off in to the hills.

On my run I passed misty mountains and babbling brooks, fields full of horses - a few of which galloped alongside me as I ran past. A road kill mink, raft racers, crazy cars and sweet honesty boxes selling freshly cut flowers.

In stark contrast to my idyllic surroundings, my soundtrack comprised of NWA, Salt n Pepa and Method Man! I even tried my first carb gel - a tube of concentrated carbohydrates designed for endurance sports, which I can honestly report is absolutely DISGUSTING!

Unfortunately I hadn't calculated the route length very precisely, so when I finished my 20 miles I found I still had another 4 miles to walk to get home! By this time is was getting cold, and my sense of humour had started to wane, so I hitch-hiked back to Hay, and got home before my Mum and Dad to put the kettle on! (Passers-by are nicer in the county)

Tea, biccies and the telly post run. Knackered!