May . . . the farce be with you . . .

[Sweder]

I’d spent the lion’s share of the afternoon wallowing in my foggy stupor on Jake’s self-supporting garden hammock. This could and would continue until around 9pm when I’d succumb to the inevitable and crawl, bleary-eyed and miserable, to my pit, so starting the week of afternoon nodding and late-night movie watching that is west-to-east jetlag hell.

Or I could get up, round up the hounds and hammer out a homecoming hillside assault on Blackcap. Huzzah! Salvation is at hand. The dogs had long since given me up as a lost cause. Their initial tail-wagging frenzy as I arrived home laden with suitcases in the early hours had waned, replaced by resigned slumps and the occasional heavy sigh. My announcement – ‘Dogs out!’ – and sudden, urgent activity brought confusion, wide-eyed incredulity before wild yelps and vigorous tail-thrashing. It was all I could do to strap on my runners and plug in my DAB Radio amidst the melee.

Half four on a bright and breezy Tuesday afternoon. The contrast in conditions with my last run, some 24 hours earlier in the Texan tropics, was amazing; I felt renewed, invigorated. Barely 10 minutes in I knew this would be the return to form I craved. My hills have changed in my absence, taking on a lush, springy coat, welcoming my footfalls with a lover’s tender embrace. Fields of bright yellow rapeseed, now glorious in full flower, illuminated the distant hills as if back-lit. Dandelions speckled the thick grass carpet; skylarks frolicked noisily in the wildflower meadows over Lewes. Where the track was worn to bare, dry mud wild blossom lay like confetti strewn to greet my return; natures ticker-tape. I was in my heaven.

I took a couple of walk breaks (Physician - Heal thyself!) on the tough climb through the thick gorse towards the brazier, on Blackcap’s skirts and again on her summit, pausing to take in the hazy view over Sussex and Kent. Homeward bound with the breeze in my favour I upped the pace, truly running for the first time in weeks. My thighs moaned, put out by the unexpected exertion, but my lungs, revelling in the oxygen-rich downland air, easily kept up with demands from the engine room. My heart soared; this is where I long to be, this is where I belong. No heartless concrete pathways or riverside asphalt can substitute for my beloved hills; I promise I'll not leave you for so long again.