Killer Climb

The cough and cold that dogged me last week, and persisted over the weekend, is all but gone. It left me feeling quite wiped out, and I might just invest in some multi vitamin and mineral tablets to take over the next few weeks in the hope that I won't succumb to any other nasties.
The forecast for today was looking reasonably promising, with colder weather on the way tomorrow, so I decided that today would have to be 'long run' day. My aim was 14-15 miles, and I arranged with my friend who works in Droitwich that I would run there, and she would give me a lift home.
There were heavy and persistent rain showers all morning, but by the time I left home at lunch time it was looking a little more promising.
Having considered my route, I discounted the dual carriageway from Rubery to the M5 roundabout as the path stops midway, and I didn't fancy my chances mingling with the traffic. On that basis, I chose to head towards Rose Hill, but hadn't taken into account two important points. Number one, it should be renamed. 'Rose' Hill conjures up images of colourful scented flowers and delicacy. In reality, it's a long, hard, uphill slog, and from hereon in I will rename it 'Killer Climb'. Number two, I hadn't realised what a very long detour that route is, and I was four miles in before I seemed to be heading in anything like the right direction.
The first of the heavy downpours hit while I was descending Killer Climb, but was actually quite refreshing!
From there, I rejoined the A38 and headed for Bromsgrove. Unfortunately this was the first of many places where the path simply ends with no warning, and I found myself crossing, and re-crossing the road to find the widest, least muddy verge. Not wanting to tarnish my shiny new trainers, I left the A38 and headed right through Bromsgrove town centre.
Mile 10 saw me pass Webbs garden centre, and I was very tempted to make one last diversion and order one of their cream and marshmallow topped hot chocolates, but I didn't think they'd be too keen on a sweaty runner polluting their coffee shop, so I carried on towards Droitwich.
13 miles in, I knew I wasn't far from where I needed to be, but my hastily drawn map didn't seem to match the road names that I saw, and every direction that I looked in appeared to involve steep uphill climbs. A quick SOS call to my friend reassured me that I was close to her workplace, and she met me on her way home from work. I crumpled into her car, and we were soon back home. (I only wish the journey there had been that quick!)
The best news is, my hideous blister hasn't been made worse again, so the new trainers are already worth the money. My legs and back are a bit achy, and the bottoms of my feet are a little tender, but all in all, I'll call that a good outing.
There's only time for two more long runs now before the big day. I can't quite decide if that's a good feeling!