Sunday 30 June 2013

Lode 10k again this morning.  The grass on the Lodestar field is now quite long and so is the stretch along the ditch just after.  Will probably need to take a break from this route until the grass is cut - the problem is knowing when they've cut it.

Skylarks and Lapwings seen in the field after Lodestar.  A Green Woodpecker seen too.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

A shorter run today after 2 weeks off on holiday.  A 5-mile route to Lode village and back.

The pair of Swans still have their 6 cygnets.

Thursday 6 June 2012

A run along the familiar Lode 10k route this morning.

Friday 31 May 2013

It's been 10 days since my last run, so I really need to get back into the habit.

A 10k run to Lode today.  The weather was cool for May and a bit misty.  The course was rather muddy in places due to the recent rain.

A Grey Wagtail was seen at the pond in Quy.  A Heron and the Swan family with 5 cygnets were along Quy Water.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen flying along Fen Road.  Otherwise several Whitethroats seen/heard and a few House Martins, Swifts and Swallows.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

A morning run along my usual Lode 10k route.  The weather was cool but dry.  There was no dew so the section with long grass was dry underfoot.

The pair of Swans were seen on Quy Water with at least 6 small cygnets.  A hare was seen at the end of the bridleway.  A few House Martins and a couple of Swallows about.  Otherwise nothing of note to report.

Wimpole 10k Hoohaah

A rather warm morning for this 10k run.  The ground underfoot was pretty dry, with just a few avoidable puddles.  With some steep hills the temperature soon tired me out.  I achieved a reasonable time of 49:51.

A Chiffchaff was heard in the woods.

Thursday 16 May 2013

A good run along the Lode 10k route.  The grass is getting quite long on stretch along the ditch after the Lodestar fields and was very wet with the dew this morning.  Weather was bright and fairly warm.

A few House Martins were seen in Vicarage Meadow, Station Road and in Lode.  A few Whitethroats and Skylarks heard.  A pair of Grey Partridges were in the field at the end of the bridleway.  A Kingfisher flew across the pond in Station Road on the way back and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen a bit further on.

As I got home 2 Little Egrets flew over.

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Back after a couple of weeks of no running, although I did a fair amount of walking last week in Poland.

A short 7km run this morning to Lode Mill.  The conditions were good and the ground was pretty dry.

A Barn Owl flew across Station Road as I returned.

Thursday 25 April 2013

Due to overnight rain I avoided the potentially muddy areas and ran the 9km route through Bottisham to Lode Mill and back along the old railway line.

A Collared Dove was seen sitting on a nest on the side of a house in Lode at the same spot as last year.  Several firsts for the year today:
- Several Whitethroats heard (1 seen);
- Blackcap heard, where the track from Lodestar joins the old railway line;
- A male Bullfinch seen along the old railway line;
- 2 House Martins in Vicarage Meadow.

I also saw or heard, a Kestrel, 2 Swallows, several Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, Long-Tailed Tit, Geat Tits, Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Chiffchaffs and Skylarks.

Tuesday - 23 April 2013

A very mild morning.  I ran the Lode 10k route today.  All the tracks were very dry.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming in Main Street, Quy.

Sunday 21 April 2013

Good conditions this morning. I ran the 10 mile route along Heath Road to the Wilbrahams and back through Teversham Fen.  Apart from one short stretch along Little Wilbraham River where the path was still flooded it was pretty dry.

There were a lot of birds in the hedgerows along Heath Road, including a Corn Bunting, Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, a Meadow Pipit, Linnets and 2 Wheatears.  A Buzzard was seen here too and a Hare.

A Chiffchaff was heard on arrival in Great Wilbraham and 2 more at Little Wilbraham Fen.  4 Swallows were seen and a male Marsh Harrier was soaring over the reedbeds at Teversham Fen.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

A cool morning with the ground slightly damp after light overnight rain.  Today I ran the 8-mile route to the end of White Fen Drove.

A lot of wildlife was seen this morning:-
A Heron, Several Moorhens and a Swan along Quy Water.
A pair of Lapwings just before Anglesey Abbey - chasing off a Crow.
2 Green Woodpeckers heard (one seen) at Anglesey Abbey and another on the grass of the field along the track parallel to the railway line.
2 Chiffchaffs heard at Anglesey Abbey and another at Quy Hall.
A Jay was seen at Lode Mill.
A Fox walked across the road along White Fen Drove and a Hare was seen here too.
A Buzzard flew off from a telegraph post along the track to Lodestar.
2 Roe Deer were in the fields after Lodestar.
A Great-Spotted Woodpecker was seen in Station Road.
Also several Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Wrens, Dunnocks, Yellowhammers, Blue and Great Tits either seen or heard.

Ickworth 10k Hoohaah - Sunday 14 April 2013

A return to the site of my first ever competitive run for the Ickworth House 10k.  This is a wonderful National trust property in Suffolk.

The temperature was good for running but there was a strong wind.  The wind really made itself felt at times, to add to the complication of the 2 steep hills.  A further complication was the amount of mud along the stretches through the woods.  It was really hard to stay on your feet at times and this slowed me down a lot.

The run started off at a quick downhill, tail-wind pace of 4.04 for the first km and 4.17 for the second.  At the worst point my pace was down to 6.04 for the fifth km.  By this point any chances of a good time were well and truly gone.  I finished in a respectable 29th place (out of 207) in a worse time (by just 5 seconds) than my first run in 2008 of 52:03.

I heard my first Chiffchaffs of the year today and a Nuthatch.

Friday 12 April 2013

An early morning run round the Bottisham loop today.

A Buzzard was seen in Albert Road.

Tuesday 9 April 2012

An afternoon run today (after a visit to the dentist).  I ran the Lode 10k route.

This afternoon I saw my first Swallow of the year over Quy Water just before Anglesey Abbey and a bit further on by the bridge into Anglesey Abbey my first Kingfisher of the year.  I saw a Jay here too.

Sandy 10 - Sunday 7 April 2013

Good conditions today for the 10-mile Sandy 10 race.  This year was the 30th anniversary - so all runners received a free bottle of commemorative ale.

A decent run in a time of 1:18:25.  This was my second fastest time for Sandy 10 (out of 4 runs).

Thursday 4 April 2013

Not quite so cold this morning and no sign of frost, so today I avoided the muddy route and ran the road-based Bottisham loop.  Decided to try for a faster run and managed to keep my pace below 5 minutes for each km.  Finished in a PB time of 41:35.

A few Fieldfares were in the bushes along the Newmarket Road.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

A very cold and frosty morning, so I took the opportunity to run along Quy Water to Lode.  The mud was frozen solid so a nice clean run along the Lode 10k route.

A Green Woodpecker was heard at Anglesey Abbey and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming near the bridge at the back entrance to the Abbey grounds.  2 Grey Wagtails were at Lode Mill.  A Kestrel and a Grey Heron were seen along Fen Road.  A few Fieldfares were along the track to the Lodestar fields and Skylarks were heard over the fields after the little bridge.

Sunday 31 March 2013

Today I ran the basic 14.2km Heath Road route, I didn't want to endure the slippery mud of Teversham Fen again.  Conditions were much the same as Friday.

A Buzzard flew over the Newmarket Road at Bottisham.  Again several Yellowhammers and Chaffinches and 2 Hares seen in a different field. 3 Kestrels seen in various places.

Friday 29 March 2013

I tried a new route today, taking the Heath Road byway from just past Bottisham to Great Wilbraham.  This is a really good wide grassy track with some nice up and down hills.  The track was pretty dry.  The planned route was 14.2km but when I got to Little Wilbraham I decided to extend the run through Teversham Fen, making the total distance 16.4km (just over 10 miles).  This latter part of the run was very muddy and almost impassable in one place where the Little Wilbrham river had overflowed over the path.  Despite the mud this is a very scenic route along the meanders of this chalk stream.

Along Heath Road there were several Yellowhammers and Chaffinches.  2 Hares were seen just after the 6km mark.  At Teversham Fen 2 Teal flew up from the stream and a Kestrel and male Marsh Harrier were seen.

Tuesday 26 March 2013

This morning's run was again along the Lode 10k route but with the addition of White Fen Drove.  Just under 8 miles in 1 hour 6 minutes.  The weather was cold and windy.  The tracks were not too muddy as the ground was frozen.  The wind appears to be drying out the tracks a bit.

2 Mute Swans, 2 small ducks (probably Teal) and several Moorhens and Mallards were seen along Quy Water.  3 Green Woodpeckers were seen or heard (in the horse field at Quy Water, at Lode Mill and along White Fen Drove).

Several Reed Buntings seen along Quy Water and White Fen Drove.  There were 2 Grey Wagtails at Lode Mill and 2 Kestrels at the Jack of Clubs.  It's good to see the birds pairing up for Spring.  A Grey Heron was seen along Bottisham Lode and a Buzzard flew over the railway track.

Several Tits, Yellowhammers, Blackbirds, Chaffinches and Dunnocks seen too as well as a Song Thrush and Fieldfare.

Sunday 24 March 2013

A cold run along the Lode 10k route today.  The ground was covered in snow and very fine snow was still falling.  The paths/road very a little icy in places at the start, but the tracks were not too muddy due to the snow covering.  Despite the continual light snow, the roads/paths had cleared of snow by the time I returned the Quy.  The temperature must have been just high enough for a thaw.

2 Roe Deer were seen along Fen Road.  The deer bounded off across the Lodestar field as I approached.  There were 2 Grey Herons here too.

Thursday 21 March 2013

A road-based run to Bottisham this morning.  Weather was dry but cool.  A reasonable time of 44'05".

A Buzzard flew across the Newmarket Road.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

An 8-mile run to Horningsea this morning.  The weather was very misty but not too cold.  The tracks were quite muddy in places.

Not a lot of wildlife to be seen today due to the mist, but a Grey Heron was seen flying low passed Horningsea and a Green Woodpecker was seen along the bridleway.  Several Chaffinches around and a lot of Rooks in Quy.

Sunday 17 March 2013

A very muddy Lode 10k run this morning.  The weather was fry for the run (apart from 5 minutes or so towards the end , when there was a light drizzle), but the ground was very muddy following recent rain.  It was particularly hard work along Quy Water - very slippery.

Skylarks were seen and heard in the field after Lodestar.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

A steady 10k run to Lode as I'm feeling a bit under the weather.  It was cold and frosty, although it was quite a bit warmer coming across the Lodestar fields.

A Jay was seen in Station Road, Quy and a Moorhen and Coot were at the pond.  Along Quy Water there were several Mallards and Moorhens.  " Green Woodpeckers flew across the track at Lode Mill into the grounds of Anglesey Abbey.

2 Reed Buntings were in the ditch after the Lodestar fields.  A flock of about 15 Lapwings flew over the railway track.  Yellowhammers, Wrens, House Sparrows, various Thrushes and Chaffinches were also seen.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

An 8 mile run to Horningsea today.  The tracks are still generally fairly dry, except the end of the bridleway.  Finished in 1 hour 08:30.

A Buzzard was seen perched in a tree at Honey Hill.  About 150 Fieldfares were in the field just before the pink house.

A Reed Bunting was in the ditch from Horningsea towards Quy Fen.  Just before Quy Fen 3 Roe Deer were in the field to the North.  A Hare was seen just passed Allicky Farm.

Sunday 3 March 2013

Today I ran the Lode 10k route with the extension of Quy Fen and Allicky Farm.  Just under 8 miles in 1 hour 08:32.

Skylarks were heard just before Anglesey Abbey and again in the fields after Lodestar.  A sparrowhawk flew across the track just after Allicky Farm and a Kestrel was seen in Station Road.

Saturday 2 March 2013

Cambridge parkrun.  Conditions were good wit the tracks being farily dry.  My best time this year at 22:20.

Sunday 9 December 2012

The 9 mile route to Swaffham Bulbeck.  Again windy coming back - finished in a slightly slower time of 1 hour 17:57.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

A morning run to Bottisham again.  A slow time today of 48:23.

December 2012

During the winter months the choice of routes is restricted due to the dark mornings, wet tracks and icy paths.  I managed the following runs in December:

2 December 2012 - Swaffham Bulbeck, with the inclusion of a loop up the hill at Quarry Lane, a total of 9 miles.  Again a strong head wind coming back to Lode, but a faster time than last week as 1 hour 17:07.

4 December 2012 - A morning run to Bottisham again.  A slow time today of 48:23.

9 December 2012 - The 9 mile route to Swaffham Bulbeck.  Again windy coming back - finished in a slightly slower time of 1 hour 17:57.

11 December 2012 - Still too wet to go anywhere other than along the road/cycle paths so the usual Bottisham loop.  A good time of 45:09.

15 December 2012 - In the hope of seeing some Waxwings (failed unfortunately), I ran along Newmarket road past the airport and then back through Fen Ditton.  Just over 6 miles.

16 December 2012 - Swaffham Bulbeck again in a good time of 1 hour 13:07.

18 December 2012 - Bottsham Loop - 45:07.

23 December 2012 -  Swaffham Bulbeck - 1 hour 16:01.

26 December 2012 - Bottsham Loop - 41:55. A new PB for this route.


30 December 2012 - Swaffham Bulbeck - 1 hour 13:39.