Dirty Girls

After what is best described as one of my most rubbish runs in a few months today I stumbled off to my house after waving goodbye to Duncan, the only saving grace of the whole fiasco, who had patiently listened to me huffing and puffing around the local woods.

One moment stands out in my head of the run was when the two of us took a side path and skipped up it expecting to come out in a certain part but then found we were in a different part and going the opposite way than we expected and literally HURLED ourselves down the hill, skipping over roots, bouncing off sides of the grooved path, bounding over and cresting the surging path....exhilarating.

We departed at Hangman's Corner, the best place for rubbish runs.

This evening was part two of my shoe maintenance and this time it was to fix my Dirty Girl gaiters to my Kanadias in preparation for my sweeping duties at the Pony Express next week and the GUCR next month...I think they look AWESOME 

Monkey Toes and Monkey Fingers.

My Monkey Feet were due their overdue inspection the other night and I discovered that the middle toe of the right foot had developed an alarmingly large hole, well it was about 3 mm across, caused by the protective sole of the ring toe rubbing the fabric.

Tonight I was at a loose end having decided not to run as I am mentally exhausted at the moment (Black Dog?) such that I had a two hour deep sleep on the sofa awakening refreshed and jaded so I decided repair my Monkey Feet using some tape (to hold the ring toe back), some supaglue and a match as an applicator.

Whilst in the front room alone I went about the repair job with speed and dexterity, or so I thought, when I stepped back from my handy work to discover my thumb was well and truly stuck to my Monkey Foot's middle toe!

The thumb has now been extracted from its problem but now my Monkey Feet are ready for their next milestone.

 

...and towards the GUCR

www.xnrg.co.uk

As I looked at dropping from the TP100 my final push was seeing a request for assistance from the XNRG who were looking for a Sweeper on 3-4 May 2014.

This race is a two event with runners and walkers covering 30 miles a day on each day. A previous message between (Coach) Gemma was:

Jerry: 

"Good Morning Coach, I hope you are well and uninjured. I have decided not to attempt any part of the TP100 as the temptation to push myself is too prevalent. I have however put my services forward to run as Sweeper at the Pony Express on the same weekend to do a sedate 30 miles, would this be acceptable?"

Gemma:

"Absolutely. A leisurely paced run with occasional walk breaks won't tax you. As long as you rest a day or two before and recover well after absolutely fine. After that, it's all slowly tapering to GUCR. Well done on making an excellent decision regarding TP[100]. You have shown how much GUCR means to you."

So with this endorsement I was happy to drop out after first getting the confirmed response from Neil of XNRG.

To me this is perfect timing for me and mutually beneficial to both parties, I have also got it fully endorsed by the Delightful Mrs S who is really pleased as my daughter goes to University near the race and can have a day out together....WIN WIN

...and now the focus

As usual it took a little bit of "Me" time to really get the nagging thoughts in the back of my mind to the forefront and deal with it. Monday's run on the Downs was perfect allowing to go through some stuff in my head and view my priorities in my running calendar. The two big ones looming are:

1. G.U.C.R
2. Thames Path 100

Whilst #2 holds great memories and a wonderful challenge it was however originally entered in case my G.U.C.R entrance was not accepted via the ballot, as my Dear Readers know, I was successful and everything else became secondary. Such is the case I was planning to run just part of the TP100 and drop at about 40 miles. The runner in me bulked at this idea....

 

I have withdrawn from the TP100 with these words to the organisers:

 

"It is with a heavy heart that I am relinquishing my coveted TP100 race number for 2014. As some of you know I will be running the GUCR at the end of May and has been my goal race for over a year. I was planning to run part of the course as a training run and drop out but my heart was not in it if I did so. Sorry for the late drop."

 

All is not bad.....wait for tomorrow's instalment to see what is going on!!! 

 

Catch Up

The blogs have been a bit few and far of late but it doesn't mean I haven't been out on the trail and roads doing what I like best...running.

The toe and foot are healing up nicely such that in the last 3 weeks I have run 2 full marathons and a nice hilly 20 mile trail run yesterday

Yesterday's 20 mile run was out of this world as I have been too long away from my beloved Vanguard and North Downs Ways. After a lovely day out with my family it was agreed that the Delightful Mrs S turf me out of the car around the Edenbridge area so that I could duck over a few fences and fields to the Vanguard Way and then travel North towards home. I was well organised but was taken aback by the weather which was a little hotter than expected but had taken into consideration places where I could grab water from taps along the way.

So perfect was my run that I saw nobody absolutely nobody for the first hour, a nod to a lone dog walker and then another hour of nobody until I stepped over the motorway and towards the outskirts of suburbia. As there was no pressure for time I took my time practising my long distance "ultra shuffle" so commented by people that gets me places and then power walked the escarpment pacing out towards home.

Whilst the weekday miles maybe dropping off I am really pleased with my volume of long runs and my consistency of recovery.

Things are looking up at last.

tropeR ecaR - nohtaraM ehT

The night of the run came and the logistics were set in stone catching the night bus to Trafalgar Square and the walk the short distance to The Houses of Parliament's Elizabeth Tower which holds the famous Big Ben.

Arriving at 3.25am I soon spotted a gaggle of runners bedecked in bright jackets and lycra, the plan was a 3.30 start and a 4.00am start, I chose the former as I didn't to keep a fast pace as I just wanted it to pace nicely and get set for the GUCR, I planned to be in Greenwich by 8.00am. I started with Nici, Kate, John, Claire, Emma, Ian and Stephen to gently pace our journey but not before a photographer jumped up and asked for a photograph asking why he explained that I was the organiser!! I quickly refuted this as it was ably done by others via Social Networks.

So excited as a bunch of 6 year old kids going on a school trip we traced the route of the London Marathon in reverse whooping, laughing and shouting out when we saw the marathon blue line painted on the road. It became very apparent that over the coming miles the night was very warmer, warmer than I was expecting so off came the windproof to finish off in just shirt sleeves. Such was the company and high jinx the miles flew by some runners being very conscience of their pace and using different techniques such as run 25, walk 5 minutes and whilst this works for some I ran the first 10 miles using this option but reverted back to my standard pacing feeling more comfortable but feeling good to experiment.

On arriving at Canary Wharf we found the route was not very well marked and the barriers not in place such that we took a wrong turning but took an extended detour to make up the miles to rejoin the route, a strange and eery place in the early hours. Once again the "photographer" leapt from the bushes and asked us to pose for some more pictures and we moved on, I felt happier for some reason leaving Canary Wharf, partly because it meant we were soon to get on Tower Bridge just over the half way mark. 

Arriving at the bridge I spotted a gaggle of runners crowded around Richard, our mobile checkpoint, this guy must be built with the strength of a mule for I am sure the ancient bridge was bowing under the weight of his spread of food and drinks, amazing. Moving on I took the rest of the run at my pace dropping some of the group and chasing others but savouring every moment watching the sun come up and the world around me wake up and people appearing from their front doors.

As I approached Greenwich I came aware of the masses of activity of water stations being stacked, barriers being pushed together and marshals blocking roads meaning the cars would soon be gone and I would have safe passage on the road. Turning around Cutty Sark yet again the "photographer" jumped out from behind a barrier and snapped a load of photos of me and waved me on my way, I went on I then saw my two running club friends Martin and Mike, a welcome face when you have been out for a few hours so I stopped for a brief chat before they went off about their marathon duties.

The last 6 miles flew by with fleeting conversations with passers by, marshals and Police Officers, the last 2 miles probably the hardest as it is all up hill but the idea of getting breakfast with the others spurred me on such that I glided to the entrance gate to Red Start on the Common at the wonderfully accurate time 8.03 am exactly 4 hours and 30 minutes from when I started, a scarily perfect paced run!

As I arrived I heard a shout "Jerry!" to see James, another nohtaraM ehT walking towards me and then another guy looking lost but we all joined together for the all important walk to the Cutty Sark cafe which had line side views of the marathon unfolding in front of 15 of us as we tucked in to our bacon rolls and full English breakfasts laughing and joking about our night time journeys.

A brilliant run and all the better after a gathering at the end....loved it

nohtaraM ehT

A lot has happened since my last blog but things are looking better when we talk of foot injuries and my (secret) worries about TP100 and the GUCR. 

On Sunday I went for a short recovery run in my Monkey Feet, just a few miles, but on my return iced my toe and revelled in the fact that it felt great and training was back on track such that I ran 12 miles yesterday and 7 this evening.

Thursday sees me do a short track run and then on Saturday night.........................

nohtaraM ehT

I am VERY excited about this when a crowd of the ultra running community will meet at The Houses of Parliament, London at an allotted time to run the reverse route of the London Marathon to Greenwich self supported. A wonderful subversive, maverick group of people running the night for the sheer fun of it, I am so happy to be part of it.

Not the best idea

After running just over 3 miles to the track last night I had plan to do another 5 miles on it, however halfway through my second mile I felt my toe nagging me that it was uncomfortable and hurting a little...I stopped.

So today, with toe taped, I walked around the office bare foot much to the amusement of a few colleagues but it felt great such that I thought I would have a go with my Monkey Feet even if it was to just try them on.

This was probably the silliest thing I have done for a little while for whilst I pushed my little pinky into it toe cover and then put weight on my foot the pain was excruciating, every crease finding the right nerve end to pinch.

Needless to say they were thrown back in the corner and I am left irritated that this injury is going to take a little longer than I want.

It doesn't happen very often

...but when it does it is a brilliant feeling.

Endorphin

The Runner's High