Ignoring the fact I haven’t made a post since 2016 the title is a touch misleading.

Today was a getting back with the plan run targeting 3hrs/20miles and breakfast was in fact my newly discovered favourite of cinnamon & raisin bagel with peanut butter, the only way this could have been better was maybe bacon (‘cos that improved everything right?).

Last weekend I took an anticlockwise loop out and round the Coventry Way from Stoneleigh through to Wolston so this time I decided on a Clockwise loop that took in the section from Bedworth to almost Brinklow.

This loop starts very urban going through the city centre and onto the Coventry Canal for which ranges from Grim post industrial to surprisingly pleasant and takes the most tortuous route out of town possible.

The initial pace was a little slow but I’d have settled for slower, gradually picking up on the easy going canal finally breaking down close to 9/mile average in open countryside past Hawkesbury. The route then finds the Coventry Way near Bedworth & heads across to Barnacle and Ansty skimming the Coventry Canal as you pass under the M66. Crossing the canal again before making a bee-line along one side of the golf course to take the towpath again.

Stiles and gates and fresh ploughed fields had forced the pace down toward 9:20/mile average but I was feeling okay and pushed for a steady pace along the canal again, also knowing the return to town had a good few miles of road to chase times on later.

Off the canal just shy of Brinklow and taking the road toward the increasingly ex flattened Rolls Royce site at Ansty and a Bridleway over toward the hospital. Despite the steady climbing and not feeling too fast the average was dropping and I was counting down the miles and doing mental pace calculations in my head…. it seemed doable.

Pushing down (& up) Ansty Road the pace was back to 9/mile and 20miles ticked by exactly at 3 hours, pressing the lap button showed my instantaneous pace to be 8:30/mile.. not too bad.

Oh … and the cake? I’ve been mostly using Gu gels for several years and my most recent order has their 25th anniversary birthday cake flavour. It’s super sweet and vanilla sponge flavoured but sometimes that’s just what you need so I considered this my little treat on the way round.

(If I could find my ANT stick for downloading the route I’d put a link here…)