Yesterday afternoon I cracked it. I set out from Stephen of Glastonbury’s house and headed west out of the Glass Town to the Somerset Levels, which used to be the Sea of Glass.
Beautiful swans and a cygnet, budding daffodils, fluorescent cyclists. I used my Garmin to program a Jeff Galloway run-walk workout and ran walked 17 miles to Wells, down quiet lanes, dodging cars on busier roads. Along the way, I saw an articulated lorry distressed in a ditch, a swannery of a thousand swans who must go and ring the bell at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells when they want their food, a German girl who told me the way; a very Sebaldian moment.
A bottle of Lucozade and a bottle of water in Wells perked me up and I decided to run the five miles back to Glastonbury, rather than get cold and wait for the bus. Into Glastonbury, I half mistakenly took the Old Wells Road into town. Only half a mistake as I felt like an old Wells. It took me up a steep steep hill next to Glastonbury Tor. The pay-off was the majestic sunset view back west over the Somerset Levels, where I had spent the afternoon training.
I arrived back down in the centre of town, endorphin-crazed, euphoric and stiff-legged. After a glorious soak in a hot bath, we made a delicious supper of steamed brocoli with butter and salt and pepper as a starter, smoked cod stew with Puy lentils and carrots, cheese and celery leaves and sticks, pineapple and melon fruit salad.
More than the physical challenge, I now know what the mental landscape of 26 miles is going to look like.
Michael Wells's Blog 
what no pictures? how were the levels? Are you still in Glastonbury? Why not jog over here, not so far after all? You are scary with all this running stuff 🙂 big hugs xxxxx
Well done Mike! Tremendous and … possibly too much? You’re supposed to build up the miles gradually not leap from 9 to 17 miles! Hope it was slow at any rate, or else I won’t run with you again! mx
You’re in danger of becoming addicted to endorphins – it’s a slippery slope!
Soon…
Mx