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Rita Mistry

@run-rita-run.bsky.social
18 followers 16 following 42 posts

Following the three Rs: Reading; Writing; Running. follow me at theleadlesspencil.org

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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
After 2 days of child-minding (oh, and a HM), I’m testing out my legs. Tired but okay for a jog, and pleasing to realise that I can plod gently up Rest Hill Road without dying. Although the HR average was a bit higher than zone 2, most of it was under 150 and it all felt comfortable on the lungs.
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Forest bathing with a gentle 4-mile run amongst scented pines. Hip/glute still an issue so I’ll need some advice, and as my half is only in two weeks, that is going to hurt. Plus getting menopause symptoms (broken sleep, hot flushes) since about two weeks ago 🤦🏽‍♀️ #runninginjuries #hemstedforest
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Last Wednesday I managed an official road PB in a 5K - some of these interval runs are evidently paying off theleadlesspencil.org/2025/08/20/h... #ellesmereport5k #5krace #halfmarathontraining #coffeeandrunning
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Half Training – Week Eleven: A 5K Race
Alright. It is safe to say that I know diddly squat about running and how to work towards anything. Last week I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself in my blog and then this week I pull off someth…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
A lot of thoughts and memories went through my head as i read this book theleadlesspencil.org/2025/07/12/j... #fantasy #jrrtolkien #cslewis
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John Hendrix – The Mythmakers
:The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien There is a poster on the wall in the downstairs toilet. It’s framed now but has the creases and watermarks from a long past and some ro…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Hay Festival - again it filled my cup theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/28/h...
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Hay Festival 2025
Anne asks me a random question. ‘Can you describe the talks we’ve seen with words beginning with “C”?’ ‘Why the letter “C”?’ ‘Because the first words I thought of all began with it, so I wondered i…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
West Highland Way In the Sun! theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w... theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w... theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w... theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w... theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w... theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/14/w...
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WHW:Day 1 – Milngavie to Drymen
14:23 miles (although it said 12.1 miles officially) I try to remind myself, about eight miles into what will eventually be fourteen plus miles, that I will get stronger as the days progress. That’…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/05/01/g...
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Glasgow
Stepping off the train in Glasgow, we felt for a moment that we were back in Liverpool. There was the same glass and iron roof that we’d left just a few hours ago, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/04/01/n... A cloudy day for our last day here, which was ideal for a run, but yesterday I did do some laps in the coldest outdoor pool I have ever put my toes in 🥶🥶🥶. #northcyprus
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/03/30/n...
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North Cyprus – Part Two
North Cyprus covers, roughly, the top third of the country. And given that it is squat and wide, you would normally be travelling across it between the east and the west. The northern edge is cover…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
A bit of travelling again theleadlesspencil.org/2025/03/28/n...
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North Cyprus – Part One
We are in Cyprus, taking a package tour of the Turkish northern part, although we did dip our toes in to the Greek part yesterday by crossing the Green Line in Nicosia for an hour or so. I don’t re…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/03/23/l... Well it turned out nice in the end! #liverpoolhalfmarathon #traininggetsresults #perfectrunningweather
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Liverpool Half Marathon
Sometimes, just sometimes, being bad at mental arithmetic can be a good thing. I was approaching the board bearing the number ‘11’ in large enough font for even the severely myopic, and I glanced d…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/03/16/h... A terrific morning for a club run #bordersleague #running #halfmarathontrainning
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HM Training – Week 8 of 9 (Borders Race)
I think I definitely put in some effort this morning because now I’m struggling to raise myself from my position of repose this afternoon. Race five in the Borders League series, was in sunny Capen…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/03/10/h... It was a very warm day to do fourteen miles yesterday 🥵 #halfmarathontraining #jeffing
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HM Training – Week 7 of 9
What do two women in their fifties who are steadily grinding their way through the ten-mile training run on a Sunday morning talk about? Needing to find a suitable spot for another wild wee (natura…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/02/28/r... We should have watched two plays on this trip, but sadly our Edward II had to be cancelled, so it was just Hamlet in the end.
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RSC: Hamlet – Back in Stratford
I know I shouldn’t, what with the crumbs and all, but I’m eating a pain au chocolat on the bed with a glass of red to wash it down. It’s a moment of decadence that I can enjoy while we relax, befor…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Having gone past this little carriage a gazillion times on my Stratford upon Avon runs, we have finally come to have a cup of tea in ‘Bobby’s’. #stratforduponavon #myhappyplace
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Back in our happy place #rsc #rschamlet #stratforduponavon #hamlet #shakespeare
The front of the RSC building in Stratford upon Avon
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Another terrific bit of fun in the mud theleadlesspencil.org/2025/02/09/h... #halfmarathontraininginprogress #running #runningwithfriends
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HM Training – Week 3 of 9
Clean before the race Every time I pull the laces tight, I wonder how I’m going to run in these shoes. The thin leather has just five millimetres of cushioning around the back heel, and there is ev…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Slow read this one - or more like two fast bursts with a long gap in between. theleadlesspencil.org/2025/02/08/r... #rebeccafkuang #yellowface #bookreview
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Rebecca F. Kuang – Yellowface
I’m fifty-one years old and I have just finished Yellowface. My age is critical here:  one, because the book was bought for me in 2023, and it’s only now that I’ve got to the end. two, because…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
I should have written this two days ago but life got in the way. theleadlesspencil.org/2025/02/04/h...
theleadlesspencil.org
HM Training – Week 2 of 9
A late blog for week two. That doesn’t bode well.  At least I, kind of, managed all my planned sessions during that week. I’m only on Tuesday of week three and I feel like I’m in a bit of a ti…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/01/26/h... #running #bordersleague #halfmarathon #halfmarathontrainingbegins
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HM Training – Week 1 of 9
Good things  I managed just over twenty-seven miles this week, and as I haven’t done that since the second week of November last year, I’m quite pleased. By virtue of two races – alright Parkrun is…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Memories of swimming in that hotel pool! But now, back to earth with a bump. theleadlesspencil.org/2025/01/19/a... #newyearsresolution #williachievemygoals #gottokeeptrying
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
The final days on the most amazing trip theleadlesspencil.org/2025/01/11/i...
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India: Days 11 and 12 – The Last Days
My brother-in-law, Bhupendra, said he really didn’t want to do it. He wore a grimace on his face that seemed to be reliving a past trauma, and I began having second thoughts about pushing the subje…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
theleadlesspencil.org/2025/01/04/i... #india #agra #tajmahal #agrafort #daytripper
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India: Day Seven – The Taj Mahal
I stood up close to a section of the makrana marble and tried to block everything else out. The thousands of painstaking hours required to shape the green, red and black stones and lay them into th…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Getting to meet just a few of the people living on the streets of Mumbai was intense but so interesting. theleadlesspencil.org/2025/01/02/i... #india #mumbai #homelessinmumbai #pehchanindia #kamlafoundation
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India: Days 4 and 5 – A Field Trip
Madhu sits on a mat on the ground and works away while she talks to us. Her eight-inch curved blade pushes down the thin bamboo strips as she weaves them through the vertical warp of her basket. Sh…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Not enough hours in the day to have a holiday and write a blog but here’s another one finally. theleadlesspencil.org/2024/12/31/i... #india #mumbai #elephantaisland #guruwalk
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India: Day Three – Elephanta Island And A Guru Walk
Well, so much for a blog a day, this is only the third one and we’re already into the second week. It’s New Year’s Eve all of a sudden. But that’s okay, it’s been a great experience so far, and I w…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
Saree shopping theleadlesspencil.org/2024/12/28/i... #india #mumbai #sareeshopping
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India: Day Two – Saree Shopping
First thing to note about being in Mumbai: Verify all information that is given as fact.  It hasn’t just happened with the staff in this hotel, but these are the two examples that come to mind stra…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
India - day one (a few days later) theleadlesspencil.org/2024/12/27/i... #india #mumbai
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India: Day One – Getting There
The plan had been to knock out a blog a day, but until now I’ve not managed to string much time together to write anything. It is our fourth day in India, and it has been an intense jumble of jetla…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
An early Christmas celebration, what with me popping on a plane on Monday. @nigella.bsky.social ‘s Christmas martinis. Verdict? Proper lush
Two Christmas martini cocktails
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
A little bit late, but this is what I thought of the two plays we went to see in Stratford upon Avon last week. theleadlesspencil.org/2024/12/18/t... #shakespeare #rsc #twelfthnight #theredshoes #stratforduponavon
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Two Plays from the RSC: The Red Shoes / Twelfth Night
promo posters from the RSC The Red Shoes Fairy tales in the nineteenth century did not have the Disney gilded happy-ever-afters that we expect today. In the original Hans Christian Anderson story,&…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Little by little I am starting to love this fell running lark - even if I can’t breathe on the way up and am petrified on the way down. When it’s not a race but a lovely gentle trek with friends, then it’s even nicer. #running #runninginthehills #moelfamau #fellrunning #wales #cilcain
Me and two friends starting our fell run. On a path with trees and fields behind us.Looking down the grassy path between brown ferns with the reservoir in the middle distance. Several of us runners huddled in the Jubilee Tower at the top of Moel FamauThree pairs of muddy fell running shoes at the end of the trip
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Rude not to when we are here on a Saturday. There was some beautiful scenery on this very flat Parkrun - not least the church under a crisp blue sky, but I had to get a shift on because we had a check out of 10 am. @stratforduponavon.bsky.social #parkrun #stratforduponavonparkrun #running
Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun bannerA view of the river from a bridge, bare trees in the back ground and boats on the river  Lots of runners waiting for the Parkrun to begin
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
A lovely little jog along the old train line path, past the church where Shakespeare rests. It’s a flat run which makes a nice change from my part of the Wirral which is a tad more lumpy.
Avon river with grassy field beyond upon which many swans are sittingThe view of Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried, with many grave stones in front. A little coffee place made of a train carriage and an extra out door seating area along the old train line.A selfie with a statue of Will Shakespeare
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
In our home from home @stratforduponavon.bsky.social , and in our happy evening spot, Vintner before we watch The Red Shoes tonight.
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Trying to embrace the head condom in my aim to get better at swimming - I’m having swimming lessons in my fifties - managed about half a kilometre. The key to this, as like everything in life, is getting the breathing right. #swimming #learningwhenyoureolder #andbreathe
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Our running club Christmas do where our London Marathon spot winner was of course awarded with a turkey crown! theleadlesspencil.org/2024/12/07/h...
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HRV and Club Christmas Dos
All the neighbourhood Parkruns are cancelled.  Anne and I are hunkered down in our living room and I’m watching the rowan tree outside wave its arms around like Kate Bush in Wuthering Heights.…
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Christmas has arrived in our house and I’m thinking I should partake of this indoor Christmas spirit instead of going out running in the wind and rain tonight 🤔 #runningmadness #christmasiscoming
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Rita Mistry @run-rita-run.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Sometimes, if it’s raining, you just need to splash in the mud. theleadlesspencil.org/2024/11/23/b...
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BA Cross Challenge – Sefton Park
Apparently, Storm Bert brought snow, wind and rain, and cut the power to parts of the UK and Ireland. Someone asked our team captain Rob whether the race would be called off. He just laughed. The o…
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