First run in Paignton

Yesterday, I arrived in Paignton after a 6 ½ hour journey aboard a National Express coach, from London. I wasn’t taking any chances with the trains and didn’t relish the prospect of unloading all my luggage and stuff off of one train and on to another or a bus. So, I chose the most straightforward approach, and the longest. It really was an extremely long coach journey and we stopped at Heathrow for around 25 mins loading up dozens of people onto the coach until it was completely full.

When I finally arrived, I was met at the bus stop and shown around the school. I will be here for two weeks teaching EFL students and helping out at the school. Paignton really is a beautiful place and now the storms have gone, you can really appreciate the seafront and the stunning coast line. So, I went for a little walk yesterday, just to explore my surroundings and figure out where would be best to run.

Today, I ran along the seafront. Weather-wise, it really was a beautiful day, so I can’t really blame people for wanting to get out there and make the most of it. However, I was constantly dodging people, kids, kids on scooters (dangerous...), yappy dogs, running dogs, all sorts and sizes of dog and people and kids on bikes. I know, I know, it sounds a bit miserable of me.

However, the weather was so bright and sunny that in my perfect imagining of my run, I would just have been running along serenely and peacefully. Instead, I kept thinking I was going to trip over a puppy or that some mad child on a scooter was going to crash into me. On that note, whenever I have children, I am never ever buying them a scooter... So, the run had its good points and its bad points.

I couldn’t fault the scenery on this run or the weather. It was chilly, but incredibly sunny, which equals perfect running conditions. And did I mention the scenery was beautiful! However, on a ‘to be expected’ note, I had no clue in the world where I was going. I would run and then sort of stop and glance around me to figure out my next move. I was also slow. I could have carried on down the coast, but I reached the top of a very big hill and was facing some very steep steps and I couldn’t decide. A future note to myself is: If you can’t decide, do it anyway.