Training

All over the country running clubs train on Tuesday nights.
Some of them run on streets, in parks, round and round tracks.
Tonight we did 300m reps on the beach at Goodrington, with the evening sun turning the red sand to gold and the bay a steely blue all the way from Hopes Nose on one side to Berry Head on the other.
A red-sailed vintage Brixham trawler went across the bay from right to left and then went back again. Herring gulls squabbled in the storm water outflow and two blackbacks ambled around over the shallow breakers.
Lucky buggers, aren't we?

Happy Birthday Nanna

Nanna's birthday today, so we celebrated her entering her 40th year with a couple of pints at the Torbay Inn after running.
The Torbay is a great back street pub with decent beer not costing a fortune, and a nice atmosphere where you can tell a few tall stories and have a laugh without upsetting anyone unduly. South Devon AC has kind of adopted it as home base, and they don't seem to mind a load of unkempt slobs in hoodies piling in every now and then.
There were plenty of tall stories tonight, with Mrs H, Mr Fangio, the Caerphilly Kid. DIY Dave and Nanna on top form.
I don't suppose Haile Gebreselassie goes for a couple of pints after running, then scoffs beans on toast at 11pm, but it's what we do.
It was a good run, too. Nothing hurt and I didn't feel like throwing up at the end, which has been a problem for the last few weeks.
We went out through Waddeton then round to Galmpton and back. About six miles with a couple of beastly hills in the middle. It was hot and heavy, but the severe weather warning I posted on the website this afternoon came to nothing.
There were skylarks and swifts in the fields, big ginger South Devon cattle peering over the hedges and a couple of horses racing round their paddock as we went by, just to keep us company.
It was the kind of spring night that reminds you why you go running.