Night Run - A Saucerful of Secrets Report

What a fun filled evening with great company, good humour throughout with good running to boot. Whilst organising a night run I try to keep the route as secret as possible so that the runners will have no idea as to the outcome of the run until the start. In fact last night I don't think a good number actually knew where they were at the halfway mark such that we were so far off the beaten track.

I often leave a few clues for the attendees, the first being a Kamikaze pilot putting on his hachimaki , numerous references to planets and suns. I know they were all a little subtle but I had fun adding them to Facebook event pages and my blog and I have a feeling that one of the runners had actually worked out what was happening last night apart from the pub.

It just so happens in the Otford area of Kent there are two pubs about 5 miles apart called Rising Sun and The Rising Sun, between the two of them is the Otford land based Solar System that I am depicting in the image on the left, the "planets" are posts with the names on them and are positioned in such a way that they are the exact same locations as they would have been at 00:01 on 1st January 2000...which midnight on that date we do not know but we assume England. This was the purpose of the run that night, to run to The Rising Sun about 500 yards off the North Downs Way by Kemsing.

The group of 8 started from the car park at just gone 8.00pm with view of meeting another runner who wished to run the 5 mile option so met him equidistant between our start and the pub. It soon came apparent that the group was only really interested in getting to pub for beer so my planned visit to the centre of the solar system was postponed to concentrate on beer drinking.

We soon picked up the North Downs Way and found we had a massive, back breaking climb that just seemed to be that little harder in the dark and I soon found the group strung out as few preferred to walk whilst I  along with Brian attempted to run half way up until the steps got us and we decided power walking was the preferred method.

Limousin Bull

It is here that things took a different turn when we arrived at the field that was marked up to inform us a bull was in the field. So picture the scene, 9 runners, with headtorches decide to traverse a field, in the dark where somewhere in it was a bull and about 10 cows. It was so dark that you couldn't see the outline of the trees, I stated in a mad moment "Stay here and I will go ahead to see if there is a bull" and then scuttled off into the dark and when two thirds of the way through it could see 20 yellow dots staring back at me, I had found the herd and just 50 yards away two solitary yellow/green eyes watching me....the bull. I shouted "All clear, you can come across safely now" to watch 8 sets of torches bounce towards me and the gate I was fast running to.

Carrying on we eventually arrived at the pub, an oasis in the middle of nowhere, on the outside it is a beautiful, idyllic flint faced inn house, with high hedges, a beer garden and the St George flag aloft from the pole in the front....on entering it was a completely different matter!

The Rising Sun

I had read reviews of this pub and had got a very different mental picture, the first thing I was met with was this rather unsavoury smell, the bar area was dark, dank with cats scampering to various corners and tables, dogs yelping and scratching from behind an unknown door and a parrot whistling from a cage in the fireplace (unlit). I called out to see if anyone was there and to check if they were open for business. Then a wizened old lady appeared from a doorway and went to behind the bar which comprised two bar taps and a few dusty old spirits bottles. I had a distinct feeling that the others were both bemused and amused as was I at what we had discovered. I was later to find that Liz had ventured off to find the toilets and had to use a headtorch to find her way around, even having to walk past a strange old man sitting in a crusty sofa watching a black and white television...we had found the pub that time forgot.

Guzzling our pints we soon left as we wanted to get back to Shoreham before last orders laughing and joking about the pub we had just left. Was it a figment of our collective imaginations, will we find it in the morning? Was it the witches house from the famous Hansel and Gretel story for we had indeed climbed a path to find it.

The journey back

The journey back went quicker than the way up, I have a feeling the pint of Kentish Ale helped to subdue the fatigue but also I felt a distinct rise in speed through the bull field after I told the guys that the bull actually was in there. A small detour off the planned route to take us a slightly shorter one to ensure the earliest arrival at the destination hampered by a small mishap when someone took a low speed tumble in which their pride was hurt more but he was soon up and we were sprinting to the pub for a well deserved cold drink or warm ale. Another successful Night Run which are always such fun with fantastic people to share such a great experience and enjoy running for runnings sake.

The weekend and other things

I am really looking forward to this weekend as I have so many things to do and see; firstly I have to be up early on Saturday morning to rush up to London for my training an Olympic test event in January. The session doesn't seem to be too heavy as it is only 4 hours long but I imagine there will be a lot of induction, then practical sessions, either way it sounds good fun.

I then have to rush back, do some chores and then be out to collect Duncan, Liz and Kevin to get to Shoreham for the Night Run - A Saucerful of Secrets which I will talk about much more over the weekend but it promises to be a fulfilling 10 mile run, I hope to see another 6 runners there.

That done, I plan to run on Sunday too and as of yet have no distance or route but would like to force out about 20 miles if my legs are up to it, we'll see.

Close Encounter of the...

...Forth Kind?

As is the norm these days I ran to the club through the woods which was a little bit tricky this evening as the ground was wet and muddy, there were newly layed leaves on the path and the roots were hidden and slippery, time to be careful. Getting to the club we mustered at the agreed point catching up with the week's news awaiting the group leaders to tell us what the plans were "...blah, blah, blah, turn left blah..." when, as usual, my mind wandered and I looked up at the starry sky to see a very bright star moving across my vision, too high for an aeroplane and too bright for a normal satellite, I turned to our resident star and planet expert, Mark, and asked if he thought it may be the International Space Station, he agreed and I was satisfied until it suddenly disappeared and was excited that I  was seeing a UFO until he reminded me that it was cloudy....yes, he indeed is an expert.

Good run this evening, ~7 miles with my old (faster) group and I was in the groove, really pumping out the tempo enjoying the feeling of rubbing shoulders with the faster of the group who I think were being very kind to let me think I was doing well.  I was happy to cruise as I wanted to duck out and run through the full width of the woods to home with my headtorch as I didn't fancy an end of run race to the finish line.

Once I was into the woods and my headtorch was on I kept a consistent, if not careful, pace along the paths and was halfway in when I heard a loud "WHOOOP" from the main woods to my right and behind me, I continued on and then an "RAAH HAA HA" really strange voices in the darkness and in the woods. Then about 800 yards away I saw a halo of light coruscating through the branches in the distance, I continued taking the zig zag path of the river slightly perturbed by the lights getting brighter and the strange calls getting closer.

I reached the end of the path and turned in the direction of the lights  and noise to be amazed that around the corner came 30 high specification halogen lights attached to 10 cyclists and their bikes, the lead shouting to me "Turn your light off mate it's blinding me!" I am not sure if he was being serious or jesting but I ran off strangely disappointed that ET wasn't around the corner wanting to borrow my mobile phone but highly amused that 10 cyclists were now arguing how to get their bikes through the chicane barrier that is supposed to prevent cyclists from entering and leaving the woods...oh the joy :-D

Ultrarunning Word of the Day

I am often asked what I think of when I run long distances...this sums it up in one word

anoesis \an-oh-EE-sis\, noun:

A state of mind consisting of pure sensation or emotion without cognitive content.

Normally, on my long-distance walks, anoesis descends within a few miles: the mental tape loop of infuriating resentments, or inane pop lyrics, or nonce phrases gives way to the greeny-beige noise of the outdoors.
-- Will Self, Psychogeography

Thank you to Dictionary.com Word of the day

Sunday - A run of two halfs

I was up at 6.00 am this morning with a plan to be out of the house by 6.40 to meet Duncan at his house and then to move on the club house to then join up with our chum Liz. As a lot of people know I am certainly not my best in the morning and don't really "wake up" until about 8.00 am however Liz was full of beans and ready for action

After the decision for a run in the country I was desperately pouring over my map to find a suitable run of about 10 miles and so it agreed that we would run from Shoreham to near Otford Manor.Liz and Duncan were full of beans this morning whilst I still felt a little jaded as we headed off from the car park with the warning from Liz ringing in our ears that we were not allowed to run too fast something I was not intending to do but we soon found ourselves running at a ridiculous pace that we all pulled off a little.

Joining the North Downs Way we soon found ourselves being distracted by various sites along the way including the Otford Solar System (picture right) and then later before a long and high ascent, the Otford Chalk Pit where they used to dig and burn the chalk to create lime.

The big ascent took us up to a field with a sign stating "Please keep dogs on a lead BULL IN FIELD" but we were pleased to note that there was nothing to see although I did have a distinct feeling the pace did pick up on this section. By now I was wide awake and my usual gabby self chatting about this and making my usual noise and on our arrival at a viewpoint said "Isn't it wonderful to stand here with the peace and quiet, you can hear the traffic....." then realised that we couldn't hear the peace and quiet as I was talking too much...so I shut up!

We arrived at Otford Manor and ran to the wooden cross that overlooks the Kemsing valley below to see a fine mist hanging over the fields as the sun rose and enjoyed the moment and break taking in and savouring the view. I was rather pleased to note that we were exactly 5 miles into the run at the turn around point and all looking good after a tough climb ready for the climb down but choosing to take a slightly different route back.

On our way back I can across a lone runner and stopped to chat with him telling him that I thought I recognised him, it turned out he was an ultra runner too and we were both doing the Brecon 40 in December, what were the odds of that, 150 runners and we bump into one of them on a  lonely road in Kent? The next shock was on our return to the field we walked through the gate to find that the bull was on the otherside with his herd of cows and calves, the pace definitely picked up now as we traversed the field.

The run took a new route at this point as we went off road again following the River Darenth arriving back at the car with good humour with a job well done, it is here I bid my farewells to Liz and Duncan when I continued my run on my own

The second half

This is always the hard part when I continued my run by myself, after such wonderful company I realised I had two hours on my own and to try and plan a route that would take in about 11 miles. I had one satsuma and one litre of water, time to go off road again.

I soon got back on the paths and found myself gravitating to a horrific ascent of 200 feet in 0.2 miles which had me sweating buckets and gasping. In the back of my mind I was regretting the fact I had said goodbye to Duncan and Liz but was determined to complete my run and buckled down to a slower more consistent pace through the local golf course and along a secluded country road to discover a new footpath that I decided to investigate but soon turned around as I had no map with me and was foolhardy by myself, we will leave that for another day.. 

At mile 15 I chose to have a breather by the river, eat my satsuma, watch the ducks, wash my hands and then continue on but the sun was well and truelly up by now and it was getting warm so chose to do a longer loop around the main paths we had run (boy that was hard as I was with 100 yards of the car at one point) to take in 21 miles (34 km)

Great run today, thanks liz and Duncan

Next short term challenge!

I have had the go ahead for my next challenge on 3rd December. Here is the email from my friend Brian:

Hi guys

 

Its my 40th birthday on Saturday 3rd December and I was thinking about what to do to mark the day and ...

 

...on that day there is a 40 mile run in Wales in the Brecon Beacons so I thought wow why not run 40 on my 40th?! I would need someone of your 'ultra' standings to get me round and I thought it would be a laugh as we'd need to spend Friday/Saturday night there. I know its a long shot at this short notice but if either of you could make it then great. Let me know, cheers

 

After the obligatory growling from the ever patient Mrs S I was given the go ahead as long as all layout comes out of my slush fund...I think I can do that. I just can't wait to climb this

[Click to enlarge]

 

Clueless

This evening I decided to have a break from running as my ankle was a little sore promising a run on Saturday and Sunday if all was OK. I was then volunteered by Mrs S to drive my youngest and her to a very large shopping mall about 15 miles away and so jumped at the opportunity as I wanted to go to the running shop to see if they had some Mizuno Waverider Harrier shoes a nice low profile shoe allowing me to stick to the trails. The visit was more to have a look at them, try them on and see what else was on offer as I have wrecked my usual shoes with all the off road stuff I have done recently.

Leaving the family to go to the various fashion shops I sneaked off the running shop with a spare pair of socks in my pocket in case I wanted to try some shoes on.On entering there were the usual suspects: Inov-8 Mudclaw, Adidas Kanadia and some Asic. Whilst perusing the racks I was approached by this young assistant who asked if I needed some help and I said:

"Have you any Waverider Harrier in stock?"

"Waveriders? Yes" finding and handing me a pair of Waverider road shoes

"No, I was looking for the Harrier, the off-road version of these"

"No such thing sir"

"Yes, the Harrier is the off road, low profile shoe"

This comment was met with a look of disbelief  and I was deftly handed the Adidas Kanadia which I have owned before, cut me to shreds and made me lose 3 toenails I told her that they were not an option but thought I would try them on to see if the new model was any different....no, too tight across the ball of the foot but great room in the toe box, laces now slimmer and longer (still a nice show, just not for me) I handed them back mentioning my findings, the next tirade of fiction resulted:

"You'll be OK, we can give you a size up, the extra grip will be good and when you run on trails you don't need support as the mud will cushion your foot" I was beginning to get rather perturbed by the information she was providing me letting it play out to see how far it went asking to see the Mudclaws, this was a new experience as I have heard a lot about the shoe but never tried them on. The Mudclaw is renowned for being a great as a mountain/fell shoe, great grip on wet rock whilst being brilliant in mud. I tried them on, pulled the laces out wide and really wanted them to fit but alas my wide feet let me down yet again and was worried about the lack of cushioning. "You will be fine sir, when you run on trail you don't need as much cushioning as the mud and leaves will do it for you." I pointed out that was not strictly true as it was shoe that supported the foot not the terrain and was unwilling to try on long distances

I was now beginning to get really worried who was feeding her this $h1t? She continued...."The studs will be great in the mud and won't allow you ankle to roll about" I mentioned then that I did long distance running mainly on trail and what she said was not strictly true and whilst assisting in lateral support didn't stop it and then she said the most ludicrous thing

"If you are doing long distance trail runs I suggest that you think about wearing spikes!"

I had had enough, the young assistant was being really attentive, got the shoes at a bound when requested but I was really concerned as the information she was providing was just misleading.....no misguided but not dishonest. I am a reasonably experienced runner and was able to sift through this diatribe and able to identify therefore ignore the wrong information. My concern is that people new to running will listen and believe what is being said and in doing so open themselves to unwarranted injury.

I know the assistant was not knowingly being deceitful but chasing the sale but some of those comments (in red) were just outrageous

White Van Man strikes again

Thursday evening again and regular readers will know that this is the day that I am often very tired and demotivated. I was in the kitchen cooking my tea when my youngest daughter strolled in wearing a t-shirt, track bottoms and trainers announcing that she was going for a run with her mate...now I definitely had to go for that run and had plotted out a loop that would take me along to the Blackwall Tunnel approach and then around the South Circular to return home, locals reading this blog will know what I mean when I say A20, A205 and A2212, basically busy roads all 9  miles (~15km) of them.

As I plodded around my mind wandered off to various things but was coming more and more aware that the traffic seem to comprise mostly white Transit vans, hundreds of white vans scuttling like ants along sugar coated trails to their nests or where ever they go of an evening. Fine I thought, that is what happens on main roads until through my musings some idiot in a....wait for it....in a white van can hurtling up from a side nearly knocking me for six was it not for my dainty footwork. I said nothing as I have learnt  that you never win with White Van(gry) Man so moving on I got another mile when yet again some idiot in his white van hurtled past mounting the pavement to a halt just yards from me...madness

It was tough to run tonight but glad I did it but have a feeling I may be going down with something but averaging 8 miles (13 km) a day at the moment

Mind on another planet

Yes, running as a hobby is self-indulgent, self-absorbing and all about yourself....come on be truthful. Look at me, why did I start running? It was because I was an ex-smoking, over-drinking, over-indulgent fellow that needed to shift some pounds. Ask a new person to running and the reasons are similar and we often retract into our worlds for as many hours or miles as we can...call them the ME hours/miles.

This evening was about churning out 12 miles as easily as possible and get home to a warm bath but I have to admit that I was in a particularly mischievous mood with a lot of mickey taking and noise. There was Matt winding down ready for his Beachy Head Marathon on Saturday, Mark "tip toeing through the tulips" and another lady who had music playing from her pocket which seemed to get louder the faster she run! All stuff that keeps me amused and my mind off my aching thighs and ankle.

So getting home, full of endorphins I rushed around to get a drink and smile to myself for a job well done when passing my youngest daughter's bedroom was met by said child who stated:

"A cylinder of radius 4x is filled with water to height h into which a ball of radius 3x is dropped. Calculate the increase in height of the water in terms of x"

All memories of running now evaporated from my mind as I was called to task and had to "prove" my ability to solve and explain this insane educational request...not easy at 10.00pm.

My point? I don't know really, is it guilt? No, I don't think so but me being mindful that other things are happening around me when out running having "me" time

Oh what to do?

I am feeling pretty good today after yesterday's jaunt out to Westerham although my legs do feel a little tired which is testimony to how tough the course was.

Monday is traditionally my rest day and the evening normally involves some light chores, correspondence with my students who may want some help and then a little surfing on the interweb. I was looking in on my ultrarunning Twitter feed and was interested to find out from a gent who has the handle Johnnnny_M that there was a television programme on the Coast to Coast path depicting some of the Hardmoors 110 to be held on 2^nd June 2012....I was tempted after a flurry of egging on by the usual suspects.

That is until I read my emails and a "test" email had been sent by the organiser of the Grand Union Canal Run to see if the people who had entered the ballot were still interested in entering....what is the date of the event, yep, you've guessed it 2^nd June 2012.

To make things worse I get a message via Twitter from the organisers of the Hardmoor 55 telling me that I can still enter for the race on 12^th August 2012, brilliant I thought but then I looked at the date again...aaaahhh it was the last day of the Olympics and I can't commit gggrrrr

Never mind, time will tell

We cried Wolfe

I read the email from George "It is so beautiful today with tomorrow promised the same that I am sure that I will be able to manage a twenty in one go. So let’s just go for An (sic) approximate 20"

I had the route in my head (apart from the bit where we had to jump over two locked gates barricading a public footpath and run up a hill) and so at 6.30am I pulled up outside George's house who was waiting in his porch. Having read his email I don't think the two of us had taken into consideration that it was zero degrees centigrade in parts and were thankful that we had brought our running jackets. A short drive later we were up and out of the car shivering on the roadside donning our kit within a mile I had my hands rolled up inside my sleeves and George running with his hands in his pocket as we left the bright lights of town to enter the surrounding countryside.

The pre-dawn light was sufficient to run on the trails but we had to run for about 40 minutes before the sun poked its head above the horizon and shone down on a beautiful frosted and misted North Downs. George and I were soon heard waxing lyrical about the views which were stunning as the orange golden light extended the shadows and began to warm our goose bumped legs. 

Stopping briefly in Knockholt to watch the valley below filled to the brim with fog likening it to a white lake I was a little bit morbid in my description as I saw it as the river Styx, the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, imagining that Phlegyas would float through the mists to take our souls. Shaking this thought from my mind we descended the ridge into the fog to be hit by a wall of cold and find the fields covered in hoar frost, luckily no Phlegyas, but we did find one of the elusive "secret" exits to the M25 that are not shown on road maps and were able to view the traffic thundering past us with no barrier between us and them!

At this time of year the harvests have been done and the fields freshly ploughed hiding public footpaths so reclaiming our right to cross we were soon seen clomping across a field racking our brains to remember whether it was a public or permissive path as we approached the other side towards the farmer in his enormous tractor, indeed it was public but our feet were now covered in dried mud making the going a little tougher.

We finally reached our target, General James Wolfe's statue, well I did, realising I had lost George who had stopped off in the churchyard to read a few headstones and get some history. So after a short break we were back off on the trail again retracing our steps, this time with no fog which was fast burning off and we were a little warmer as we got back to car having run a cracking 19 miles completing a 50 mile week (minus 0.8 miles)  but still pleasing 

Don't cry Wolfe

Here is our target for Sunday morning the statue of General James Wolfe was born in Westerham, Kent, where this statue is located. 

The route we have planned is approximately 18 miles but is a toughy due to the greensand ridge but as George is doing the Beachy Head Marathon and I am just getting back on my feet we will take it nice and easy. 

What did you say?

The plan this evening was to go out for a 12 mile (~20km) and had got an idea of a route in my head...a pretty cool route that involved a little night cross country, that is, until the delightful Mrs S inadvertently changed the plan.

Mrs S had been labouring over a birthday cake my daughter had baked and created a work of art, all white icing, pink letters and feathers for a friend's daughter who was 18 today. It was our duty to deliver it in one piece and who was I to argue? So a change of plans was on the books.

On arriving at our friend's house I bid my farewells and scarpered up the street, Garmin on, a vague route in my head the problem being that it was along a bunch of main roads made all the busier by the flurry of Friday night traffic; the noise was horrendous and not at all pleasant. It still amazes me that this section of road is a popular route for wannabe marathon runners as they approach the final stages of their 12 week programme and possibly the most unpleasant road to run.

Sticking to the roads until later on in the run I slogged out the miles to get home very pleased that I had completed a nicely paced run but still pining for the tranquility of a woodland path away from all the traffic.

What a load of balls

No running on Wednesday evenings for the time being as I am now back teaching at the university. It was a 12 hour day and considering that it was a busy one both at work and at college I was pleased that appeared to be no ill effects from my 12 mile run after an 8 day break.

However, this morning, as I walked to the station I came very aware of this hideously sharp pain in the back of my leg that would come and go on a regular basis. It was the type of pain that makes you take in a sharp inhale of breath. So on my arrival there was only one thing to do, get my trusty tennis ball from my bookshelf and place it on the chair under my thigh and sit down carrying on my work regardless. It was pretty impressive as after about 10 minutes the pain went away, it must have been some type of knot which was ironed out nicely.

As for tonight, I went for a nice bouncy 10km run cutting across the local woodland park requiring a headtorch needless to say I had no problems with my thigh although my foot did grumble a little so will watch that area carefully over the coming days. 

They see only what they want to see.

This is a famous quote from The Sixth Sense when the young character Cole Sear tells Malcolm Crowe that the spirits he sees are in denial about being a ghost and "They see only what they want to see." 

I too had been in denial about my foot stubbing incident at the beginning of the month and although I knew it was quite painful for a few days it is only now that I have realised how bruised it was. I remember getting back to the car after the run and saying to George that my "shoes were rubbish" as the heel support was digging into my ankle and it "must be the insoles". I then went out for a walk with the delicious Mrs S and grumbled that my post-run sandals were digging into the grazes caused by my "rubbish" running shoes.

Tonight, I went out for my first run in 8 days, a life time these days, so placing my shoes on my feet I was amazed how well they fitted even around the ankle! I was aware that my quads were achy which I knew I would be able to run out on the way to the club. So off I bounced running through the woods to the club joining in with the 5 mile group for a steady run to run home via the longer path in the woods to home making a lovely 12 miles.

After cooling down I went off to have a bath and it was only then that looking down at my ankles I realised they had veins, a dimple and see the outline of a tendon. In fact this was to say that my ankle was not swollen which had probably been like that for quite a few weeks if not months and I had become accustomed to it.

I really enjoyed my run tonight my ankle felt OK although my foot had a tiny niggle and my head was clear(ing) of the thick cataarh that has been plaguing me...things are looking up at last.

Eat your elephant

Whilst working in a Technical IT team many moons ago we were often under pressure to create the impossible from nothing and often delivered on time and in budget. We soon learnt that panicking was a waste of energy so we often disappeared to the pub to plan. When hit with a massive problem we often heard our team leader say:

"How do you eat an elephant?"

and we used to reply back in a well rehearsed and drunken slur:

"One bite at a time"

So this evening I reviewed my training plan having realised that I had totally overlooked the big challenge I set myself for March 2012 a 100 mile run so took about an hour tweaking my current plan to take into account the elevated distance, I still get scared that in the next 20 weeks I will have to run 1205 miles, knowing my track record it will probably be 1000 but it is something to work to.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I am planning to do the 100 miles in under 24 hours? How am I going to do it?......You've got it, one bite at a time.

Memory Lane

Whilst tidying up the spare room the other day I came across an old 40Gb hardrive that I used to store College work and general files so took some time tonight to check what was on it; Imagine my joy in finding the picture of me below and the memories it holds.

It was 20th April 2008 and it was the anniversary of my return to running which coincided with a 10km race between other members of the club. You can see a very determined look on my face, a definite lean forward from the leg, I had all the intention of winning my handicap group and get a personal best to boot. At the very moment this picture was taken I had covered my 1,000th mile with the club, both training and racing, I was determined.

That day I got a PB of 45:12 and won my handicap (I think I came fourth overall in the race) and I was really chuffed.

To think what I did in a year, then, was what I did in 20 weeks this year...wow times have changed

One for the trail

I love the harmony and soleful feel to this music, perfect for the quieter moments on the trail when you want to have a little singalong with the backing group as always play it loud.

Getting back on my feet

This is probably the most frustrating week I have had this year; what with my bruised foot and ankle to then get a stinking cold last Monday. Although my ankle felt alright on Thursday my foot didn't then on Friday my foot and cold felt OK but the ankle started to grumble again. So the choice was to write off the week where running was concerned.

I was looking forward to a 22 mile pack run on Sunday, had it all planned and even had the fullest consent of the delightful Mrs S....then I remembered early this week that  it was my club's 10km race and I was the half way timer and Jelly Bean marshall which I am duty bound (obviously) to attend so my pack run was out of the picture, I couldn't win,

So tomorrow I will have to run by myself and do a 13 mile (21 km) cross country run, I plan to run out along an old favourite route of mine but locate a hidden (but very useful) footpath that takes to the highest point of the planned course and joins two routes we run in parallel valleys. To allow me as much time as possible on the trail I am going to park near the start of the 10 km course so that I can change into dry kit, I just hope my ankle and foot will be OK.

New Challenge?

I am investigating a new personal challenge and whilst not wanting to give too much away was fascinated by this video which discusses the human being's inability to walk in a straight line. Whilst offering no reason in my blog as to why I thought it would be of interest to you all.

As for my (new) challenge we can leave that for another day but needless to say a map is beside me.

What was I thinking?

I have probably under played my current injury thinking that I have a reasonably good recovery rate but Sunday's trip is a little bit more serious than I first thought. 

On Sunday I had a little niggle in my calf/ankle which I first took as very minor and usually a run out will iron the creases out and it was fine during the run. The stumble on an innocuous root caused me to pull up in a rather dramatic way with my outer two toes of my right foot being bent back making me react by bending my foot up and out to pull the calf muscle. A quick pit stop, a prod of a thumb and finger suggested all was OK so we carried on, after all we only had a mile or so to go!

I got home and like a good little runner got a bag of ice on my calf, foot and toes whilst I had my breakfast with a cup of coffee. Everything felt fine until.......Monday morning.

Monday morning I awoke with a sore throat, streaming nose and a horrific headache, you've got it Man Flu. The problem being that I took various cold remedies that contain pain killers which whilst making me feel better and hiding the symptoms of my cold also hid the pain and discomfort of my foot and ankle.

Stressful day at working after we were summonsed to the meeting room to tell us about the future of our jobs made a run at the club a requirement that is until I got home and was told on no uncertain terms of my foolhardy thoughts my the ever sensible and delightful Mrs S. She advised me about some nonsense about running with a temperature and exacerbating an already increased injury. I have to say she does provide good feedback sometimes....what was I thinking?

Pheasant Run

I'm not a pheasant plucker,
I'm the pheasant plucker's son;
I'm only plucking pheasants
Till the pheasant plucker come.

After a brief telephone conversation last night with George about times to meet I awaited his arrival this morning on my driveway with a slight shiver which I decided to enjoy as I know it was soon going to heat up. As expected he arrived on time and I leapt into the car to find that neither of us had a plan...so on the fly we decided to start in Keston and make it up as we went along, we hadn't even decided on a  distance but wanted to run for 3- 4 hours.

We soon found ourselves following a favourite path that we don't run along very often and chose to run through the Biggin Hill Valley to an old friend to follow the badger and fox trails alongside the Roman Road but cut off early to back track along the road to create a loop and then back to the far end of the Roman Road to go back to the car. I reckon that during that run we must come across about a hundred pheasants all scuttling ahead of us along the edges of fields and the going airbourne with a scream as we caught them up, we commented that we should bring a shotgun next time.

My right ankle had been slightly tender at the start but at the 14th mile I stubbed my outer two toes on a hidden tree stump causing me to stumble slightly and curse the countryside. I felt a slight twinge on my sole but carried on back to the car after a very solid, very hilly and very hot run, one which I drank nearly all of my 1.5 litres of homemade sports drink.

On my return I had a bath and then went about my chores of painting the soffit and gutter board on the extension, what with the climbing the ladder about 20 times my ankle seems OK but it appears the tender part is my calf and the tendon near the ankle bone....a little TLC is needed.

The route was eventually 16 miles with 2420 feet of climb the temperature hitting 23 C and still rising at the end. That was enough for us for today as it was soon to rise to 27 C, just a little dangerous with limited supplies of water.

Into the heat

I can't believe that on the first day of October I am preparing to go on a longish run planning what clothes I should not wear!

On the equivalent run last year George and I ran a 17 mile run, in the rain with the temperature at 14 C, this year it is expected to be 29 C and very sunny. Tomorrow we had planned to run with a group from the club who are preparing for the Beachy Head Marathon but they will be starting at 9.30 am which is possibly foolhardy in the current heat as they will be into the hottest part of the day by mile 15 with very few places to get water.

As for us we are running out at 7.00 am but I will be wearing a vest, shorts, hat and 1.5 litres of fluid comprising 2 x 500mls bottles on a belt and a handheld disposable bottle which I can discard as we get into the run. Now that I am in a vest I better find some sun screen, it is gonna be a hot one.