As nervous as a kitten

This evening I have been as nervous as a kitten, I have had telephone calls from friends wishing me good luck for my Grand Union Canal Run and all I seemed to do was jabber down the phone at 16 words to the dozen.

I have looked at the pile of running clothes on the floor and seem to be saying to myself that I must have missed something out, ever so often something else got added and then scuttled off for something else to add. In the end I started packing my main kit and left the other items such as clothes for the journey up to do tomorrow morning.

It is only now that I have looked at an old list I created last year when I first attempted it and am amazed to see that the kit in my bag matches exactly what is on the list....I am feeling a little better as the experience is now rubbing off.

Friday morning

The plan for Friday is to get up normal time, get some breakfast, mow the lawns and then pack my final pieces and leave for Euston to get the 1:43pm

Friday Evening

Check in to the hotel, go down to the official race check in, rest and then go out to dinner with the other runners at the local pub.

As for the rest of the weekend, well only time will tell but I am really looking forward the hallucinations again

Side note

I had to laugh this evening when my youngest daughter made the mistake of asking what my plans were and I rattled off dates, times, distances of checkpoints and what I was going to eat, where and when. She wearily escaped grumbling that she was amazed how I could remember it all, the funny thing is I know by tomorrow night I will have forgotten it all :-)

GUCR Radio Show

I became aware of this radio show interview this afternoon when the organiser of the Grand Union Canal Run, Dick Kearn, mentioned online that he was going to be interviewed on BBC Radio Northampton.

Dick interviewed really well and told of some great history and stories of the GUCR. The interview starts at 1:15:00 on the stream clock 

Dick Kearn talks about the GUCR on BBC Radio Northampton

Packing for GUCR Part I

It is Tuesday evening and my usual habits are to get home, have some tea, get my running kit on and scoot off to the club, however tonight I did just that but this time with no running kit and no run :-(

My legs are feeling great at the moment and the taper is doing its work quietly in the background apart from the odd ache or pain which goes with the territory of tapering. What does one do on an evening like this......well I start getting the plans and lists together that I have been creating for the past few weeks. A large box appeared on the doorstep today containing 24 carb gels ( I won't be taking all of them) which I bought at a much reduced price (can you see a theme here?) and chucked them on the pile.

Below is the first set of piles being created ready for the big pack on Thursday, each row, a specific theme:

1. Backpack
2. Shoes/waterproof
3. Neck and headware
4. Shirts
5. Lower half incl. socks
6. Medical kit
7. Nutrition
8. Fluids

A tried and tested approach to my planning, this will ebb and flow over the next few nights but it is a start.

Travel in style

I can only wish it
was this stylish

Of all the preparation I am doing for the GUCR one thing I did forget was getting there!!! I was panicking on Saturday when I had this terrible feeling that I was going to be having to fork out a small fortune to travel to Birmingham on Friday as I had only had a week to go when the prices go sky high. I jumped on a well known train booking web site and put in the details of the journey with a rough arrival time of 4.00pm and sat aghast at the screen when I saw a train was going for the princely sum of £9 and then got the offer of upgrading to First Class for an extra £7.....booked and confirmed I now have a train journey for £16, normal cost £52 or £80 first class. Now that is what I call a bargain :-)

The return journey will not be as comfortable I imagine but even so, I'll take the comfort when I can.

Ready to take photographs of the obligatory pre-race kit packing so watch this space.

The Gathering

What a run, the route, the heat all came secondary when it was discovered that there was a gathering of some special runners from my world, George, Duncan and Michael.

Michael lives on the other side of town and recovering from some nasty viral infection so today was a special one for all of us to see him back on the trail. The temperature today was in the mid-20's, way to hot for a Brit like me but Duncan, George and I had planned to meet at the woods about equi-distant from all of us at 5.00pm and the we would take a gentle punt to "The bench at the top of the hill", a landmark near Michael's house at about 5.45pm.

Each of us had 1 litre of fluid on us, much more than we are used to on such a "short" run but we were planning to use church taps and friendly home owners if need be. Like clockwork we met at the allotted times and drifted off on a hot and sticky run around some of our favourite paths, laughing and joking. We were not that interested in pace, the important thing was to get through in one piece and to enjoy each others company.

The run saw us grumbling about the heat, squealing like little girls as we ran through alleyways wall to wall with stinging nettles, I went into "The Zone" a few times was forced to come out of it when George thundered down behind me and made conversation, I have a feeling he knows when I go into one of them as I tend to pace off! Is it that obvious :-)

At about 13 miles we dispersed off to our various homes and I realised that I was running out of water but used the excuse to drop into my other friend Mike's house for a water refill and to discuss some future plans. His later Facebook entry stated:

"Very sweaty Jeremy Smallwood just appeared on the doorstep! "could I have some water please". Bloody cheek...." 

:-D

As usual, great run, great company...now to rest.

This time last year

This time last year George and I had just passed Navigation Bridge, the halfway checkpoint of GUCR when you get hot food in the form of spaghetti hoops and bread, a cup of tea. I seem to remember that at this point I wanted to get some leggings on but there were no changing facilities (read as back of van) so had to do it in a patch of stinging nettles, hopping, skipping and swearing as my 70 mile legs tried to squeeze into them.

The Present

Back to the present, this has been a whirlwind weekend, a late call from the Delightful Mrs S telling me was at a leaving do and it just so happened that I was 10 minutes down the line on the train so promised to join her but first I was to buy a humugous pile of socks in preparation for next week just before the shop closed and then went onto drink just a few too many mojitos with the delightfully squiffy Mrs S.

Today saw me replenish and renew my first aid kit, this time with a stretch bandage and some wider tape. Then the all important traditional pre-ultra haircut, slightly shorter than usual.

Sunday

This seems to be yet another busy day but more importantly it appears that it is my last official training run before the GUCR and I have been invited to go along with George. I foresee a 13 miler....somewhere, hopefully flat, in the shade  and with water on tap as it is still very war.

Then wash kit and get it really piled up ready for packing next week.

Cymbaline

The path you tread is narrow

And the drop is shear and very high

The ravens all are watching

From a vantage point nearby

Apprehension creeping

Like a tube-train up your spine

Will the tightrope reach the end

Will the final couplet rhyme

[chorus]

A butterfly with broken wings

Is falling by your side

The ravens all are closing in

And there's nowhere you can hide

Your manager and agent

Are both busy on the phone

Selling coloured photographs

To magazines back home

[chorus]

The lines converging where you stand

They must have moved the picture plane

The leaves are heavy around your feet

You hear the thunder of the train

And suddenly it strikes you

That they're moving into range

Doctor Strange is always changing size

[chorus]

And it's high time

Cymbaline

It's high time

Cymbaline

Please wake me

How Far?

Thursdays as my regular readers will know are my nemesis as I am invariably very tired from training or teaching on Wednesday evenings. I was the same tonight with me dropping off to sleep on the train home seeing me jump up at the last moment to leap off in fear of missing my stop.

Tonight was my regular visit to the track but the weather is still very hot (for us Brits) and I didn't need to run far so the old bike got an airing.

One thing became very obvious tonight.....I cycle like a runner in as much that I forget there are One Way streets and so I was seen scrabbling onto pavements to circumvent the restrictions then duck out onto main roads and into the park with total disregard to the Highway Code.

At the track I joined in for a few laps, stopped, chatted, went for another little jog, then a faster paced run and then a few GUCR paced laps. In fact, I didn't have a plan I was just running for running's sake....

How Far? I don't know and I don't care it was fun*

* I have estimated it to be 5 miles in case you are wondering from my stats

Get your priorities right

I simply wrote on the GUCR Facebook page:

"To more important matters....

Hands up who is going to meet up at O'Neill's Broad Street j/w Granville Street after registration on Friday for a pie and a pint?" 

Within minutes enquiries were being made about what time and whether people were travelling up from London on the train. I smiled with delight and confirmed why I love the band of ultrarunners that do these events. It is so obvious that the GUCR is not just about a run from Birmingham to London  but the WHOLE weekend from the registration, the evening meet up described above, the morning traditions of the walk to the start, speeches, the run and for some the finish others horrific journey in Andrew's van to the end.

I looked at my training plan this evening and was aghast to note that I only have 2 training runs left! I plan to pop out to the track on Thursday for a few laps and then a gentle run on Sunday to REST easy until the party starts next Friday.

Old and New

It's Tuesday, the temperature is "soaring" in Deepest Darkest Kent which after recent months feels like we are in the tropics....The conundrum:

1. I want to run, not too far
2. I want to get some good quality exercise
3. I want to go to the club but I also want to try out my bike

So why not combine the two options:

1. Cycle
2. Run

So that is what I did, I donned my running kit (Yes, I wore my Skins even in the heat)  grabbed my bike from the garage and cycled to the club via my normal running route. Now remember Dear Reader the last time I really cycled was about 8 years ago when I bought it...cheaply. It was quite fun apart from the burning in my thighs and the sore arse but I got there after nearly falling off about 3 times because of the roots and mud.

I arrived in a sweaty heap trying to look cool but failing desperately, then the other cyle/runners turned up bedecked in  helmets, cycling lycra, VERY expensive bikes, most with disc brakes and these really crazy "clippy in" foot pedal things....boy was I out of date. I then realised that my bike weighed about twice theirs much to their hilarity I cared not a jot, I love my old bike dusty as it is but not so much that it will replace my running too soon

A gob-smacking fact

I was reading the Grand Union Canal Run pages on Facebook tonight and one of my fellow runners (Brian New) wrote this:

"Listening on the radio tonight they were saying that there is a real risk of "overcrowding" on Everest - 150 people climbed it this weekend alone. Apparently there are now over 3,250 people who have climbed to the top of Everest. That means that more people have climbed Everest than have completed the GUCR. Just remember that people - we're still a select club :)

Also there are over 200 dead bodies of climbers on the mountain as they are often left where they die - Dick hasn't had to make that call just yet :)"

 I have kept reading this tonight and am still amazed by this wonderful fact, not about the dead bodies but the fact that less people have finished this event that climbed Everest. To read this fact has now motivated me beyond belief.... Thanks Brian.

Not a snails pace

Roman snail (Helix pomatia)

As I am in full taper mode I was desperate for a run today one which was all quality and no quantity, The Delightful Mrs S was almost pushing me out of the door as she was desperate for me to find the "Lost Car Key".

I advertised that I wanted to go for a run at about 3.30pm on Facebook and was answered by Duncan and soon after we were seen zooming off to run the same route as last week stopping off ever so often to a likely patch of grass or leaves. I was very mindful of remaining fit and injury free but soon realised that our pace was picking up...and up...and up such that we made a big point of pulling off to a jog. As we ran up Hill 27 Duncan called me back pointing at something on the ground....was it the car key?....."You nearly trod on that" and looking down found he was pointing at a lethargic Adder more scared of us than we of it but it soon slipped away into the short grass...I looked over the small field and ventured the thought of how many adders we step past when we cross country run, I soon threw the thought from my mind.

Rising up hill 27 we went across a chalky area of land to jump over a couple of gates and looking down (for my key) I was then amazed to see an enormous Roman snail (Helix pomatia), a quite rare sight in these parts although they do reside in Kent, curious as I am I picked it up to see what it looked like and have since read "Do not pick them up they are a protected species!"

Keys forgotten for now

We were well and truly warmed up now and we were soon speeding off and I was amazed to find that on a one mile section we were running 6:10 minute miles along a wide valley path, we were on fire and I really wanted to carry on but GUCR is always in the front of my mind we went down a few gears...we were certainly not snails today

All in the mind

My route (with my lap 10 detour)

It is really exciting to see a number of my club are taking running coaching qualifications and from what they tell me it is quite in depth. Part of this qualification is to run a few training sessions and they have devised a programme of track sessions to "Improve 5 & 10 km times"...there is my problem I don't want to do that for the moment but I did want to show up and support them if numbers were low....they were not as some 20 people turned up so I reverted back to my training....pacing.

As some of my Dear Readers are aware I have had a problem with my left quadriceps recently requiring me to go to the physio, ice it and take anti-inflammatory medication after runs, in short a worry. I have therefore reverted back to my Budgie Smugglers (Skins A200 compression tights) which have been fantastic this year on my longer runs as they have really provided some support (no not there....) around my knees and hips. So on Thursday I chose to wear them on my planned training run to the track and found the Easy paced 5km run to the track was very gentle and comfortable.

Pace Perfect

After settling down on my 14 lap run (7 laps in each direction) my plan was to do it in 30:00 minutes exactly, not look at my Garmin apart from when I clicked the 400 metre mark. I settled in, relaxed and comfortable until about lap 10 when I need to use the toilet quickly, ran off the track and returned to finish the set in 30:40 minutes which I was really happy with as even with the loo break this was spot on perfect pacing...a really good confidence booster ready for 2nd June at the GUCR when pace is the key to the early stages of the event.

After getting dropped off half way home I decided to take a little detour to just get the miles in and to cool down. On arriving home had a hot bath then iced my leg with some ibuprofen for good measure (not my usual practice)....my legs feeling great, better still, my head full of positive thoughts, this weekend is about finalising my kit choice.

Spot the difference

It is amazing how we look at our "old" training shoes as though they are fresh out of the box not realising how they deteriorate over time and miles.

My planning has been going great for the Grand Union Canal Run but I realised that my shoes were at 579 miles and by the end of the run would have done about 800 miles...not good as they are beginning to look a little worse for wear but usable. 

Say hello to my "very hard to find" size 8.5(UK) Mizuno Wave Rider 14 shoes, I am sure they are the last in the western world.

Spot the difference

Democracy and Mud

The drudgery of the day dragged along, time stood still way too many times as I tapped away on IT work packages, deliverables and the odd bit of coding. Ever so often I would glance out of the window, the southern sky, blue, the northern quickly turning dark grey...then hail and rain!

The day went on and I was reminded that my running club had an AGM that night and we were to start earlier so that we could all go down to a church hall and have the obligatory meeting. 

Here was my dilemma 5-6 miles on a wet pavement followed by 80 minutes in a stuffy hall or to go to my sister club for a 7-8 mile trail run in the freshly set mud....the latter got my vote.

Mud Glorious Mud

I had a catch up with the usual suspects and was almost talked into going with one of the faster groups by George but stuck to my guns to run with the long, slow group as I just wanted my legs to feel right....Taper is in my vocabulary these days. We were off....a lovely sedate pace, almost at my preferred pace for the initial GUCR miles and I liked it from beginning to end. There is something lovely about running at dusk after a rainy period as the sun is low yielding warm colours whilst showing peaches and cream sunsets with lavendar clouds

I was very aware that the speed was a little slower than my legs wanted but it was good to get the discipline back on, pulling on the handbrake however the last mile saw me sprint off with one of the group for a friendly, non-competitive tussle home yielding at the road crossing to jog in, muddy, wet and most of all uplifted and happy.

The Olympic Games and transport

I am so honoured to be part of the Olympics as a Games Maker volunteer, I have however been a little worried about how to get to and from the events very late at night realising the train journey would take some considerable time as there would be so many people coming and going.

This evening I was seen rummaging in the garage , heaving boxes and swearing loudly as things fell around me to finally extract my very old moutain bike along with the stirrup pump. A quick polish, a tweak with a spanner and a squirt of oil and it was as good as new, I was even seen wobbling down the road to see if I still had it in me....and the brakes worked!

I love this old bike as it was purchased with my first pay cheque when I started to teach at a local college and was offset against travel expenditure for the contract and so it is fitting that I use it again to save on some time and most of all money. Just got to get a good padlock and find the lights which I believe are in my running bag somewhere.

On a added bonus it will be a great bit of cross training as I plan to get out on it this week to ease my legs.

If you would like to find out more about the Olympics Games Makers, click on this link

Ad hoc as ad hoc can be

No morning run was planned today as we were out at a big birthday bash on Saturday night and there was a very good chance of a hangover...I was proved right.

The day was put aside to gardening and I was closely supervised by the Delightful Mrs S who was present at all times ensuring that the hedges were clipped and to of a high standard. So like a good little runner I put the tools away and was seen making calls on the telephone after I saw Duncan was looking for a run so plans were set and I was seen togged up in only shorts, shirt and sunglasses to arrive at his house both to realise that we had no plan except that the North Downs were calling us so I drove in the general direction of them. We arrived in a public car park above Shoreham and as I got out of the car realising that I had nowhere to put my keys handed them to Duncan for good keeping as he always runs with shorts with loads of pockets.

The run

There are very few people that I can run with that have a similar sense of curiosity as I do and Duncan and George are just those people. As we decended into the Darenth Valley we were still unsure how far we were going to run but we agreed that we would take it a mile at a time. I then pointed up to a fence on the opposite hillside and asked if it was a path and if so should we investigate it. So that was our new objective, to find the hilly path so leaping over stiles, railway lines and onto the road we found a yet to be explored path entrance that led up to the path we discussed and reaching the top we found one of the most glorious vistas that we had seen for some time, Kent in all its glory and there was chat of taking a disposable barbeque, some sausages and beer with other runners next time....fantastic.

Run went well, new route, new paths, guessed the route back via cross country, amazed we were skilled enough to trust our judgement and be right to find we had got back to a well known paths to finish off the run ascending the last part 400 feet at a pant. As I was running light I had no fluids but was now looking forward to a long cool drink and as we approached the car we slowed down, fiddled with our GPS and I asked for the key from Duncan. 

The Key

Duncan reached down to his pocket, unzipped it and then put his hand pulling out the string to find no key attached to it! He then started to frantically pat his pockets, put his hand in deeper but only retrieved handfuls of air....then discovered THE HOLE, a perfect car key sized hole in the side of them!!!

Frantic calls and then a discovery that the car park was locked at 7.00pm and it was now 6.52pm, the keys some 35 minutes away did not bode well. We then met Charlie the gate keeper and using our worldly charms kept him sweet until Duncan's wife appeared later in the family car with an enormous grin on her face having collected the key from Mrs S.

A brilliant run today, legs felt the best they have for a long time over some very viscious ascents and descents over hardened, flinty ground. Two runs could never had been so different with Duncan of late, storms, wind and rain one week, sunshine the next , as ever a great run out.

OMG only 21 days to go

I saw this picture posted on the GUCR Facebook page and have remorselessly "stolen" it for my Blog

However it is quite scary to think that it is so close

Thanks Brian :-)

I am back down from the ceiling!

WOW what a visit I have just had at Mike's place today who went about the business of sorting out my legs with a vengeance. If I didn't know him so well I am sure comments like "I hope you are not running tomorrow Jerry as I am going to go in quite deep" said to a lone male whilst bent double on a couch could be construed very wrong!

Ten minutes prior

I went to Mike's straight from work and walked to his house from the station, a down hill route which saw me tripping and stumbling down the road going "ooohhh" and "aarrrghh" over every lumpy bump in the pavement I felt I was falling apart, it just seems that since the taper takes hold the worse things had become.

Back in the room

Shorts on I was on the couch and my legs were being prodded, pulled and yanked, I think the most painful part of the ordeal was having ( I think) an elbow running up my hamstrings....I was told to breathe, not easy through gritted teeth and closed eyes. IT Bands next, which were squeezed, pressed and pulled such as my eyes were left watering.

The end

Mike mentioned that I was going to have new legs by the end and he was so right. They were still tender at the end, not in a bad way, but definitely loosened up, flexible and strangely tingling. It feels like Mike has poured WD40 lubricant over a seized up rusty bolt and things have released taken pressure off my stressed old bones and joints.

Leaving his house I went for a walk through the woods along my usual running route and was amazed to find my legs were swinging free, I was somehow more flexible in the hip area a lovely feeling.

Tomorrow (Saturday)

Definitely no Orpington marathon tomorrow which is a little disappointing as I was looking forward to running with George but not the end of the world. I have now taken some Ipubrofen to help with the swelling and my uncomfortable hamstrings, raised my legs up and hoping that a couple of cold ciders will assist the healing process

Derailed

I reported earlier this week that I had a problem with my quadricep cramping up a problem that has been sitting dormant for a little while if I am totally truthful but these niggles often go as quickly as they appear. However, I was at work on Wednesday and ever so often I would feel a twinge and my left quad would throb almost to the point when I thought it would cramp again. I was seen stretching it out and taking Ipubrofen to try and relax it, this worked for a little while but it would return later.

On Wednesday night I placed a heat pad on the main area of pain which did relieve it but by Thursday morning it was back to its old self again. I have therefore made a call to Mike who has been good enough to set aside some time on Friday to do his magic...methinks the marathon is off on Saturday but I want to see how my leg is as there is always the opportunity to just do a shorter distance.

The most important thing is to get my quadricep back to scratch before GUCR

One for the trail

Something soothing about Lou Reed's voice wants me to play it.....quietly.

 

Enjoy!

Cramped up

I keep having to drill it into my head "You can drop the mileage, nothing to add, drop the mileage" but still my large mileage weeks keep calling me to be repeated. Take this evening, I could have quite easily put my feet up and rested, after all by quadriceps were very tight and every attempt to loosen them was met with resistance.

The fidgeting started at about 6.55 pm and I was seen casually walking around the house looking for a clean pair of running shorts.....oh well, the Union Flags will have to have an airing along with my TP100 Finishers shirt; "Sod It Why Not" I decided to be a show pony. The rational side of my brain called to remind me that I can drop the mileage so decided to drive to the Club, jump into a slower paced group, shut up, and enjoy the run.....and I did along with a large mixed group of abilities.

Then I stopped

Bidding my farewells I got home and raced off to the supermarket for a couple of ciders to then come to a grinding halt in agony as my quadricep cramped up.....ooohh that made my eyes water and must have been quite a picture leaning up against the salty snacks counter stretching it out.

Conclusion

Not really sure what to say, I hardly ever have cramp and certainly never in the quads. Was I right to have run tonight or should I have stayed at home? Yes and No in no particular order

One of my more stranger runs

Tiredness has been my biggest enemiy of late and this morning I awoke to the alarm, switched it off and rolled over, somehow my heart wasn't in it, I happily slept solidly for 4 more hours. I awoke energised and ready for the day.

Tell tale signs

I went about my chores with a new vigour, cleared the garden of rubbish, went to the dump and was even seen looking at new lawnmowers on the interweb thingy, the Delightful Mrs S was pleased! It was obvious that she was seeing the tell tale signs of me fidgeting and getting restless "Get your kit you need to go for your run" I heard exclaim, an opportunity not to be missed.

Missiles and Meridians

The Delicious Mrs S often jokes to friends and family that "We often dump him out of the car in strange places but sadly he always seems to find his way back, he's like a pigeon" and this is what happened today. My daughter had gone to a friends and wanted to be picked up and so I suggested that Mrs S drop me off and I run home via a convoluted route. My mission to see the Rapier missile site on Blackheath placed there to protect the Olympic and City assets in the coming months.

So pacing along the road at what my good friend Rob calls an "Ultra-shuffle" I made my way along the route of the epic London to Brighton Route to reach "Red Start" of the London marathon, arriving on the heath  my RADAR went on full sweep as it is not easy to locate a set of camouflaged guided missiles easily but was able to spot them in the distance after a little while. There is only a certain amount of times you can see a guided missile system target and drop so I moved off, a route in mind but whislt I was there I thought I would have a run in Greenwich Park, see the sights and jog off.

As I took the sharp climb up to the Royal Observatory I couldn't help but take a "foot shot" of me on the Prime Meridian something I always feel drawn to do. So once the ritual was complete I traipsed off home along well trodden paths noting any problems that I had with my legs:

1. Tight quads
2. IT Bands grumbling

All within limits but needing attention either in the form of stretching or resting as I may be running a marathon + plus next weekend. We will see

14 Hours and 06 Minutes Until Sunrise

The concept is simple, the challenge and terrain just that much harder having run in the Peak District before this is to be a fantastic ultra with the added twist of it being at night.

The following text has been taken from the event's website:

The challenge sounds simple. You start at 17:42 (sunset), and run all night, but you must finish the course by 06:48 (sunrise).  The course, however, is 50 miles long and rises and falls through the Peak District; accumulating over 9000ft of ascent. Of course you’re wayfinding by torchlight too.  That sounds like quite a tall order right?  Well, there’s a twist or two.  The race takes place on the one night of the year when Time throws you a lifeline.  At 2am, the clocks go back, giving you one more precious hour to finish the race.  Nature may also lend you a helping hand that night, weather dependant, as the moon is almost full.

Whilst aware I have a bigger challenge in the next month I have been looking for something for the Autumn, this one bangs every one of my nails for a great race, Hills, Mud and most importantly NIGHT TIME RUNNING :-)  and I am now entered

Dusk 'til Dawn Ultramarathon 

Nearly a No Vote

This is a tale of bureaucrats officialdom and the threat of a voting paper being stuck up said person's backside.

I have had the strangest of days today  where I found myself all alone in an enormous office which was once a call centre once thriving until 50 people were made redundant recently. My job today was to build two buttons that made two big computer programs work in the right order and be seen only if I allowed you...basically creativity time and for 4 hours I spoke to no-one, had a conference call and then spoke to no-one for another 4, even the visit to the supermarket for my sandwich was a oneway chat with an automatic scanning till.

Even when I got home my girls were revising not wanting to be disturbed so there was only one thing to do and that was to vote at the local elections. Tradition dictates that I go for a run and pop into the polling station on the way around.

Turning up at the polling station I got into line to get my swathe of voting papers and to listen to the instructions provided by the clerk on how to insert a ballot paper into a small hole. I had to wait about 5 minutes and I was sweating profusely and reached the head of the queue:

"Here are your three papers Sir, please keep them the right way up and place them into the ballot bow with the bar code first...."

I nodded, took the papers

"...Oh, and Sir, please don't drip sweat over the booth please!"

AAAHHHHHH, I could have lamped him and nearly created a new ballot box by inserting the papers into his hole. 

Apart from that, a nice run out tonight, legs still a little tight which seemed to loosen as the run went on which was quite pleasant as I had the option to go off road. At one point I stopped, leaned on a gate post and enjoyed the view over the valley...as I did a squirrel jumped from a tree and sat at the other end of the gate watching me probably thinking "Don't sweat on my gate please!"

GUCR Number Arrives

After a long day at work and an extended day teaching at College I arrived home tired to see a big brown envelope on the side table labelled

Jerry Smallwood (299)

[Address1]

...

This could only mean one thing....a race number and the only race awaiting me is the Grand Union Canal Run. Indeed it was and now, and only now, have I started to get a little excited about the adventure. One year on after failing to complete it and the words from my ultrarunning pal, Sarah, a veteran of the race whispering in my ear.

"...The GUCR gets under your skin. Great race, great people. Good people too...."

Indeed, Sarah is correct, now I am ready to take it on properly having completed the TP100 this year as part of the preparation for this I am beginning to understand.

The Mind says "YES"

...the body says "NO!"

That was what it was on Tuesday evening before the club, I was desperate to get out in the fresh air after a draining day in the office and went off with the idea in my mind that I would take it gently for the evening and was surprised that I had a spark in the old legs and took a nice pace to the club with my neighbour Rob.

I then decided to go with one of the faster groups and the warm up to the club found me happy to keep the pace near the front and to take on the hills when I needed....I was feeling good...a nice, even, steady pace, that is until I got back to the clubhouse and 10 miles into the evening.

After a short stop to chat with the others I chose to run off and to take the path through the woods but between the short stop, 100 metres to the woods and 50 metres into them I felt my legs just give up the ghost to find myself stumbling along around the puddles and jumping over patches of mud....THUMP. GGrrr I stumped my foot against a fence peg to feel my smaller toes bend under my foot which led me to walk the short distance out. I ran the rest of the way but it felt like I was running through treacle and was happy when it had finished but found two very reddened toes which are now slightly swollen.

As for today, I have been walking around at work as though I had just returned from a 50 miler, my legs are tired, stiff and sinewy...it maybe time to get them seen too.