So this was my first mini adventure (not ever of course), running from Salford up the Rochdale Canal to Littleborough to meet a couple of friends for a run and a few pints down the pub afterwards. This route has the advantage that the canal follows the route of the railway pretty closely so it would be easy to escape if anything went wrong, like an injury playing up.
So I headed out from Salford and down onto the canal in Castlefield which I would follow all the way up through north Manchester and on up to Littleborough. I could see a storm up ahead and it looked like I was heading into oblivion it was so dark. Spend any length of time outside in north west England and any time of year, particularly in November and you expect to get a bit wet... I was about to get more than just a little wet!
It felt wonderfully silly to be setting out on my mini expedition into a storm, exploring new places I have lived so close to for so long but never been to. Manchester has such a rich industrial and cultural heritage that it doesn't make enough noise about in my opinion. The route of the canal shows off a great cross-section of the city - not all of it pretty by any means but so interesting passing all of these big old brick industrial buildings in various states of decay, some still in use and whirring away. The housing and old factories eventually give way to countryside and more and more picturesque locks and views. By this point it was absolutely tipping it down with a mixture of rain and hail which was just about hard enough to sting exposed areas of skin, and I was thinking that I should have brought a torch with me. All these factors may have contributed to be getting fairly convincingly lost around the M60 crossing where the tow path disappears - all part of the adventure! I did eventually manage to find the canal again after consulting Google Maps a couple of times and a stop off in an off licence (only for directions, promise).
I'm not sure whether I just kept running into the same storm, or if there were several different storms but I got comprehensively drenched at least 3 times. The advantage of all this weather was that there weren't may people to get in the way on the tow path, save the odd slightly very damp person out for a walk and some very silly people out angling. They must have been absolutely freezing sat there not moving - at least I was generating a fair amount of heat as I went!
It is a while since I can remember being outside during a thunder storm and I'm used to windows and walls dulling the sound slightly, so when there was the first flash rapidly followed by a very loud peel of thunder overhead, it almost made me leap into the canal! I quickly got used to it though and it made things just that bit more interesting.
After three hours or so running, I made it up to Littleborough and met my mates just in time for the sun to show its face. The took me for a lap of Hollingworth Lake and then we headed to the pub so I could undone some my good work with a pint or two of the local brew.
So is the anti-boredom strategy working? Well, lately during my long runs I have needed music to keep myself entertained which works, but that is really just numbing the brain to the monotony - not a proper fix. This time I didn't need or even feel like listening to any music - I was just happy pootling along and taking in my surroundings - a good sign I think!
I also used my newly acquired rucksack - the smaller version of the Inov-8 pack (Race Pac 16) i used for the OMM - as expected very comfortable and very stable with no bouncing around as I ran. Can thoroughly recommenced it.
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