Run in the Sun

The day started early when I was ripped from my warm bed at 5.45 am, I pushed the snooze button and finally wrenched myself from under the duvet and shuffled to the bathroom. Downstairs I got dressed, had a cup of coffee with a banana and was out of the house by 6.15 am. George was soon in the car to arrive at Michael's with the ominous view of the curtains closed and no sign of movement. After a dainty rap at the door a bleary eyed Michael soon opened up still in his pyjamas!!!

He had been partying all night and was soon forgiven when he appeared kitted out and ready for the run 10 minutes later. Even at 6.45 am it was still very warm and we ran off on our planned 22 mile trail run along Stage 2 of London to Brighton.

The run itself was pretty uneventful but was still a very beautiful route taking us through High Elms, Tatsfield, over the ridge into the North Downs and into the Wealds of Kent over the M25 and towards Limpsfield Chart our turn around point. On our return we were soon to be dodging from shaded areas, I for one was making sure I had a hedgerow between me and the Sun and preferring to run under the shelter of trees.

We soon returned from our trip which as always full of banter, mild ribbing of each other and with many subjects covered to be invited in to Michael's home for cool glass of water, a cup of sweet tea and a great BIG chunk of raspberry cheese cake with loads of cream.....a perfect ending to a hot, gruelling training run which was just short of 22 miles.

BTW I am really pleased having just passed 800 miles for the year and 56 miles this week (same distance as the London to Brighton!)

I really (k)needed this.

Pardon the pun dear reader but it really has been great to get my knee thing solved, well not completely but dramatically improved. I have had these pains around the area of the inner part of the knee joint, sometimes at the top of the shin other times in the quad muscle. The pains have been quite uncomfortable the day after a run when walking up and down stairs.

The Solution has been to ensure I do a full set of stretches after each run, you will be surprised to hear that it wasn't so much the quad and knee that needed stretching off but a set of groin stretches seem to almost immediately dispelled the tightness around the knee area.

It's no Picnic

What with the fast approaching 3 Peaks Challenge I have with great regret pulled out of the Picnic Marathon on 20th June 2009. I think it is for the best as I honestly think I could do myself some harm on the run as it is a real toughy and my heart is set on the Faversham 6 hour Ultra now......that is a target race.

All is not lost though as Dr Rob from Trionium has agreed that I can defer my entrance to October and allow me to do the Greensand Marathon......a real brute and a brilliant hill profile.

Greensand takes you through Dorking - Westcott - Coldharbour - Leith Hill - Somerset Hill - Holmbury Hill- Pitch Hill - Reyards Hill - Winterfold Hill - and back again! Having done the Leith Hill half marathon last year this is a run that needs a lot of respect. Should be a nice run after London to Brighton

What a scorcher!

I went out for my usual Thursday 10 mile trail run and was really pleased I took some fluids with me, what a hot, sticky and balmy evening. As soon as I hit the road to get to the nature reserve I was taken aback my the humidity and by the second mile was sweating profusely and by mile 4 was tucking into my water.

A good evening run which amazingly really took it out of me the heat and humidity just seemed to eat away at my legs

London to Brighton - Stage 3

Stage 3 is mapped, I am treating this map as slightly suspect but indicative of the course.Reason, I managed to find a Garmin download from the internet and this guy appears to have had a few problems navigating in some areas so I have tidied it up (took me bloody ages) This looks like a good stage with a good few miles on consolidated running with a rise towards the end.

Nine toes to go

In my rush to get to the club tonight I grabbed the first pair of socks I found and my brand new running shoes, chucked them on and leapt out of the house.

I knew "something was going on" in the right shoe and it only occurred to me that my toenail had blackened GGGRRRR....shoes are fine, it was the cheap, nasty socks I had grabbed which had rucked up in the shoe and squeezed the nail. I am not worried about the nail, God, it is part of the sport I am just miffed that I made such a basic mistake. Those socks are going straight to the bin.

Open wide

The day started badly with a visit to the dentist, if you are squeamish don't read any further.

I had a tooth removed about 2 years ago but ever since I have started ultrarunning I have found that the site where the tooth was often swelled and puss would seep from the locale. It caused me no pain just concern so I went to the dentist a few weeks ago not a thing I relish at the best of times.

It appears when the tooth was originally removed they left a chunk of root in the socket and when I am training hard and slight run down the root causes the infection. Today was the day I have had to have it removed, I currently feel as though I have been kicked in the jaw and by the looks of the root fragment that was retrieved I am not surprised.

Anyway, all good now as it didn't stop me running 14 miles of trail and woodland this evening :-)

The Three Peaks Challenge

I feel a bit of a fraud posting this as my challenge but as you can see in the earlier post Adventure in June , I am officially the driver for my sister, brother-in-law and friends. It is a bit daunting as the driver as I have quite a responsibility of getting the walkers to their destination in a timely fashion, get them fed & watered and up and down the mountains. I have the lovely job of sitting back and watching them do the climbing but on the other hand. whilst they are resting, I am driving.

I am quite excited now as I have made the decision not to attempt Scafell Pike, it is a tad dangerous in the dark by myself , afterall, I am not experienced on that part of the world so will attempt an ascent of Snowdon during daylight.

I propose to run up the Miners Track and descend on the Pyg Track, not the most arduous of tracks but enough for an off the cuff mountain climb. Got all the kit but must get a survival bag as the last one was ruined whilst using it as a sled last winter ;-)

Can't wait, this is going to be fun.

Titty Wittering

"Stop sniggering at the back children"

New boy on the block, but it has promise and for a great cause.- The Titty Wittering Challenge

Take a break

As you can see from the post below I spent the evening buying shoes....no running for me tonight, I have decided to take a training break to rest and recuperate. Nothing serious but the legs are feeling tired and the site of my old metatarsal injury seems to be niggling, I don't think missing one 12 mile run is going to make a jot of difference to my current fitness, in fact it will do me some good.

So resting up, a couple of well deserved bottles of cider are cooling in the fridge and I will go out on Sunday for a nice run.

Update (Monday 25/5/09) - In fact no running on Sunday either, it was just too hot and felt I needed the break, I'll start again next week

New Shoes

After realising my current shoes had done 500 miles and the fact my calf muscles were feeling tight and painful I decided that a new pair of shoes were required. I have learnt from past experience that when my calf muscles begin to hurt it is normally caused by my shoes wearing out and not offering enough protection.

I went off to SheRunsHeRuns tonight to get my shoes and was disappointed to see that they had now moved up into the new models. The lady at the shop told me that the basic style and technology was the same as the old ones and so I tried them on and was instantly disappointed, the cut was different, the toe box was too tight and the heel too loose. I asked her to step up a size so that I could see if I could adjust the lacing style. The lady returned a few moments later and with a big smile passed the box to me.....HOORAH, she had found a pair of the old model in my size, I tried them on.....perfect. What made it an even better shopping experience was that they were £20 cheaper than the latest version.

I love it when I get really great customer service.

Triple Marathon

Many moons ago a running buddy mentioned how he would like to run the length of Hadrian's Wall, a measured distance of about 85 miles. Now a triple marathon is 78.6 miles.....do I see a a 2010 challenge? It's a damn tough one, I think it can be done, the question is how?

I think out friends at the LDWA maybe able to help.

All I need now is a volunteer to run with me.

Cudham Valley

I had a beautiful run tonight which saw me running out through High Elms, Downe and Cudham Valley. The trails were soft underfoot from the recent rain but the grass was dry, the down side was the nettles had grown up with a vengeance but I was enjoying myself so much it was easy to ignore the stings even when going through clumps of them.

A really hard workout with some horrendous hills up the sides of the valley, it was great to see a couple of wild Roe deer sprinting off when we gambolled over the hills. A lovely evening after being stuck in London all day listening to the traffic and sirens. I did about 9 miles but it certainly felt more like 10 or 11 miles but whose counting.

This week's plan w/c 18/5/09

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	10 miles
Wednesday	Rest
Thursday	12 miles
Friday	10 miles
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	22 miles

A total of 54 miles

Adventure in June

I got quite a nice offer today, it will be hard work but exciting none the less. My sister, her husband and a few of their Friends are doing the 3 Peaks Challenge on 13-14th June 2009, a monster of a challenge in which they have to ascend and descend the Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours. I have been asked if I can be the official driver to transport them between mountains.

I am still deciding but if I do (and I think I will) I am planning to meet a friend in Wasdale for a run while they are enjoying themselves on the mountain, I would love to get a picture of the sunrise over Scafell Pike. Watch this space, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Heard on the trail

Rumour has it that George and I will be joined by another runner on the London to Brighton. Who is the mystery person, I can't wait for the official announcement.

Wet and windy they said.

......and they were not wrong.

What a wet and soggy run we had today and we got away with the bad weather until at about 14 miles we were hit with a real downpour. At the very end the heavens opened and we were seen scampeing to the car to get a dry top on but we were so wet I don't think it made a difference.

Great run, very tough on the legs for me but I think the excesses of Friday night may have paid their toll on the guts which were playing up.

Guinness is good for you.

My training was put on hold last night for a little TLC which involved meeting some "techy" friends up in Kings Cross for a few gallons of Guinness and a wonderful vegetarian curry in Islington. Rolled in quite late last night but feel great for it.

So now I am ready for a good trail run tomorrow, I wonder where we will this weekend?

Horas Non Numero Nisi Aestivas

....or 'I only keep the summer hours'

A fine, sweaty and humid evening of running was promised for George and me, we met up at about 7.15 pm with no plans apart from running anywhere and everywhere for about 10 miles and generally enjoy ourselves.

We met up at the entrance of Scadbury Park, Chislehurst and just followed the trails and London Outer Orbital Path through the trails, dodging the dogs, walkers and cyclists around the circuit. It was quite good fun as we found a new trail that took us out at the most unexpected place along the main road, one for the future as a short cut or extension to a good run I fear. We soon looped back and found ourselves running towards Memorial and Petts Wood, the famous woods that William Willett bought for the good of the people in the late 19th Century, as you know Mr Willett was the founder of daylight saving and hence the memorial sundial which keeps the summer hours.

In all a great run with the bluebells still flowering, the heady scent of wild garlic, the trees showing off their new springtime leaves and the lambs fattening and growing up fast....I just love Springtime running.

Keep 'em coming

On getting home tonight I felt raring to go and couldn't wait to get to the club. On arrival it was decided that we go for a 6-7 mile run around some of the fields and trails but as soon as we started running I realised I wasn't as recovered as I thought I was and my legs felt like lead.

Well it seems that the local farm had rerouted its lanes and we got lost, after a little detour we eventually climbed through a fence and got into a public park but found ourselves a little further away from the clubhouse. On any other evening I would savour the chance of an extended run but tonight I was absolutely whacked and I feel like the little kiddy in the picture on the left. Time to rest up or injuries will appear.

This week's plan w/c 11/5/09

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	8 miles
Wednesday	Rest
Thursday	12 miles
Friday	Drink Beer
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	20 miles

A total of 40 miles

Competitive

Whilst I waited and warmed up at the start of the race yesterday I was pleased to see the different types of runners and walkers who had attended. Quite a number of affiliated club shirts, a few individuals who obviously trained and a large number of "have a go" types.

Race over, I stood around waiting for friends to finish and watched the other runners and walkers finish and then it dawned on me. "What would it be like just to run one of these events and not feel as though I had to race it!" What a strange idea, I don't think I have ever run a race without a watch or the feeling that I had to beat the other person!

I pointed this out to my friend George and then watched as some of the finishers seemed to stop at the Finish line and then step over it, a big cheesey grin on their face and then got in line to get their cherished medal and certificate. They all looked so happy with their achievement.

This got me thinking,
Could I ever stop at a Finish line and then step across it?
When racing should you ever be seen to smile?
Should a person ever wear a cotton shirt when racing?

The answer to all of them is a resounding NO if you are competitive (like me). For Fun Runs it is YES to all :-)


–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition: competitive sports; a competitive examination.
2. well suited for competition; having a feature that makes for successful competition: a competitive price.
3. having a strong desire to compete or to succeed.
4. useful to a competitor; giving a competitor an advantage: He was careful not to divulge competitive information about his invention.

What is the difference between me and Concorde?

The Orpington Mara*fun as it is coined was a great low key event starting at a school called St Olave's in sunny Orpington in the county of Kent. The day started late arriving at the school at 10.05 am and quickly kitted ourselves up and made final decision about the number of carb gels to carry, which water bottle and then eventually lock up the car to trot down to the start and get our numbers.

I was really pleased to see the number of yellow shirts standing around and chatting with a mixture of local rivals and some of the 100 Marathon Club; it was a real meeting of friends. After a brief speech from the Deputy Mayoress of Bromley we were invited onto the roadway and were set on our way. I initially set off at a 10 mile run pace and soon found myself near the front of the pack, held off and then settled into a steady pace.....a rather alarming steady pace of 7:40 min/miles.

The first of the hills arrived and I was soon plodding up St Paul's Wood Hill and my speed reduced down. Up over the hill and I found the field opening up and my average speed at about 7.55-8 min/miles which was quite comfy so I carried on at this pace. The route between 5(18) and 10(23) miles was typically suburban and quite hair raising on a busy Saturday morning and the fact that I was running on the roads made it quite an interesting run with cars peeping me and me darting across the junctions

I managed to get around the first lap of 13.1 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes which gave me a good margin to play with and it turned out I needed it when at about 22 miles I felt cramp settle into my upper legs which was releaved slightly with some Nuun I had in my small water bottle. This hampered me somewhat slowing me down considerably, it just shows how I have got used to training with it and having a good supply on me....a hard lesson and well learnt. At 23 miles I found it hard to traipse over some rough ground near a golf course but after leaving this behind me I gritted my teeth and ran the last 3 miles towards the Finish line determined to beat my 3:45 hour target which I did (just) in a time of 3:44:27 :)

A great low key event, one I thoroughly enjoyed and I can now claim that I have actually done a road marathon and did a pleasing time to boot

BTW
What is the difference between me and Concorde?

Answer: About 54,000 feet and 3 hours 44 minutes the same time it took Concorde to travel from New York to Paris :

Mini Me...

... or chips off the old block!

I was just having a little snooze on the sofa this evening when I was roused from my slumber by my two girls "Dad we're off for a run, see you later!" I made an attempt to say "Don't be too long" but I was stopped when the front door was slammed shut.

Off went my girls (13 and 15 years) trotting down the drive, plugged into their Ipods. In a way I was quite sad to see them go off by themselves but in another sense quite pleased. I needn't have worried, they were back in 10 minutes looking pleased with themselves and rosey pink having done a mile around the block. The younger said "That will do as tomorrow I will do 2 miles!"

I wonder how long this will last.

I had to laugh

I was quite amused to see someone using this as an avatar in a well known and loved runners' forum.

I have a feeling this lady has the same "issues" I have when tapering and carb-loading :-)

I am going to print this one off and have it stuck to my cubicle entrance.

All systems are GO

I got home from work tonight determined to go to the club even if it meant a short run. I left the house early and jogged up the road to realise there was no pain in my toe so picked up the pace. Well 11.5 miles later and with some lovely miles under my belt I think I am ready for the marathon on Saturday.

The guys from the club think that St Paul's Wood Hill is something to worry about, Why? After all, all I need to do is take it steadily and make up the time in other parts of the run.

I'm feeling good, time to feed :-)

Increase mileage

Big decision made tonight after doing some reading up about training for various longer ultra distances. As I get closer to the London to Brighton it is apparent over the next month or so my weekly mileage will be increasing from the current 45-50 to about 58-60 miles.

I would like to increase this to a more regular distance of about 65-70 miles so from next week and during June I will be making an attempt to run from work to home on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, rest on Friday then do a long run on Sunday. The run from work is about 11 miles over the large hill at Crystal Palace so no easy task but one I relish.

Well it's an idea and I want to try it just one week to see how I do.

Postcard from Broadstairs

Uuuurrrghh, first forced non Sunday long run since the beginning of the year and it saw me sitting on the beach in Broadstairs, Kent. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it but I was desperate to go running.

My big toe still feels a bit swollen but walking in the sand really helped get it moving and it felt as though it was getting a massage. Even the cold sea water helped to such a point the bruise became really obvious in the cold windy morning.

Off to the gym tomorrow for a good cycle ride and get me prepared for carb-loading for the marathon on Saturday.

On ya bike!

Motivation was high today and what with my bad toe I was desperate for some exercise after missing my run last night. I therefore decided to go to the local municipal gym and have a go on the exercise bikes. I thought a one hour cardio-vascular workout would do the job and decided to do two 30 minute workouts, one at constant and the other at a random setting.

One thing I forgot about gym cycling was the amount you sweat, I was absolutely dripping by the end but the one thing I found really hard to do was get my heart rate up to the desired amount. The monitors are supposed to adjust to the difficulty of the workout but I found it didn't do it very efficiently.

Never mind, a good workout and made me feel better about my preparations for next week. Toe showing the bruises now and the swelling has settled and it is less turgid so may have a little run tomorrow after our day out, just a little one ;-)

Wow, what a hill

Isn't this the most awesome hill? Somehow I feel it is not going to happen this year, but there is still time ;-)

Panic over

Great news, well I suppose you should say better news. I finally decided to go to the Accident and Emergency tonight to put by doubts to rest over my toe. I was only there for about 80 minutes having a short wait, an x-ray and a diagnosis.

The good news is I have not broken my hallux just badly bruised it. It is going a lovely purple colour around the joint and is swollen. I have been told to max out on painkillers and rest up. I am going to see how it goes over the weekend but I think that if I grit my teeth I'll be able to run the marathon next week.....one step at a time I hear you say, one step at a time.