To new horizons

I had some great news tonight from Pam Storey, the organiser of the A.I.M. 12 hour race that I alluded to earlier this month who has accepted my application to compete.

Whilst excited I am also filled with trepidation, sure I have run 12 hours before and have run in some crazy conditions but this is going to be a new one on me requiring new disciplines.

I have put together some training plans and beginning to organise track training but need to get a team together to help with timing duties on the actual day.

Gatliff 50 km - Race Report

The day started with the alarm awakening me at 5.15 am and I traipsed downstairs to put on my kit ready for the day's adventure. I had been told that it was going to be a very hard run made much more difficult by the bad rains, this prediction was soon to be proved right.

George dropped by at 6.00 am and we were soon on our way towards Edenbridge, Kent arriving at 6.45 am. Check in was easy, I seemed to place a £10 note on the table and in the time it took to write my name and address it had been converted to 2 x £1 coins, a map and a punch card. We scurried around getting our kit ready, greasing my feet with an extra layer of vaseline, two running tops, leggings, a waterproof jacket and a backpack. We were able to view a map of the course which confirmed that we were going to be going over some of the more choice hills in the area.

Stepping out of the door of the hall we were met by the first spatterings of rain in a cloudy, pre-dawn sky not perturbed we ventured out.

The route was not marked as per usual for these type of races but provided to us in LDWA navigation format which guides you through a route by landmark, path markings, bearings and styles, difficult at first but becomes clearer as you practice. Both of us worked well together checking each others decisions in a "measure twice, cut once" approach, this course was going to be hard enough without mistakes making it harder.

About 4 miles into the course, the rain came down with a vengeance on to rain soaked fields, rivers were swollen near breaking and in some sections were breached making us have to wade through the ice cold water to the other side to get onto paths and bridges. I had an unfortunate accident when I twisted my ankle on a submerged root but wasn't really aware of it as my feet were so cold but it would come back and haunt me later.

The recent rains had made the mud like glue and every step was made twice as hard with the effort of pulling my shoes out of the quagmire.

One of the funniest moments of the day was when we had to cross a field but to get to the other side we had to cross what appeared to be wide, shallow stream. How wrong we were when another runner shouted " It is pretty shallow where you are but a little deeper on the other side" Assuming that as he had crossed OK, I would be OK and so ventured forward to find myself groin deep in the stream and managed to struggle out the other side, I then heard what can best described as a whelp and looked around to see George belly deep in the stream with his arms up, trying to keep his map and Garmin dry, it then became apparent he had got his foot stuck under a pipe and I had to grab his arm so he could struggle free.

We had been told on good authority by a veteran of this run that the run did take us over ploughed hills and up major inclines which were hard normally but the weather had made it tougher, in fact running through mud that came halfway up your calf was just absolute madness.

Checkpoints were brilliant with tables full of sandwiches, fruit and sausage rolls, a choice of "red or yellow" soup (tomato or chicken) and tea and coffee out of your ears

So the run went on hill after hill, mile after mile each one filled with laughter and astonishment at the course, the views amazing with rainbows, herds of cows stampeding and thunder & lightning

A great run but before I close this report of daring do, some facts about the course and obstacles we crossed:

1. Styles -105
2. Bridges (purpose built) - 21
3. Gates (Closed) - 40
4. Kissing Gates - 11

and a map of the run

Early bird

Not much to say now but hearing your alarm go of at 5.15 am is not the greatest sound you want to hear on a cold and wet Sunday morning! On trudging down the stairs even the family cats were looking bleary eyed and hungover.

Looks like there has been some rain tonight but it is dry for the moment which bodes well for my 7.30 am start across the Downs.

Wish me luck.

Wet and Windy?

Not sure what the weather has in for us tomorrow but it promises to be wet and windy for parts of it. I reckon we will be out on the downs for about 6-7 hours and the wet will get to us towards the end.

For the first time ever before a big run I have bagged up a spare shirt so I can change half way through if necessary and taking a waterproof jacket (kamleika smock) in my backpack but will wear a lightweight showerproof top at the start. Mobile phone has been bagged in a snappy bag and my headtorch put in a pocket.

Overkitted? Nope just trying to be safe for a change, none of the kit weighs much anyway.

Pints and Pasta

I had a great night out tonight meeting a few friends I know from various parts of the country. We started out having a few pints of Guinness then a lovely Italian pasta meal with some red wine and then finished off with another pint of Guinness.

A night of stories, laughter and relaxation prior to my big effort on Sunday at Edenbridge, Kent. Almost perfect carb-loading

Few days to go

This is a little experiment...will the image change as the weather changes?

I am feeling pretty good after day 2 of resting up before Sunday's 50km run. I made a bit of an error before Beachy Head being a little blasé about the effort required so still focussing on the small matter that Gatliff Marathon is a very tough run apparently and I must carb load more carefully.


I have to into consideration also that the weather does not look too clever on Sunday with showers expected, no problem with that as we have trained hard recently in bad weather but it will make going tough if we are moved up onto the chalk and greensand high ground. Positive thoughts now, I am looking forward to Sunday and the Saturday Sunday after at Arundel

Windy Run

Wow what a great evening for a run, I had volunteered to help out at the time trials at the running club and due to the fact I was delayed at work realised that to get there on time I would have to cut through the woods and so took my headtorch to help me on my way.

After the runners were set off it came apparent that the wind had really picked up and found myself rapidly losing heat so was pleased to be excused from my duties and run off home. During this short run I was amazed to find the wind was so strong with small branches falling from trees and more scarily, bins falling over and recycling boxes spewing their contents.

Last run completed before Sunday time to carb-load although I may just have a punt up the hill on Thursday.

A Night of Payments

I have had an evening of writing letters and cheques to various quarters in the South-East of England. A deposit cheque to a B&B in Wendover after the local pub overbooked and a cheque to the organisers of the Doyen of the Downs on 6^th December 2009. Feeling pretty good about it but will be happier when I get the official application out for the 12 hour ultra in April 2010.

Manure happens!

Today's run started at Knockholt at about 7.00 am, it was not going to be one of our longer runs as we are tapering for an epic set of weekends which will see me running in 2 trail ultramarathons both about 50 km in length, that is for another time.

The recent rains and windy weather had caused some very minor local flooding on the North Downs Way which had us jumping the puddles and slipping and sliding on some precarious paths of mud and chalk. One field about a mile into the run gave me cause for concern when whilst ankle deep in the mud began to realise that all was not what it seemed when I compared the colour of this "mud" to the colour of the surrounding fields and then spotted a large pile of seasoned horse shit manure slightly off the track....then I could smell it....yyuukkk.

Anyway, as usual a very comfy, if less heroic run, compared to our most recent adventures which took us along the NDW and then down to the Pilgrims' Way. This route proved to be very undulating and a great cardiovascular workout, the Garmin had it down to a perfect 13.1 mile or a nice half marathon.

Shoes have been chucked in a bucket of water, scrubbed, padded with paper and left to dry naturally. This was just a way to stop the stench!

Hot News

I have just received an email this morning telling me I have a place on the Doyen of the Downs 30 mile trail run on 6^th December 2009, this is such a great run, lots of hills, water features and trail. I can't wait

Bring Me to Life

Aches and pains

Not a heavy week's running but certainly a busy one, after my charity run today it became really obvious that my legs were aching quite a lot; strange considering the drop in intensity as the taper takes hold. When I got home tonight my wife mentioned I looked a little tired but we agreed I had run 20 miles in the previous 18 hours and was to be expected.

Choice of supper was baked beans on toast or baked chicken breast (with piri piri sauce) with sweet potato and runner beans, I opted for the latter and an hour later I was ache free!

Moral of this story is I really have to start learning to eat properly.

Here I go!

Here I go again and I must say I am really quite excited by this challenge, more to come as I have smaller fish to fry beforehand but I will give you a little teaser for the moment :-)

If you have any ideas where this is leave me a comment. It is a tough challenge but I am so up for it!

Pudsey Run

Went out for a 8 mile run tonight as part of my regular training programme but tomorrow I run for the charity Children in Need. It is not a long run for me but I am running with a colleague who has never run further than 10 miles.

Tomorrow's run is 11.5 miles and I hope for his sake he completes it comfortably and without drama, I'll do everything I can to get him through the run and take him to the next level and in the meantime put something back into the sport and collect some money for a worthwhile cause.

No Room in the Inn

I got home tonight to be told that the Bed & Breakfast I had booked for 15^th January 2010 in Wendover had rung me and cancelled, apparently they had overbooked....gggrrrrrr I was furious as for a change I had been organised and thought a few months ahead. I was then informed that they had been good enough to leave an alternative number for a lovely lady in the village who was willing to put up two of us.

After a quick call and a conversation I was able to book a room at this ladies house, no supper but there will be porridge, toast and coffee in the morning, more than enough for breakfast just before a 45 mile run...pheeww

Big Hill

I was just checking out the route I ran on Saturday during the storm weather and realised how it is so easy to under-estimate gradients. Looking at the graph on the right it shows a hill we ascended when crossing the Darent Valley towards Eynsford, Kent. We were swearing and joking about the gradient and had estimated it as a 10-12% imagine my amazement when I saw it to be 18%, that was one steep, tough hill.

A Runniversary

I was reminded on Saturday by George that it was in fact the anniversary of our first meeting as we were both training for the Doyen of the Down 30 mile trail run, our first ultramarathon.

It is scary to think that we have hardly missed a Sunday long run in all that year normally caused by holidays or one of us being on holiday. I have counted up the miles from my training diary for the preceeding 12 months and I am pleased to announce that I had run a total of 2,044 miles.

I have a feeling this figure will be smashed by the end of the year if I stay uninjured

Now you see me...

I couldn't resist this in Lillywhites today, £14.99 down from £44.99. Not waterproof but will at least make me more visible over the coming months it even has a couple of inner pockets for gels and stuff.

Wild Running

I picked up George at 6.45 am and due to time constraints I drove as fast as I could to the nearest bit of countryside and arrived at the car park at 7.00am just as it was being unlocked. As we arrived the first drops of rain started falling and saw us scampering around the car getting our gear and rucksacks on. By now the wind had picked up and we traipsed off still thinking where actually we were going to run but only had 2½ hours. Crossing the A21 towards Shoreham we soon found the night's rain and wind had made the chalk bedrock as slippy as ice so we chose to run parallel to the contours to drop down onto the floor of the Darenth Valley and take a path we had never taken and use our knowledge of the terrain to skirt the valley northwards to see if we could get to a village called Eynsford.

We saw another footpath that, unbeknownst to us, took us up a 10-12% gradient which had my heart rate up and us leaning on our knees for purchase and at the top we were met by the next wave of rain and powerful winds this was to be the first of many hills.

We soon found ourselves in Eynsford and we then came on familiar ground and were met by the River Darent, full to capacity and then the kid in me came out as I shouted "I will, if you will" and ran at full pelt into and across the ford, water at groin height with me screaming with laughter. George stood at the side not sure what to do, he soon gave in and ran across gasping "Wow that was so freeing" with a big grin on his face...I just told him that there was only me to see it so losen up

The next 8 miles went like a flash literally as we ran along the valley floor with thunder rumbling from the distance and then a great flash of lightning and we were pelted by ¼ hailstones and saw us scampering for cover in the woods... BTW hailstones hurt!

We got back to the car with big grins, not our longest training runs at 14 miles but one of the wildest.....

Running is stupid

Jake the Peg

Went for a wet and windy run this evening, nothing to worry about but it is Thursday and Thursday is Tempo run night something I was going to find hard from the outset.

I was finding it quite tough as my legs ached a little caused by DOMS from Sunday's outing and a quite pacey run at the club on Tuesday. I was grumbling about how, even with a small input of effort, I was feeling out of breath, legs were like lead. I tried to cheer myself up telling myself that all this work would be of benefit as I was "running on tired legs"

At home I checked out my Garmin and realised I felt like Jake the Peg because at one point I was running sub 7:30 min/miles...ooops no wonder.

Foot pain

Sunday's epic run along the North Downs Way caused a nasty little niggle on the top of my left foot. I am unsure what caused it, maybe the rugged landscape, shoelaces too tight or just over-training, I am sure I will never know.

On Monday night I put on a Heat Pad and went to bed with it taped on to the top of my foot and woke up and it felt pretty good. I was careful about it all day Tuesday and decided to run with the niggle that night but at a reduced distance than I had planned.

Still hurting a little but I am sure it will have settled down for Thursday evening when I plan a little jaunt out maybe with t he headtorch to cut cross country in the dark...we'll see if it is a stressy day tomorrow and see how I feel.

Mystery Man

I was out on a club run last night in a pack of about 15-20 runners and was running up a long, shallow hill when about 100 yards ahead I saw another runner coming in from a side road and stop to look at us. I had never met this man before but by his demeanour and general kit he was a serious runner.

I greeted him and asked if he wanted to join in which he did so but said he felt like a turn coat as he was from another club (my secondary affiliated club) so we chattered about some superficial running stuff and the fact I raced under their colours when doing long distance stuff.

He asked me which race I was doing next, told him Gatliff .

A little later he said "This is my turn off, I'll see you later Jerry, I am glad London to Brighton went well!" and the disappeared up the side road.

Spookily, at no time did I mention my name or London to Brighton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have my theories how he knows but wow what a small world.

The training continues

So we pass the point of no return for the Gatliff 50 km challenge and I start a very shallow taper over the next 3 weeks still being mindful that this run is a means to an end as Country to Capital 45 mile trail run in January is the target race and does not justify a full taper.

My left foot is still a bit tender after yesterday's run but with a little TLC I should be all right for Tuesday's evening run in which I plan to run 10-12 miles but I will see how it goes.

The North Downs Way

Wow what a brilliant run today, best described as gutsy and hard! We haven't really run East from Shoreham along the North Downs Way ( that we had realised) in our training runs this year and so decided to run down from Poll Hill (nr Orpington, Kent) to Shoreham and then joint the Darenth Valley Path to Otford and then join the North Downs Way to get as close to Wrotham as we possible do in 2 hours and then return the same way.

This decision proved to be easy to make but in doing so proved to be an epic run which was both challenging and satisfying in its brutish profile. Little were we to know at the beginning of the run that the chosen route had some vicious ascents and descents (Ok I should have looked at the map closer) muddy and very slippery paths and some outstanding views from the top of the escarpment all along the way. Even my trusty trail shoes failed to grip on some of the more slippy, wet and exposed chalky paths and George was seen and heard to make a few falls luckily not too serious. The profile above proves that we had our work cut out and although seen to be walking in some sections we challenge some of the hardy souls we know not to either ;-)

In all a great if tiring run that will be great in the Spring, take a look at the course here:

Run v Life

Training plan said Friday was a 10 mile Easy run which I was happy to do although if I am truthful with myself would have been as flat as possible if how I was feeling at lunch time was anything to go by.

Mrs S rang during the day and told me that by pain of emasculation I was to go to a party on Friday evening but we also had to get the Jezzarettes to the local fireworks display to meet there friends by 7.00 pm so that looked like the end of my planned run...

Bestill your fluttering heart dear reader, bestill, this ultrarunner has a few tricks up his running vest sleeve. Why not reduce the distance but increase the intensity? You know it may work and no way was I going to miss my run...so how did I do it?

The easiest option was to make time...I was able to take back an hour "owed" to me from work and take the early train home. Once home I got kitted up and ran a blinding 5 mile hill run with a 1 miles[ish] cool down both at near PB times.

Back home, fried egg with crispy bacon, the perfect stomach lining for a few ciders and a glass of wine at the party with a ton of fireworks and laughs, a good end to a stressful week and wifey happy.

I am really chuffed my 5 mile time was great considering but just need to be mindful of speed work.

Guy Fawkes Night

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

A dark, clear and cool night promised a good hill run, my plan was to run as hard as I could up hill for 5 miles and then turn around and go home. Stepping out from my house the air was thick with the smell of burnt fireworks and the relentless sound of banging as numerous squibs blew their tops.

After about 2 miles it became apparent that the training was kicking in and my tempo pace had improved even for the hills but the long miles in recent weeks have played their toll. The best part of the run tonight was taking on a steep down hill section which took me down a darkened country road which ever so often was lit by an exploding firework...surreal.

Just say No!

How hungry do you have to be?

The end of a very long day found me standing on Charing Cross Station at 9.30 pm with about 20 minutes to wait for my train. A small pot of cold pasta and some fruit for lunch, a snack at 6.00 pm just before I started my lecture at College and I was left standing at the station with temptation all around me.

One corner a Burger King, the other emporium full to the brim with pasties another with sandwiches and another with French sticks with lovely fillings all high in calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar......lovely but no.I can't believe I run 50 miles a week and yet I still won't eat burgers but maybe that is a good thing.

Ducked Out

A crappy day at work meant that the only thing that could be salvaged was a nice run with the club, the chance of some "running banter" and then return home, do some chores and relax after all I had been on call for over a month and needed to relax.

I have 3 weeks to Gatliff (50 km) and any speed work was just going to rip my legs and screw up my training plan. It was only when I arrived at the club and got chatting that I realised that it was "Special Training" and involved a fartlek running around a 1 mile block.....not for me, not after Sunday's hard run so I ducked out and carried on to complete a 10 mile Tempo run.

My apologies to Martin, I didn't realise it was you until I was 30 yards down the road. Well at least I had the chance to catch up on the news from my friends and the run did the job.

Distortion

A really weird thing happened today with my vision. I was in the office and was discussing some new widget we are building, nothing new just day-to-day work when I started to get this horrific visual distortion in my right eye which seemed to spread across in what can be described as a thick line into the left. It was as if I was looking through drops of water and shimmering.

Things that were going on just before this:

1. Project deadline and a system error in the call centre software
2. I had just eaten a ferrero rocher chocolate
3. Slight eye infection

I don't suffer from migraines and was thinking that it may be a reaction to stress and/or the choccy. I soon found it impossible to do screen work so decided to leave the office and walk around the block.....it cleared up within minutes.

I am really hoping this was not stress related as this was one of the reasons I started running!

Primordial

That was the word that sprang to mind during this morning's run...primordial!

The day started early with a car journey to Knowle Park, Sevenoaks, Kent an area of outstanding beauty our objective for the morning was to join the Greensand Way and follow it through the wealds of Kent to have a look at the beautiful autumnal colours and also to take on a very tough run over the undulating paths and bye-ways of the area.

The morning started dry with a low lying fog covering Knowle Park as we travelled east to join the Greensand Way, it was obvious at this point that the weather was going to get worse as the run went on but we were prepared with jackets, hats and gloves in our packs. The initial look in Knowle Park proved us right with a fantastic view of autumn colours with deers peering through the mist at us.

We soon joined the wealds and had to take care of roots and chalk hiding in the leaves beneath us and was really pleased I had my trail shoes on as they provided just that bit of extra grip. The wealds were out of this world, Chestnut, Oak and Birch woodland made the ground underfoot a miriad of orange, yellows and reds.

The woods soon behind us we found ourselves crossing paths to open farmland with the Greensand Way becoming a mixture of bridle way, permissive path and fields. It was decided that we would run out for about 100 minutes and then turn back as we had to keep our wives happy and then turn back.

At about 45 minutes into the run the misty views began to disappear and the rain and strong winds blew in, the paths became muddier and the trails wetter...perfect weather for us extreme runners and we were heard to comment that we would prefer this weather in a few weeks then a warm and barmy day.

We turned and retraced our steps, the weather now turning for the worst, water forming great puddles on the path and the leaves falling from the trees as the wind gusted and buffeted at every step as we went back up onto the escarpment back into the wealds. The path in some areas was quite dangerous as the hillside dropped off by 300 feet so we trod carefully pulling our speed right back to negotiate the steeper areas. I stopped at one point, the wind in my face, arms outstretched and screamed "WOO HHHOOOOO" fantastic stuff.

We were soon about 3 miles from the car, the water pouring from the sky and with no respect for the puddles we stumped through them, water over our ankles to run through the park to the car. A brilliant, hard 16 mile run both wet, cold and hungry, all a run should be and more.