Making gains

And so the slow plod continues and I am beginning to see improvements already. Over the past week or so I have continued to walk the Sloane Square from the office and fit in a longer walk when I can and happily walking 10km. The walking bit is the easy bit, finding the time not and I must admit I am finding the exercise part of it really easy so looking forward to stepping up a bit and start the running.

The side benefits of this new exercise regime is that I have already dropped a trouser size which is also down to eating sensibly  by having breakfast, a light lunch and supper and not snacking on easy sugars like chocolate or biscuits.

Let's see how the next week goes and then the running starts...I hope

Doing what I have missed

To say I am back with it is a bit of an over statement, but I am increasing my physical activity in preparation of starting to run again... well that is the plan Dear Reader.

Quite simply this week I decided that my ever bulging waist line needed some attention so as of last Monday I have started to walk to Sloane Square from the Natural History Museum which is only about a mile but is a start. On Thursday I worked from home and so what I saved on a commute was exchanged with a lovely 5 mile trail walk around my local woods.

I enjoyed my Thursday walk so much that I did it again on Saturday, I still enjoy the fact that with so many people in the area I probably only saw 5 of them. I can hear you say "but you have run miles and miles Jerry!", I agree I have but I am just taking the next 2 weeks very slowly and then after that the running will start.

This blog's image today is me standing in my local stream washing off my Monkey Feet 3's that were absolutely covered in mud by the end. 

One person’s mountain

Today I noticed a complete difference in Nayoung who was already waiting on the kerb side outside her house this morning.

Today we were going to see whether we could run as much as possible and only have a brief walk up the hills at Goddington Park, Orpington. It has been good for me to start again just to help reaffirm that one person’s mountain is another person’s mole hill and soon we will be running them instead of a cheeky little walk once in a while.

Today we ran really well and we talked briefly about the new tether we were using which was really useful as I was worried that she seemed to be pulling it hard and did it mean she wanted me to slow down, no, it was just her putting some tension on it to get more feedback from me. It transpires that she did this when she felt a bit worried about the terrain and so I have made a mental note to talk her through those sections and to shorten the tether...all good stuff we are learning off each other.

I once again apologised for talking too much in between instructions but she is apparently OK with this. 

To the last hill, we were determined to get up it and so for no reason at all I started to sing "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys which we stormed but I suspect was Nayoung's way of getting me to shut up as quickly as possible!! :-)

Next week we are going to do our inaugural parkrun, Nayoung really is a Girl on Fire.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

...the knife dropped to the kitchen floor and skittered to a halt in the centre of the room...

"Then without warning the moment froze like the pause button had been clicked on a film I was watching and I found myself standing in the Myatts Field Estate, Camberwell 24 years in the past facing a screaming man who was holding a bloodied 12 inch carving knife to my face, I could smell his acrid breath and could feel his spittle splatter my face as he ranted incoherently , I was a Police Officer and I was there to stop him...."

This was a full blown flashback to an incident I have never talked about even to my wife and friends not then, not now but it seems right to get it out here but not everything, it was not a good day for the knife man who I arrested as I could hold my own in a bar fight in those days as he fell to the floor, the blood covered knife that was in his hand skittering to a halt in the centre of the room.

This is my curse, this is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it can pull me into places with no warning. This scene has been spinning around by mind for the past 48 hours, always there just out of reach like an itch you couldn't scratch.

My distraction this evening was to go to the track and try out some reps, run 150 metres, walk 50 metres and repeat until I got to 5 km. It was a great distraction for the 30 or so minutes and I enjoyed it as I finished someone shouted at me about lane infringement, I shouted back and soon I was back thinking about that incident 24 years ago, it will go soon waiting for something to replace it in a few years time.

Some people don't like minimalist runners

Saturday has come and gone but still needs to be mentioned as a really successful training session. 

Last week I went to the British Blind Sport website to buy two new tethers, one for Nayoung and the other for myself just in case one of us forgot and for the princely sum of £6 each saw it a bargain as well as a nice donation to the cause.

Arriving at the park Nayoung and I were in a really good mood and we decided to continue our Run/Walk strategy for now so that we didn't strain ourselves. I was soon telling her about my week and we both laughed about my students and the things they got up to. Nayoung told me a gruesome tale when she broke her ankle once in Turkey and the series of events that took place. Let me just say, I was happy I had already had my breakfast. At the end of her tale I looked at my watch and found that we had been running non-stop for 5 minutes.....this was a big lesson for Nayoung who was amazed but I told her to keep talking as it took her mind off her legs complaining. We completed are run being 4 minutes faster that last week and having run a further 400 metres. I think it is beginning to work.

Why don't people like Minimalist running?

I had to laugh the other day when I received a message, not from one, but two people who thought it their place to tell me to stop running in Vibram Five Fingers, one of them even had the audacity to say:

"...get back in your old running shoes and left the fad, 8 years ago they were the rage..."sic

How little this person knows me, I have never been a lover of fads or fashions but this type of shoe is perfect for me. I also don't think they realize that I do wear other shoes when running depending on the type of run and how far. They also have to look at my record of injury, like my running style, minimal.

Sorry for finishing this blog with a sour note but I am a believer that if the shoe fits wear it and if it works for you, do it.

Happy Running

Slowly but Surely

Dearest Reader,

I will do my best not to write about every training run that I will be doing over the coming weeks but it, well, keeps my motivation up.

The past week has seen me working past my contracted hours but also lecturing on two of those evenings, so I was basically extremely tired and would have happily curled up on the sofa for a nap. I have a plan, to get picked up by a friend to go to the track....nothing like peer pressure!

The track was great as usual, everyone was doing 400 metre lap reps with a rest in between but as usual I went about doing my own thing gently jogging around lane 2 and 3 away from the guys doing speed work. I know I am going back to basics but I am overweight at the moment and it is important to get the ground work in and not do something silly to put me off.

It seems so long ago when I talked of running a 20 mile run each week or running a marathon with 20 hours notice but my first goal is to just feel happy running again and see where it rakes me.

With all my love,

Jerry

I will dance Jerry

As promised I texted Nayoung on Friday to inform her we were going start running around the park but the plan was to run for 90 seconds then walk for 60 seconds and then repeat for about 5-6 times depending how we felt.

Arriving outside her house at 8.30 am I was amazed to see Nayoung was ready and waiting on her doorstep and was already making her way to the car. This week we got a prime slot in the car park and so after a short period of getting my Guide bib on and Nayoung putting her coat in the car we were off, gently at first but soon chatting away about the route. I am really impressed with Nayoung, she is so confident and we were soon transitioning between tarmac to grass, grass to mud and mud to tarmac with hardly a break in step.

We soon passed 6 sets of run to walk so decided to take it up a notch to see if we could do another lap which we took very gently with a little bit more walk than run. By the end on the session we were quite tired but with big smiles on our faces.

On the way back home I told Nayoung that we both had some homework to do before we met either a long walk or a run. Nayoung told me " I may be able to go for a walk but I sometimes run in my house." I asked "On a treadmill?" to which I was informed that she did it on the spot.

"This week I will dance Jerry!"

Who am I to argue, a perfect cardio-vascular workout, what a great idea. 

I received a lovely email last week via England Athletics from a lady called Nayoung who is blind and asked if I would be her Guide Runner. It transpires that she lives about 2 miles from me so we exchanged a few emails and agreed to meet at Goddington Park, Orpington at the parkrun; Nayoung was very happy as was I.

It is important that as a Guide Runner for visually impaired (VI) athletes you arrange to meet at a venue where there are lots of people so that they feel safe and this worked perfectly for us today as Nayoung came with a friend who was her chaperone. After introducing ourselves to the Race Director, Peter, who I have run hundreds of miles with in the past, we dumped Nayoung's coat and stick to go off to the centre of the park. Here I explained to her that we needed to get to know each other and do some drills together. As always I had a planned session that lasted 45 minutes where we did the following:

• Right Turns
• Left Turns
• About Turns 
• Gradual turns to the left and right
• Rough trail
• Uneven trail

Nayoung was a natural, a brilliant VI runner who was happy to tell me to slow, walk or run. We learnt not to say "Sorry" if we bumped elbows, everything I needed as guide so she could get the best from her run with me.

As for myself, I had a lovely time, what with meeting old friends and actually running (Which I miss terribly) and meeting a new friend. Next week I am picking her up from her home so that we can do a slightly longer, in duration, run around the park and then progress to hopefully run a full parkrun in a few weeks

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Unbeknownst to many of my friends I have started to run again and I use that term very loosely. There are many reasons why I have started again but the main one is I secretly miss it.

My official first run was on 16th February at the track, the track is quite a good place to start as there is no pressure on you and nobody ever asks what my plan was. To be frank, it was just to be able to get around a few laps, walk when I needed and run when I wanted and I was very pleased with completing 5 km but felt dreadful.

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Since then I have completed another 7 runs on the track and at roughly the same distance, I am slowly getting a bit more confident but I am finding my internal cadence clock doesn't understand that I am not as fit as I was. Let me explain, after years of training pace, going on long distance runs with a set time in mind, being able to run a set distance and finishing within seconds of the planned time it just doesn't understand about slowing the tempo down.

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

God doesn't build in straight line

For a few weeks now I have been trying to get a spot in Duncan's and my diary so that I can try and return to running together again like we used to a few years back and today was one of those rare days so I dragged my sorry arse up the hill to our usual meeting point of Hangman's Corner. The agreement was to run at tempo so that we could chat  but as per usual we totally forgot about that and after about 400 metres I was panting like an old dog, I say panting, it was more like a goldfish gasping for water to fill it's gills, so we reset the clock and jogged off.

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

What I like about runs with Duncan is that we can always pick up a conversation that lay unfinished from 2 weeks ago and just carry it on as though the time didn't matter. We talked of how age changes our ability to run, muscle tone, loss of speed and our changes in posture. We then blew this nonsense out of the water and reminded ourselves why we ran, the bluebells, early this year, were out and around us was a sea of blue heads popping their heads above the soil. We looked at decaying trees and quoted films "God doesn't build in straight lines" Prometheus (2012)

Our pace began to normalise to a steady pace and we did what Duncan I do best, we skipped we jumped and laughed whilst we navigated the gnarled old paths of the local woods.

With a heavy heart we returned to Hangman's Corner thinking it was time to say goodbye and the hope I could walk the rest of the way when Duncan said he would run down the hill with me, I silently swore under my breath, and joined him in the last bit, my lungs felt as though I had swallowed a litre of fluid and my throat felt it was on fire. We finally got to the path where we said our goodbyes and I looked to see if he could still see me, he didn't so I walked the rest of the way home.

Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Don't Compare

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Lao Tzu

Today was a big day for my running as it was a Sunday which is the traditional day for the "Long Run" in any training programme. You will often hear runners exclaim "Who is up for a long run?" or "I am doing a long run on Sunday, you coming?" and even "I did a long run at the weekend, boy it was hard!" The question of what exactly is a Long Run from a none runner is not often ventured as it opens up the floor for a running enthusiast to regale such stories of mud, blood, blisters and chafing normally around tea break when the non-runner is wishing they had never asked. So in fact, the long run, is an arbitrary distance that the runner sees in their training plan as the longest of the runs that week and can range from 1 to 40 miles.

Today I ventured out for my "Long Run" which was in my mind was a big ask considering I am on day three of my training plan and it was to run 5 miles (8 km). A few years ago this distance for me wasn't even considered only because I was doing such enormous distances that it was tiny in comparison . However, today was different, this was my marathon, and I had planned to run through the local woods  and then a loop of the nature reserve.

The Delightful Mrs S was very kind as she knew I didn't want to be seen by people I knew as I am a little upset by weight gain that I didn't want to be seen as a tub of lard on legs . The run wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be mainly because I mentally cut out the images of yesteryear but lived with the here and now. It was a very pleasant early Spring day today, the ground underfoot was soft but a pleasure to run on, the warm air lapping around me as I jogged along, walked the hills and ran the flats with my headphones playing a mixture of AC/DC and Tchaikovsky. 

So there we have it, a lovely spring run wearing my old faithful Vibram TrekSport a.k.a. Monkey Feet 2 and a note to myself to concentrate on the "short" stuff to get my cardiovasvular up to scratch for the next 3 weeks ready to step up and be happy with my level fitness and not others.

Like a wheezing old dog

I made a decision this week that I should start getting regular exercise again which has not been happening of late. I can blame it on so many things: Long hours at work, extra contracts lecturing, laziness or a plethora of other excuses. Mentally, I have been in a good place since my start at the Natural History Museum which is an amazing place but the demonic Black Dog is always close by but have been, with the help of my medication, managed to keep ahead of it. The medication has some side effects, for me, is a massive gain in weight and excessive tiredness with me being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

This week I have had a break from lecturing on a Thursday evening and so went directly from work to the running track. Putting on my shorts I noticed they felt a little tighter than they used to and ventured out on to track-side to join the throng of other runners who were all chatting excitedly about their forthcoming marathons, training plans and injuries. I no longer get involved in these conversations as they tend to bore me as runners can be very opinionated about their own training experience and so I separated myself from the group and went about the business of running by myself.

I put on my headphones, something I have started to do when I am in groups, and ran very slowly so I could get a sense of what my body was telling me. After 1200 metres my breathing became more laboured and I started to wheeze, everything I expected, as my lungs started to clear. Taking a break at 1600 metres I chose to bring the pace down and push on but walk 100 metres every 300 metres, this seemed to do the job but I did feel that I wasn't so much as gliding through the air more barging it out of the way.

Early days but I do feel that if I stick to it my fitness will return but probably a lot slower now.

Onwards and upwards as they say. 

I'm back

Dippy the Diplodocus

I have been away from my blog for far too long and so much has happened in my life that ultra-running had to be put on the back burner whilst I dealt life's ups and downs.

Since I last wrote I have been running on and off having entered and run the Liverpool to Leeds 130 but completed just 51 miles before jumping into a pub and calling it as day. To be frank, I had no chance of completing it and was very happy to get to the point I did with absolutely no training!!!

Other news that I need to catch up on is that I am now an England Athletics qualified:

1.  Mental Health Ambassador, 
2. A Guide Runner for Visually Impaired and Blind Athletes

and in those roles I have run with, mentored and met some amazing people who use running and walking as one of their therapies, I am often just a "listener" to let them just talk in a non-confrontational or neutral environment to get things off their chest.

I announced on social media about a month ago that I would be retiring from ultra-running as I cannot afford to have so much time training but now I have been "prescribed" running by my doctor.

Additionally, I was made redundant in September this year but was able to get my dream job working at the Natural History Museum in London as their Senior Database Administrator Developer. I am sure to mention the museum more than once over the coming weeks but please remember that my Monkey Feet a.k.a. Vibram Five Fingers are still around and running in a race or two near you soon.

England Athletics - Mental Health Ambassador

In February 2016 I was made aware that England Athletics were looking for Mental Health Ambassadors from the ranks of local running clubs which I leapt at, the advertisement read:

England Athletics are looking for Mental Health Ambassadors who are committed to our cause of improving mental wellbeing through running.
We are looking for ambassadors who are/have:

• Experience of a mental health problem, either personally or from a close relative or friend.
• An open and non-judgmental attitude.
• A member of an England Athletics affiliated club or Run England group.
• A positive, patient and supportive approach towards supporting people with mental health problems.
• A positive role model.
• Behave in a professional, confidential and non-discriminatory manner at all times and promote equal opportunities for all.

I jumped at the chance and wrote a brief history of my experience, background and outlook, much to my surprise I was accepted along with about another 100 people in England. My role, whilst not a counsellor, is to:

• Support
• Engage
• Use social media to guide athletes
• Share social media messages
• Talk openly to people
• Advocate (finger point to resources)
• Volunteer in events to support people with mental health concerns

It is early days yet but I am really looking forward to taking on my role.

The one that nearly got away

My race kit sat by the front door ready for a quick get away for the Punchbowl Marathon which was either a 20 or 30 mile, I had opted for the 20 miler and was looking forward to my first event of 2016....that was until I woke up at 6.15 am on the day of the race.

The morning of the event

The alarm went off and I surfaced from a very deep sleep aided nicely by my anti-depressants but with the added affect that I couldn't rouse myself so sat on the edge of my bed for 5 minutes trying to kick start my body but like so many mornings I was filled with feelings of insecurity, self-doubt and worse, misery. It would have been very simple to get back into bed, pull the duvet over me and fall asleep.

I was in a personal fight of  Do It versus Don't Do It, the former just about winning but the latter was beginning to overwhelm my senses. I went into automated mode, made coffee, got my kit on, drank coffee still wanting to go back to bed and switch off.

I dragged myself to the car, got in and drove to Witley in Surrey about 75 minutes away and then found that my medication was not clearing but soldiered on with the window fully open so the cold air kept me alert.

Hi Gramps

I had forgotten that I was to drive past the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley where my Father's ashes were scattered, I waved as I passed said "Hi Gramps" and for the remainder of the journey had tears running down my cheeks...bereavement is such a horrible thing but promised him that today's run was for him.

The event

As normal, the LDWA put on a brilliant event, the weather cold, windy but sunny. After catching up with old trail friends I excused myself and went off on my own, there is one thing I love about my mob of mates is that they respect your privacy and are happy either way, to run as a group or not.

This was my first time doing the Punchbowl and so I was looking forward to the challenge and, that, is exactly what it was. The ascents were steep, the ground sometimes no more that river beds, soft gloopy mud and exposed chalk and sandstone just waiting for you to tumble which I did a few times.

Jeez, this event was tough, more so due to my lack of training but I was in it to the end. The picture above was taken at the viewpoint of the Devil's Punch Bowl which is a large natural amphitheatre and beauty spot  and was the highest point in the run and I was very happy it was going to down hill all the way. I couldn't be so wrong when I was directed to go up a 1000 metre riverbed of a path that just went up and up and up.

I was happy though when I saw the last descent and the village hall in Witley where there was a plate of beans on toast and a cup of sweet coffee. So I did it and with a smile at the end just over the reported distance at 33km.....very pleased with that.

"Just go out and enjoy it" they said

The past few weeks have flown by and whilst I may not be posting regularly I am indeed running in the background and slowly but surely my fitness is returning.

The beginning of the year saw my Demons return for a short while when I wallowed in a shallow pity and deep doubt of my ability as a runner and the almost insurmountable challenge of the GUCR. 

On 5^th January this year I ran along the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal from Little Venice to Bull's Bridge and was not a happy Monkey at the end of it realising I had a long way to go into my training plan. Guided by friends who advised me to stop worrying about training plans and distances but go out and fall in love with the sport again. Looking back at this I realise that it is probably the best advice I have had in years, go out and enjoy it and that is what I have done.

My Garmin sits idle in the top draw of the night stand and my Apple Watch is set to No Goal and I just go for a run. The humorous picture above shows me looking very serious but in fact it has become a meme to show that in fact I am really enjoying it . I turned up to the track early to watch one of the coaches put someone through some running drills to improve his gait, had this been 550 years ago the coach would have been been burnt at the stake if the Inquisitors had seen the amazing results that he made to the runner. After this I joined the main group who were hovering around ready to start and warmed up with them and then went for a pleasantly paced run with a lady called Nicki who wanted to take it easy after an injury. We went off at a very sedate pace, no goals, just a run and as we chatted I noticed that I was running unlaboured and actually enjoying it such that we decided to do a pyramid run of 4,3,2,1,2,3,4 laps with 100 metre walk between sets. As we chatted we soon noticed the pace was up.

I don't think I can remember a word Nicki and I chatted about but the distraction really helped boost my confidence such that I am ready to take on my first challenge of the year on Sunday when I run in the Punchbowl Marathon a distance of either 20 or 30 miles, I am going to set myself the 20 miles as an easier goal and leave the larger distance to next weekend.  

Make note to self --> Just go out and enjoy it on Sunday, you have bigger fish to fry 

Secret Monkey Mission

I was back on the Grand Union Canal (Paddington Branch) on Monday this week and boy did it feel fantastic to be there again.

I had been requested by a member of my extended family of long distance runners to do a reconnaissance on the section between Bulls Bridge and Little Venice to which I was more than happy to do if only to get me out on the canal again and also have some purpose in my training.

My original plan was to run from Bulls Bridge to Little Venice but on my way there I was contacted by my work and was pulled into the office to "fix" a wayward server. With this change in plans so I chose to change the direction to save time.

The recent wet weather and winds left the canal-side wet in places with puddles formed  in certain non-residential areas but as usual there were the usual sights and sounds. Cyclist whizzed by with a customary "ting-ting" of their bell, Polish fishermen were catching their supper, the occasional prostitute stood on a corner plying their trade and the boats sat in their winter moorings whilst the smell of burning wood hit the back of my throat. A normal day on the canal. The light was magical as you would expect on a cool winter morning giving everything a yellow glow and the boats form silhouettes in the water.

I had planned out a route of 21 kilometres on the canal and 2 kilometres either end to get between there and the stations. Yes, the run was hard, I am in no way at running weight yet and my cardiovascular is not at all good such that my pace was very slow but methodical, at best described as "ultra pace"

Swans hissed at me as I passed whilst I swore back at them, I overtook boats whose hippy captains tendered to their spluttering engines and the occasional drug addict looked up at me with paranoid eyes. I puffed and wheezed along inwardly smiling knowing where I needed to get to in terms of fitness and this run was the step up I needed.

Finding that I had bled my battery dry from taking too many pictures in regards to my Secret Monkey Mission I was unable to get my triumphant selfie at Bulls Bridge but happy to tell you it was still there but I can confirm it still is.

This run was a lovely run.

Now all pray to the Monkey Gods

On Tuesday evening this weekI was to be my first go as an official group leader after my recent qualification as a Leader in Running Fitness. As I am getting back to fitness I didn't want to be seen to flake out after a mile so asked to go with Group 2, usually comprising people new to running and making their first step up into a distance past 5km or people returning from injury. This is a nice group to lead as all they need to do is get some confidence that in fact they can do it and to realise speed and distance comes to those who are patient. My brief was to run 4.5 miles at 10:30 - 11:00 min/miles, nothing more, nothing less, so I had planned the route but had no Garmin GPS to use to pace so I chose to blag it and go with the flow!

It was much surprise when I was introduced as " Welcome Jezza on his inaugural run as Group 2 Leader" a large cheer went up and a round of applause rippled through the crowd that I introduced the run, speed and distance. Then the next surprise (and much relief) when a small group of about 12 runners gathered around me with expectant faces.

The run went well with a few stops for all to group together (at their request) and it was interesting that some of them were not sure where they were which is probably a good thing as I had planned a little treat of a local hill I call "Cardiac Hill 2" as it quite steep and has to be taken at the runner's own pace. When I told them what I had planned some of them them looked absolutely miserable so I told them "At your pace I want you to get to the top of the hill, you can run it, walk it or crawl it but I don't want you to stop" and off we plodded ( I was shamefully at the back as my hills are not great at the moment but I am good of the flat) as I reached the top I was met with a sea of smiling faces.

Then it was the last mile or so back to the club house with the pack happily chatting behind me such that with 800 metres to go I set them off on a chase back with "orders" to meet in the car park for a shake and stretch.

In the car park the pack now full of endorphins were set in a circle and I asked them to relax and blow out and stretch to the heavens to see if they could touch the Monkey Gods and then bend down and to all pray to them. There was a ripple of bemused laughter from a few of them as only a few knew about my Monkey Feet and the reference.

A morning marking a course

Like many races a competitor will tun up to the event, collect a number, get dressed in their kit and wait to start the race mostly unaware of the frantic activity that has been going on before the crack of dawn that day.

I turned up at a small village hall in Cuxton, Kent where there were a team of people scurrying around fixing tents, computers being connected and flags being raised. I walked in quietly and got dressed in my kit comprising my dear old Monkey Feet, a pair of Union Flag shorts and a light weight running jacket whilst the weather promised to be dry all day I put a pair of gloves and a Buff into my backpack along with a first aid kit and a litre of water.

The job of a course checker/marker and indeed Sweeper are self efficient as you are working before check points are prepared or, as a sweeper, when they are closing down so it is best to carry your own. So with a pre-run briefing from the Race and Course Directors I stepped on the start line just as the sun rose up in the east, a glorious start of a run over the Downs.

Without a blow by blow account of what happened on the course (not very much by the way) it has certainly taught me a lesson not to:

1. Over estimate my fitness
2. Under estimate the Downs again

Yes it was tough, the hills sharp, the mud gloopy in places and the trail hardened such that my Monkey Feet were not protecting my sole as best they can.

On the more optimistic front I certainly began to realise that I had missed my opportunities to be trotting over the various hills, alone with my thoughts, a map in hand and a beady eye on the horizon.

It is the day after the run now and I have a blackened toe nail (from a trip) and tired legs but I am so very happy that I was able to run 14 miles at my ultra pace with little problems after apart from a pang to get back out there again

Optimistic post

The plan for Wednesday was for me to run a session with a group of runners and had set a nice plan to do parlaufs, fartleks and sprints to build up some power in their runs.

This was turned on its head when, after I had navigated (read as short cut) across the local park with my head torch I reached the arranged meeting point to find that only two people had turned up. Feeling a little disappointed we decided to go for a run being aware that one of the runners was new to the sport so took a gentle pace which I was secretly glad of as I am finding it difficult to drop my speed and so blow myself out quite quickly.

So we ran together for about 5 kilometres and dropped of a runner to their car when the remaining guy Peter, who I have run together quite a few times but you may remember helped mark a course with me in 2014  and so there is a kindred spirit of going "off piste" so we decided to go back the way I came, I with a head torch, he without. So slipping and sliding about in my Monkey Feet we hung to a tree line, ducked over to one side of a clump of bushes and then a new tree line to join the main path and out to the road.

We said our goodbyes leaving him to traipse up the local mountain (read as the steepest hill in the local area) and I to the downhill slope to my house where I jumped into the house feeling a little tired but elated that something good came out of a bad thing.

No track this week as I want to rest up as I am course checking a trail race route on Saturday taking me 21 kilometres which I am very much looking forward to.

Thoughts for 2016

I was once told by a competitor of the Grand Union Canal Race that it is a race that gets under your skin and itches away until you have completed it. Never has a truer word been spoken and so with 2015 nearly at the end I can only claim one trail marathon in my Monkey Feet I look towards 2016.

You will have seen my recent post that I have entered the GUCR 2016 and now to top it all I have also entered the Liverpool to Leeds 130 mile foot race to be held on Saturday 27^th August starting at the Eldonian Village Hall, Liverpool.

I am totally up for these two and are my main athletic targets for the year with anything else incidental.

Roll on 2016