Extensor Tendonitis

...or "Ouch my foot hurts!"

In fear of being called Lazarus again by some of my running mates referring to my ability to rise from the dead after getting an injury I should report that I have a rather swollen foot which appeared after yesterday's 20 mile run.

Well let's be a little more truthful, my foot was slightly swollen after my 40 mile run/traipse last week on the very muddy trails of the Thames Path, a recovery/test run on Tuesday told me that although a little sore it should be OK for yesterday's run. 

So to yesterday, a very gentle 20 mile run in my Monkey Feet but at about 16 miles in I felt a gentle pain in the upper part of my right foot which I initially put down the tough gravel path of the Cray Riverway which had me yelping in the marsh area made of sub base type 1 which soon came a nagging hurt such that I asked for a lift home missing out the last 4 miles of my planned run.

Last night and today I have had a puffy foot with pain across the top of the foot and a swelling over the top which hurts when I try to extend my toes apparently classic examples of Extensor Tendonitis apparently caused by:

• Overuse.
• Badly fitting shoes or shoes that are laced far too tightly causing pressure on the top of the foot.
• Running on icy or slippery surfaces can also be a cause. 

When I saw this list (www.sportsinjuryclinic.net) I was taken aback as all these causes were very true and stands true to my product review of the Injinji socks where I said:

This is not the fault of the sock per se but I did find that the fit of my shoe was a little snugger than normal but that was because of the thickness of the sock that I am not used to, I suggest that shoes are bought when wearing these socks, however it was just a matter of rejigging the laces and I was fit to go.

 So there we have it, potted and stumped, foot raised, ice bag coming out ever so often and pain killers being taken.....and vaguely irritated with myself, let's hope I can shake this off quickly.

Marshland and Bacon Rolls

River Cray

The plan? I am never sure why I mention a plan when there normally isn't one but the arrangement was to meet at a local superstore car park for 7.00am to meet Andrea, Debbie and Tina then play it by ear as to how far people wanted to run. I was told 16 miles and the ladies were given the choice of "Left or Right" they went for Right when it was promised to be a very flat run along the River Cray to the Thames.

I had left home early to ran the 4 miles to the start with the idea that I wanted to run the whole distance wearing my Monkey Feet backed up with my Injinji Trail 2.0 socks, stepping from the door it was obvious I was going to need them as the weather was cold and small flakes of snow fluttered and mingled with my frozen breath as I took it easy through the woods.

Andrea, Debbie and Tina wanted a steady and careful pace and to tell you the truth I was happy to do just that as I calculated that I would have done 66 miles (106 km) in the past 7 days.

Marsh grass

Today's choice was Cray Riverway, an unusual path to run but it takes you from Orpington to the River

Thames through meadows and suburban streets then into the outer industrial areas of the Cray Marshes, a section of reclaimed land which holds rubbish depots, wildlife reserves, motorcycle tracks and shooting ranges...none of that obvious today as we hit mile mile 8 (for Andrea, Debbie and Tina) turning around to return to the car.

Bacon Rolls

The carrot today was billed as "The best Bacon Rolls in Bromley" as our minds switched to end mode and the thought of bacon rolls became a big part of the sporadic conversation and amazingly saw the pace pick up in the last 4 miles as we trundled to the end, my right foot beginning to hurt a bit from an over-use injury but nothing was going to stop the glorious bacon roll and black coffee moment waiting and fully deserved by all at the end.

Great run, great fun

From where we came

and the lessons we learn on the way.

One of my dearest readers has obviously read that I am runner #451 in the upcoming Compton Challenge which I last ran in April 2009 and sent me the picture above. I was a very inexperienced long distance runner having only run two marathons and two runs at about 30 miles, experimentation was the name of the game and this race was when George, Michael and I were preparing for the London to Brighton.

At that time I had seen another runner eating a mixture of....wait for it.....mashed potato, cheese and had softened it up with sports drink. Much to the amusement of Michael and George I was seen scuttling off to the midway checkpoint with a drop bag. This drop bag contained a small tub (seen in my hand above) containing mashed potato and cheese which the night before was fluffy, moist and delicious, here, in the picture it was 12 hours later, it had set hard and almost broke the plastic fork I was using. Here I am sucking hard on my pipe to try and get some fluids to soften the gloopy mouthful I had, for the next 3 miles I had a horrific stomach ache which eventually disappeared when I had an enormous burp

So to lessons learnt from this picture:

1. Ditch the Buff as a sahariane 
2. Don't eat cheese and potato unless cooked in the last hour
3. Ditch the water bladder
4. Ditch the cheap Timex GPS watch

 But let's not be too tough on my fledgling self, the Buffs still get used as does the thermal top, gloves and occasionally the yellow club top. It is funny how we morph and progress.

Back to Training

With the Thames Path sweeping adventure now a distant memory, I have done one recovery run last  Tuesday and since then have rested from running as my foot had been a little sore. The foot soreness was a strange thing as the top of my foot felt bruised and it felt it was rubbing a sure sign of tissue damage so refrained from running even though I missed my usual Thursday track session.

Training restarts tomorrow with Deborah and Andrea who are looking for anything between 17 and 20 miles with not many hills. Now that was a tall order.....no hills in this area so with a little thinking I realised all we had to do is find a river and run along it as an out and back, they are now guaranteed the distance but then I overlooked one thing......The Delightful Mrs S wants the car!

No problem I say as I will run to the meeting point, a Burger van a few miles down the road, oh well it looks like I am up for a gentle 20-23 mile run tomorrow in my new Injinji socks and Monkey Feet, between you and me I am looking forward to a run.

Compton 40

So after my activities of the weekend I have a whole week off work but I am not allowed to rest for too long as I have to do some DIY in the house, so while things were getting hot and steamy in the bedroom the Delightful Mrs S came in clutching a big brown envelope. Putting my decorating tools down I took the envelope to find it was my race instructions for the Compton 40 in two weeks time. I am race number 451.

I first ran this race in 2009 in preparation for my London to Brighton event with my good friends Michael and George so am looking forward returning to try it as an "experienced" long distance runner to see if anything is different. One thing I have found is the way I approach my runs these days after reading this set of Compton archives from my blog back in 2009. Last time I ran it the weather was gorgeous and hope the day will be a good one.

Thames Path 100 (2013) - Sweeper's Report

I have decided that the Thames Path 100 is a gem of a race and it held to all its promises this year with drama at the front, the back and the conditions treacherous in places. I had a very small part in this event as the daytime Sweeper which obviously started at night!

The Sweeper's view.

The important thing as a volunteer in an event of this size is to be flexible and just go with the flow, after all you volunteer to help the racer for one day the roles may be reversed and they will be assisting you.

This held true this year when I received an email on Thursday asking me to change my start times from Saturday to Sunday and what is more from the planned 13 miles (21 km) to a rather larger 40 miles (65 km) something I was totally up for but probably forgetting it was frigging cold out there at -1 C before windchill factors being added.

So at 3.15am my alarm called me from my shallow slumber and I got down stairs to dress in full winter kit:

• Thermal underlayer
• Long and short tops
• Waterproof jacket
• Windproof jacket
• Leggings 
• and my Injinji socks

I made the decision to wear ordinary road shoes which I felt was the best choice.

The start (for me)

 After a very comfortable ride in the car in which I was forced to listen to 1980's power ballads I turned up a side road and stopped at the end to see in the gloomy street lights a sign saying Thames Path then stepping from the lovely road onto a wet, muddy and puddle filled path, my friend for the next 11 hours. I was probably heard swearing as I tripped and stumbled along it calling and whistling to the Aid Station staff who were busily packing their van and were startled as I clambered out of a nearby bush saying "Hello, I am Jerry the Sweeper" to be met my cheers. So kitted up and a blue rubble bag handed to me for rubbish collection I stumbled off up the path along a route I last did in the daytime not really knowing where I was......it was COLD.

To Runnymede

My "Only 3 hours sleep face"

This was a surreal part of the run for me, I was on my own, in unknown territory and within the first 2 miles had taken the wrong turning where the Thames Path splits and my only excuse was that the runners had done this in day time and the markers were spaced for good light and the DayGlo sticks had lost their glow. I cared not a jot and after discovering there were no markers at junctions turned around after a half mile being put back on track after a quick phone call. I was having my own personal adventure as I cut down strips of tape and signs.

Dawn broke above a cloudy sky which made the world around me a little greyer the path made muddier by the patter of (100 x 3)+1 runner's feet traipsing over it adding to my obvious delight. For 2 hours I saw and met no one until a lone dog walker crossed my path and we chatted for a few minutes about the last 24 hours activity and then stepped into his palatial riverside mansion not getting my hint about hot coffee! As I pushed on my "Dog Walker" spies appraised me of any runners ahead and I was now aware that there were 2 stragglers, one described as "Out of it" and another staggering, this did not bode well so I stepped up the pace to get closer and as I got to the outskirts of Runnymede I met one sitting on the floor being tended to by a female companion checking he was OK I found he had withdrawn and was now getting dressed to go home with her. Moving onto the Aid Station I found the other one had withdrawn, face covered in mud and miserable, it transpires that he had fainted earlier!

Jeez, only 13 miles into my run and two people had dropped even before my breakfast it appears I was in for a busy day.

To Windsor

Assured that the back marker as about 30 minutes ahead I headed out again having grabbed some potato crisps, Mars bar and a cup of black coffee knowing that a warmer breakfast was on offer  about 6 miles ahead and with daylight now apparent I enjoyed a nice jog at my proposed GUCR pace to get my legs and mind set together after all I was also using this as a training run and it was after a tricky and very muddy section I was glad to see the Windsor Aid Station in the distance. Here was a blur of activity as it was acting as Finish line and Aid Station, here I watched runners coming in, taking their medal and much deserve hot food and coffee. It was here I was asked if I wanted to get in the car to Cookham and run back the 10 miles....the thought hadn't even entered my mind as I had the full distance mindset and so before I was tempted to change my mind I ran out of the tent for the aid station.

 To Cookham

Cookham was10 miles away and I was informed that there was an unofficial stop half way along at a place called Pigeonhill Eyot (An eyot is a thin island found on the Thames formed by the build up of silt) which comprised of 2 volunteers in a car with a boot full of sausage rolls, bottles of Cola and peanuts. 

Just before then my Dirty Girls and I stopped and waved to Monkey Island knowing that my Monkey Feet would like to stay at the beautiful hotel on its banks

My "Dog Walker" spies informed me that there were a few runners ahead so it was now slow down time for me and so took the opportunity to stop and chat with anyone who was willing as there was a lot of interest from passers by who had been watching the antics of the TP100 runners over the past 24 hours.

Ahead was my soon to be companion, Jack from South Africa, who was stumbling forward in  run/walk/shuffle mode and funnily at exactly 10.00am we both received a phone call, apparently his from his wife and mine from my friend David H who had fallen that night during the run and pulled out at 50 miles. A fine 10 minutes of laughing and joking ensued in which that time I saw Jack pull away to a run into the arms of his adoring family who gave him big hugs and pulled a big thermos of hot chocolate for him to drink.

Entering Maidenhead I lost sight of my Jack as I ran about collecting signage and had the opportunity to chat and ensure all the passing runners coming in the opposite direction were communicative, warm enough and capable, they all seemed smiling and answering my questions ( I was secretly checking for hypothermia) but all seemed OK as they either limped or strolled in their own personal worlds. Leaving the outskirts of town we entered probably the muddiest section for a while which was almost cruel as the chance of hot soup just seemed that little further away but as we stepped into a churchyard in Cookham I realised it was the resting place of my Father-in-Law so I raised an eyebrow to his grave as I passed through. To reach the checkpoint where I had hot soup, some bread and snaffed some carb gels reminding Jack that he shouldn't get comfortable...his wife and children took the hint and they chivvied him along and walked with him whilst I dropped some rubbish and lost property into the back of the van.

Back to Windsor

Out and back, the chance of a run drastically reduced as Jack was stumbling along, his fasted pace now was a slow power walk for me so I stopped and chatted to walkers and had a lovely chat with two ladies who were doing the London to Brighton walking challenge this year so we swapped tips and joked such that 10 minutes had gone by and we waved goodbye, I now had some distance to run gently and collect some tape and signs that were left up.

People were up and about for sure now no doubt tummies full of some delicious roast beef lunches but no boats were apparent, Jack was safe ahead and I just tried to jump between the shelter of trees out of the bitter and cutting. I chose not to walk with him as he was lost in his little world a place I had been in many a time, it was a case of not wanting to communicate just not being able.

Passing Eaton Dorney, the site of so many UK Gold medals last year I could hear the loud commentary of the races taking pace along the water a wonderful distraction but the wind coming off the lake could cut you in two causing a little speed from Jack so we were able to power through the muddy section and to the final stretch out to Windsor and as we got through it we were met by James, the Race Director, who welcomed Jack and the two of them ran at pace to the finish line even catching another runner who joined the run, I stuck to the back and watched them clamber along the fence to navigate the now very large and deep puddle between us and the finish line. I cared not a jot and ran through it, all I wanted was a hot coffee and a sandwich.

There we have it, 40 miles run (about 10 walked), everyone safely through and of those who completed the full distance before the cut offs...a great day's running. Now when can I do it again 

A stack of snacks

The plan is? Well there isn't really any plan for Sunday's run apart from enjoying my own company, making sure the walking wounded, lost sheep get to safety and I keep as comfortable as possible being that I will be out on the trail for 11 hours sticking to the race cut offs and collecting signage. My hat is off for the guys doing the full 100 miles as they will be out up to 30 hours with what promises to be horrific weather conditions when snow, rain, local flooding and high winds are in the offing.

With amazing organisational skills the Race Director, James Elson, and his team have been able to reroute the course, rally volunteers and even get me to jump in to do a 35 mile section which I am really happy to do as secretly I want to put my training on to a new level and test my resolve again.

Self supporting

So I am going to try and do this self-supported apart from water so will be carrying a few more calories than I normally would comprising:

1. 2 x Choccy Flapjack
2. 4 x Carb gels
3. 6 x mini sausage rolls

Which is about 1200 calories of complete sugar and fat but with the temperatures set to drop down to  minus numbers with the wind chill and rain I think I am going to need it. As I will be running during the day and along some roads I will also try and use shops along the way but I am sure I will be fine as I ran in January with the temperatures in -2C but have admit I was very hungry at the end.

A very sharp taper

The email arrived this morning, it read:

Jerry,

Simple question, would you, if at all interested, consider sweeping the last 35 miles of the re-arranged TP100 from Walton at 5:10am via Cookham back to Windsor for a 4pm finish? 

I understand totally if not. 

James

Wow that was a big jump from the original proposal of 23 miles  but James the Race Director of the TP100 was in trouble, the weather conditions are such that there is expected to be severe flooding along the Thames River at the weekend with heavy rain on Friday and Saturday with the promise of snowfall to the north of the area. I was on tender hooks all day as I wanted to check with the delightful Mrs S who was amazingly totally OK with the idea as it fitted around her and the girl's plans so it was decided...I am off to do a 35 mile sweep at the weekend, in wet, muddy and horrible conditions....excellent.

Getting up at 3.30 am is something I am not looking forward to though!

Measure Twice

I am one to admit that having had to work on Tuesday evening recently has really twisted my training routine up as I normally recover on a Monday and run on a Tuesday. However, my 14 mile run on Monday and then 7 miles last night left me feeling a bit jaded today but I was determined to get home after work today with the full intention of going for an Easy run around the local area....but my body said "NO" tonight.

I had a look at my training plan but had to look again, then again and again when I realised I had given myself a rest day today. So having checked my training plan twice I suddenly felt a certain amount of relief and the guilt immediately gone. There is something to say about double-checking, Monkey Feet up and resting as we speak.

Blessed is the Monkey

On a whim I decided last night to run home from the City of London over Tower Bridge along the Thames Path and then to home a distance of about 14 miles (22 km) a run I have done a few times of late and I have finally mastered the route.

I was looking out of the training lab window and from about 3.00pm onwards the weather was dreadful, absolutely pelting with rain such that I nearly wimped out but was pleased to see a break at about 4.45pm, the run was on. So after the class had finished I jumped into my kit along with my Monkey Feet and ran off for home.

About 4 miles into the run I saw two ladies who called to me and on talking to them it appears they hailed from Jamaica from the sounds of their accent. One lady was dressed up to the nines and was holding a Bible who asked me for directions so after pointing her in the rough direction she exclaimed "What have you got on your feet darling?" so I went on to tell her what they were and that I called them my Monkey Feet and why I had them but then the standard set of question followed:

"...yes, gravel does hurt..."

"...no,  I try not to tread in dog poo..."

"...yes, my feet do get cold..."

So thanking me for my time she looked at me with all the seriousness of a person with faith and said to me:

"God Bless you darling" .......wait for it

"...and GOD BLESS your Monkey Feet" made the sign of the Christian cross towards my shoes and kissed her Bible

Priceless....blessed are my Monkey Feet

Planning overdrive

Today has been a whirlwind of planning for races and trying to find the cheapest (and most comfortable) way to travel and stay over night.

Take the Thames Path 100 where I will be sweeping a 23 mile section which will see me getting into Henley-upon-Thames at 1.20 am and will effectively be stranded or stuck with a potentially overstretched supply line. Here is a rough plan of actions to get a flavour:

Leave home	14:30
Arrive Henley-upon-Thames	16:00
Leave Henley-upon-Thames (train)	16:24
Arrive at Slough (for Windsor)	16:54
Get to Aid Station 3 (Windsor)	17:15
Leave Windsor (no later than)	18:20

That all looks simple but I have to also make sure that the family are all driven to their various places of work prior to this. The plan is to get into Henley at about 01:20am and drive home ensuring there are a few food and coffee breaks along the way so I can be back for Sunday morning bright eyed and bushy tailed to help the family with some stuff.

...and then there is the Hanover Marathon in May

Now this is a monster as not only is it in another country, I have to stay over as the flights are so sporadic but I am amazed to calculate that it is more expensive to get to the airport in England that it is to fly to Hanover. So a mini challenge is on and I am taking the coach which has the princely sum of £9.50 much cheaper in my opinion. Then there is the bed and breakfast, now that was interesting puzzle and have now managed to find a quality one just 1 mile from the start at a very reasonable price.

This is the fun part of ultrarunning :-)

Wo ist mein Pass

Ich bin nach Hannover reisen

My apologies if I have offended any Germans in the past two sentences but I did use Google Translator to try and say:

"Where is my passport, I'm traveling to Hanover"

I have been meaning to get my act into gear and sort out the finer details of my trip to Hannover in May to run the marathon there. The reason I am going to Hannover is because I was invited as part of the British contingent  to run with Christian Hottas who will be celebrating his 2000th marathon/ultramarathon. Today Christian posted the designs of the shirts he has bought for us to wear on the day....all I can say is WOW.

So armed with my latest pay cheque bonus I bought my air flight to Hannover today...

Ich bin einen Marathon zu laufen in Hannover*

*I'm running a marathon in Hanover

Time to refocus

Had some fun in the past few weeks with a lot of good quality runs and if I am a little truthful with myself probably focusing too much on barefoot running but still pleased I have done it as it revitalised my training which was becoming a little dull. Take Wednesday and Thursday when I was able to get out and do two runs  totaling 28 miles (45 km), one of those run was on light woodland trail around my local area and yesterday to the track and back all good stuff.

At the track last night I was able to hack out 24 laps , the middle 12 at 7:45 min/mile pace which was a really comfortable pace for me after which I ran at a more sedate pace then and back home.

This morning however the tell tale sign of a sore foot but not as bad as two weeks ago which reminds me I am not running ultras in bare feet so will concentrate on just road or trail shoes for the longer runs from now on if only to give this foot some time to heal up properly after all, I have a reasonably big one coming up in the next few weeks.

However I am secretly pleased I managed a Monkey Marathon in a 24 hour period...training is feeling good.

What do Monkey Feet do on a run?

They use a Monkey Swing of course!

The inner kid came out on my run this afternoon and when I saw a monkey swing in the woods put up by the local kids I couldn't resist

Me, My Monkey Feet & Two Dirty Girls

...are going for a run.

Getting in after a 12 hour day at work I was pleased to see a large envelope from The Ultramarathon Store sitting on the side table, it meant only one thing, my Dirty Girls had arrived. After a cup of tea and a catch up with the family I was seen disappearing into the dining room and 5 minutes with a small adaptation I was bedecked in my Monkey Feet and their new Dirty Girlfriends. I like bright and snazzy so went for a pair of Raceys but there are plenty to choose from at the online store. I can't wait to try them out for on the trail tomorrow when I will write a review for both trail and Vibrams.

Everyone likes a Dirty Girl

I am always a little nervous putting post titles up like this as it attracts some unsavoury readerships but this time I am really looking forward to some Dirty Girls arriving at my door! :-)

For a good few races I have been to recently I have see some of the other runners wearing Dirty Girl gaiters, in the picture to the right you can see my good American friend, Rajeev Patel, wearing a pair. Here we both are running the Grand Union Canal last year and he singing their praises.

Dirty Girls are a lightweight piece of material sculptered and fitted to the running shoe with a small piece of velcro and a clip on the laces whose sole purpose is to prevent debris entering your shoes which has been my downfall in the past and when wearing my Monkey Feet have had a few scuffs from dry mud and stones so hopefully these will be the answer, time will tell.

It was at the St Peters Way ultra a few weekends ago I finally decided to buy a pair when I saw Keith Godden who is the owner of the ULTRAmarathonrunningstore website wearing a pair which gave me the opportunity to have a chat about them as I was interested in seeing if they fitted my Vibram VFF Monkey Feet, having been given a short explanation involving loops of elastic I was sold. So tonight I have been onto the web site and bought a pair of Raceys, very psychedelic but I love them and can't wait until they arrive to test them out.

Street Orienteering Event - Report

Orienteering Symbol

The invite stated "Meet under the Lamp Post at 7.45pm for a briefing" No Dear Reader I wasn't going to have a romantic encounter where one of us wore a red rose the other a Financial Times newspaper. The Lamp Post is the meeting point of the Orpington Road Runners my secondary affiliation and we were to meet up for the inaugural Street Orienteering event organised by the amazing Peter.

The Delightful Mrs S had taken the car for her work and I was chasing the clock so chose to take the train part way to the meeting point. It was Thursday night so it was also Monkey Feet night so kitted up I ran to the station and jumped onto the train aware that I was being talked about by a couple of women behind me making comments about my VFFs, smiling to myself when one said "They look like a monkey!"

The Run

The general briefing was:

ORR Night Street Orienteering has been designed as a fun event and a basic introduction to orienteering. There are 14 "controls" each worth 2 points to find in any order within 1 hour. 1 point was deducted for each minute over time.

Sounds simple but whilst being fit enough to take on the run, none of us had seen the map and location of the controls yet so after a briefing we were handed the maps and given 3 minutes to review it. If you click on the image on the righy you will note a triangle in the bottom right hand corner, this is the start.

To tell you the truth I had no plan but I had spotted some of the other runners had turned up with pens, plastic folders, I just had my head torch and my Monkey Feet...some of these guys appeared to know what was what and others were fast. I cared not a jot and went out with the intention of doing my best and just enjoy it, after all, it was a fun event.

So we were off, I leapt over the low   fence and darted across the green immediately being overtaken by two runners who went the long way but bounded up the hill to the first control which Peter had marked with laminated card with the control number and a clicker that placed holes into my map to prove I had been there. After that it was a blur of long narrow alleyways and cul-de-sacs. Ever so often I would see another runner coming in the opposite direction and we would laugh and nod as we tried to get away from each other.

Tactical mistake

Arriving at control 71 I got my map I chose to go cross country and travel in the dark to control 70 when in hindsight I had sufficient time to collect 63 and 75 to return for 70 but this is a lesson learnt for next time as I returned to the finish 8 minutes early but would have made no difference to my postion... I was second last having not realised that a good few had run as a group 

In all, really fun and I think everyone got something out of it. What did the winner get? He got a round of applause and bragging rights until next time.

Street Orienteering

Here's a new one on me - Street Orienteering - and an activity been organised by my good running friend Peter from my sister club, the inaugural event is on Thursday evening and my Monkey Feet and I will be teaming up to have a go even though I don't even know the streets where we are running.

 

The Object

You have 1 hour to find as many controls shown on the map provided.

 

Scoring

2 points scored for each control visited. 1 point deducted for every minute/part minute taken over the 1 hour time limit.

 

Whilst this is primarily a fun event the first individual and first pair will be those who have scored the most points in the shortest time.

 

Start Time

Meet at 7:45pm to register and be issued with a map and receive a briefing.  There will be a mass start at 8pm.

 

So no track for me this week, just the knowledge that I will get the train to get closer to the start point and run the last mile or so to get there in time then run home to get some miles in. Looks fun...it has to be, after all it is my hobby

Choose your battles wisely

There is a struggle taking place in my household, a most strange struggle one of ownership, a dispute.

Some of my Dear Readers will be aware of my new training partner, Arthur, who is one of my constant companion in the house. Look around and somewhere Arthur will be nearby watching me, if he is not watching me he will often be found up a tree somewhere in the garden, yes Arthur is the family cat.

Arthur has a secret love

I recently discovered that Arthur has a love affair, a love of my Vibram Five Finger TrekSport shoes a.k.a my Monkey Feet and is often found snuggled up to them, sniffing them and once actually dry humping them!

As my closest followers know, "Thursday Night is Monkey Feet Night" when I am seen running around the local track in my Monkey Feet which has come part of my regular routine for my training calendar. However, today I have had a horrifically stressful day such that I was about to resign and just walk away from my work with the intention of never returning. Never in all my time have I actually found myself at the sharp end of a 6' 4" 17 stone bully trying to intimidate me in the office. Little did this guy know that I bow to know one and was not cowed to his name calling.

Tired and irritated I returned home and ignoring my plans grabbed my Monkey Feet which were nearby but had an eery feeling to look over to the coffee table to see a rather irritated face peeping over the top. Indeed, a very annoyed Arthur whose unflinching stare followed me around the room. He was almost saying "Oi Monkey Feet Man, my night is Wednesday, yours is Thursday" I had inadvertently taken his smelly friends from under his nose.

So as expected, I totally ignored him, stripped down to just shorts and a top and left the house for a run on the streets. The anger and bitterness leaving me with every slap of my feet on the pavement. I don't like running when in a mood but Arthur's mood has not been pleasant since my departure earlier this evening.

Moral of the story: Choose your battles wisely

TP100 - New Sweeper Job

There I sat at the front of the computer lab, my students industriously tapping away on their keyboards at the latest problem I had set them and I saw an email drop into my inbox the title read:

SWEEPING!!

I was instantly drawn to it as I saw it was from my good running pal, James Elson of Centurion Running and these fine words jumped from the text:

"... We have a gap on the sweeper roster for the TP100 between Windsor mile 28 and Henley mile 51...."

followed by a big grin by myself, I'll have some of that, an excellent opportunity to get some slowed paced, river running with a nice chunk of night running to boot whilst helping out my fellow runners. The logistics are a little interesting as I will have to drop the car off at Henley then take a train back to my start point as I don't want to get snagged in an extended supply chain...but, hey, I am well up for this and even have Mrs S vaguely on side as it doesn't eat into the day!

Show us your Winning Face

With the worry of a painful toes still in the forefront of my mind, I crammed my feet into my New Balance running shoes to meet by buddies, Andrea, Debbie, Si and Tina at the local train station with the plan of running the Darenth Valley Path again, a total of about 16 miles, these guys were training for the London Marathon and I was just out for the run, to test out my toe and enjoy the company.

Taking the early train we arrived at Sevenoaks and went for a gently paced run, Spring was showing it was in the air with late snowbells and primroses poking through the drying soil of the North Downs.

By the end of the run I had clocked up 17 miles which included my jog to the station and calculated that I had run 68 miles (110 km) in the past 7 days and whilst my toe was a little sore after I am really happy the way my training is going.

I took this picture of myself as I ran along the trail. Why? Who knows why but I just wanted to see my Running face :-)

No Break Here

Back from the Urgent Care Unit and relieved to inform you all that I do not have a stress fracture that I feared. Let's wind the clock back 24 hours.

Thursday Evening

Thursday Night has been renamed to "Monkey Feet Night" as it is the day that I go to the track and do a number of slow burn circuits in my Vibrams. This particular evening the rest of the gang were whizzing around doing speed sessions and I just enjoyed doing the laps at various paces dependent on the people passing by, even the run to the track was at steady pace as it my first run since the St Peters Way Ultra last Sunday....things were feeling great and all set for my 18 miles trail on Saturday, that is until....

Today (Friday)

Getting out of bed this morning I placed my left foot on the floor and stood up...."OUCH" there was a horrific shooting pain up the length of my long toe. Now I am used to bump and knocks whilst running but this was a new sharp, intense pain that carried on to the front door but now dulled when wearing day shoes.

Taking my shoes off at work, I found that as soon as I did not get support it hurt again such I decided to get it checked out at the hospital this evening.

So two X Rays later and a lovely chat with the Doctor who was good enough to spend some extra time talking through the images with me and to put my mind at rest. I am smiling now as she wanted to have a look at the foot and toe but was more interested in my damaged toenails wanting to know if they hurt, I assured her that it was normal for me and then she kept prodding them!

So listening to her every word and ignoring her advice I am off for a trail run tomorrow but sadly the Monkey Feet are back on the naughty step until the aches go.