RUNNING EASY ON A SUNNY SUNDAY MORNING

What a fabulous end to the training week!  A good track session on Thursday and a solid 9 on the canal yesterday allowed me the reward of a "no pressure" 6 mile trail run up to the Upper Barden reservoir; starting off in bright autumn sunshine which was  bound to have attracted hordes to the narrow paths of the nearby Strid Woods below.  In contrast I encountered just 7 walkers and 2 bikers. 
  One feature of this circuit that I wasn't happy with was the testing uphill mile to finish. So I ran the circuit anti-clockwise, meaning that the first mile was downhill /flat to make for a good loosener.  Ready then for the 2.5 uphill climb up to and beyond the reservoir with a good runnable 2.5 to finish. Much better!
  Significant in several shots today was the smoke coming up from burning in the distance; presumably of heather or bracken.  I've been informed in the past that this practice can only be undertaken in the "burning season" , between October 1 and October 15 with a licence issued by Natural England . So with today's date of October 17th the burning witnessed was illegal.
  I  thought on the run was a great morning it would have been for those racing.  I had pencilled in the Green Drive 5 miler over at Lytham which I've run in the last couple of years.  But there are still plenty of good options left for the year including to good 10 mile possibilities at Preston and the Guys 10.
 So another week done totalling 46 miles. A return to the average for the year after last week's easier period.