Winter

It was like flicking a switch. One day it was 20+ degrees, shorts and tee-shirts, beautiful balmy autumnal conditions. Then the next it was down to 5 degrees, driving rain, sleet and snow on the high mountains. Winter is here. There is a high possibility of snow down to our level by the end of the weekend which means a fair dump higher up. The ski resorts will be happy!

However, there was a brief lull in the conditions yesterday afternoon which enabled me to have a bit of a hilly interval running session up the road which leads to the Col de Peguère. It wasn't a particularly scientific session as I had picked up my analogue heart rate monitor. The digital one which works with my Garmin Forerunner was left in the cupboard - doh! Consequently I didn't push myself as hard as I could have done but it was still a useful session, a distance of 3.5km with 425m of height gain. My legs and lungs appear to be getting strong again which is a good sign.

The views from the top were mixed. Le Pic des Trois Seigneurs almost managed to struggle out of the cloudbut the high mountains were still obscuredToday, we have had strong gusts of wind, driving rain and temps down to 4 degrees. It has been an 'indoor' day which I have spent applying another coat of linseed oil to the worktops, making bread and 'tidying up'. Let's see what tomorrow brings!