Back on the wagon - running in the dark

I'm back on the jogging wagon.  I fell off back in August when I went for a long weekend in a castle.  On my return I had a cold, so gave myself a break.  Then I was really busy.  Jogging in the evening kind of fell by the wayside.  I knew that if I wanted to get back on and do it, then I needed to do it now, but was getting a little worried by the darkness.  I live in a little village in rural Scotland.  The tracks are dark, the roads are dark, and all is dark and muddy.  Egged on by Seaside Belle I decided to just go for it with a head torch.

This image stolen from http://fasteruphill.com (great blog)

This evening I did.  The whole route is fine with a combination of head torch for cloudy nights on the footpaths, for picking up the dog's you-know-what and for letting vehicles know we are there, and night vision for moonlit nights and the road sections.  With one exception.  There is a stretch of track which links the golf course and the village.  Even during this summer there are places where it is ankle deep in mud, and there are overhanging brambles and the occasional conifer branch.  Now that autumn has set in, the mud is even deeper, the puddles bigger and the whole lot more slippery.  To avoid this 200-300 metre stretch means adding at least a mile to my route, which I'm not ready for yet.  So I think I'll just walk this bit.  That will give me time to pick my way through the worst of it by torchlight.  

I'll be back in a couple of months to let you know how I'm getting on with the running and the route once the snow and ice settle in!