Seven Miles in Needham Market Suffolk

At lunch time today on the way home from work I stopped off at Needham Market and parked the car at the Lakes. There were not many cars; those  folks who had ventured out  tended to be walking the dog at a hurried pace. However there were also number of hardy fisherman casting a line presumably for chub,carp or pike.

Needham Market is a small town about 20 miles to the south east of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Many towns in Suffolk built their  prosperity from the wool and  weaving industry. Needham Market was  more of a centre for wool combing the preparation of wool for the weavers.  However the black plague in 1663 to 1665 wiped this trade out for good along with a large part of the population. It is said that a chain was erected at both ends of the town probably as a warning to any passers by not to enter due to the plague rather than as a means to keep the locals from leaving.

The town of Needham in Massachusetts is named after Needham Market.

The weather today was breezy cool and there was some snow still on the fields and in the hedgerows and the sky was a mix of sunshine and grey clouds.

I did my seven mile run starting around the lake the first 2-3 miles being off road. This proved a little too slippery in the mid so I retreated into the centre of Needham Market before heading on the road to Stowmarket and visiting the village called Badley. 

I felt good for all of this run but didn't make any particularly effort so with some surprise I completed the run in a time of exactly 1 hour. This is an average pace of 8.34 per mile which is an improvement shaving off nearly 2 minutes from my previous best for 7 miles this year.
Perhaps my training is beginning to come good but I have a long way to go .