Trail word of the week

Xanthous

1. Yellow
2. of the color intermediate between green and orange in the colour spectrum; of something resembling the colour of an egg yolk.

Why I hear you say, well this morning at 6.30 am the weather was glorious, the meadows and fields were resplendent with buttercups and dandelions. As we stared across the Downs the vista was spotted with the glorious yellow hues of Rapeseed, beautiful.

Picture from bbc.co.uk

A cunning plan scuppered

Late on a Saturday night is the time that an ultra runner is seen skulking around the house gathering pieces of kit and packing their back packs ready for Sunday's long run.

It is also the time that it is presumed safe to enter races, a time when wives are in bed, children have relinquished the home computer. This time is the time that awkward questions are not asked as to WHY they are looking for a credit card, cheque book or searching for a PayPal password late at night, this is the time the ultra runner works best.

However, the ultra runner also forgets his wife may have got wind of such clandestine behaviour! This is the time that she knows that the ultra runner husband reads:

Please enlcose a cheque for £ XX.XX and a LARGE STAMPED, SELF ADDRESSED envelope for the return of numbers and other information.

This is the time she hides envelopes and stamps so the ultra runner's cunning plans are scuppered.....gggrrrrr

Regret

Looks like it will have to be a long one tomorrow!
It was enjoyable though :-)

image from http://thisisindexed.com/

On the internet

nobody knows you are a dog.

So there I was, running in the woods and the local nature reserve, 10 miles or so of trails, fauna and flora around me. During that run I saw no other runners, dog walkers or cyclists!

In a way I love the idea that during the day I work in the Big Smoke where one person passes 60 people every minute to go out in the evening and pass no one in 90 minutes....not even a dog, perfect

Blisters

Incredibly, even after 4 weeks from my Crawley run I still have a BIG blood blister on my heel.(see image left) It is not bothering me, it even looks pretty cool as it is now black and still soft but it will only be a matter of time before it opens and hardens.

Thinking everything was OK down there I return from my 10 mile trail run tonight to find another blister forming next to it and then I remember that it is Spring and for some reason my feet "molt" at this time of year!! Weird

Next Challenge

I have been toying with my next challenge and I am on the cusp of a decision as I have been wanting to do this for way over a year. More news to come as I work out the logistics and organisation for the day which will be a double marathon!

As always with these events I will be setting myself a target and my initial, if moveable target, is 9 hours ± 30 minutes.

Cravings

Back running properly and my injury a near distant memory I have realised that in the past 7 days I have run 50 miles and in the last 3 days 37 of them.

With it, the cravings that I last had in the run up to London to Brighton last year have returned, tonight's craving was Doritos and Salsa sauce...scrumptious. Now I wonder what the hell my body needed to have such a craving...I'll never know.

Hardest substance known to man

I think I have discovered the hardest substance known to man and plan to make my millions from it.

I was hunting through the kitchen cupboard this evening for a bag of sugar to refill the bowl when I found an old carton of Lucozade Sport - Body Fuel Mix. This carton must have been in the cupboard for about a year and the lid had come loose and condensation had got in this had made it set rock hard.

I tried a carving knife, a rolling pin and then, for the heck of it, a hammer, it didn't even chip it...maybe I could sell it to the diamond business

Hare today

Gone tomorrow...

It is the club's 5 km time trial tomorrow and have worked out I have run 29.4 miles in the last two days. If I run tomorrow it will mean I will have run 38 miles in three dats....ye gads, that will be a lot. I am however not racing it as I think I will open myself up to injury again so will be running as the hare.

The hare's job is to start with the slowest handicapped runners and remain with them, showing them the route (they tend to be newcomers) until they are overtaken by the higher handicaps who they can then follow.

The hare can then either race off or remain with the slower runners. It will be a great recovery/easy run either way.

Trail word of the week

Menagerie

1. a collection of wild or unusual animals, esp. for exhibition.
2. a place where they are kept or exhibited.
3. an unusual and varied group of people.

This one has been provided by George F whilst we were on an excellent 21 mile trail run in and around Cudham, Biggin Hill and Tatsfield. Whilst cutting through a new footpath we had never been down before we could hear a cacophony of animal sounds and turning a corner we were met by a back yard that had turkeys, Rhode Island Red chickens, goats plus a number of yet unidentified hens

SCUM

OMG.....I decided to put the bladder back into my Gulper today. I haven't used it for months and the scum it had inside it was DISGUSTING and it has spent the last 4 hours in Milton sterilising fluid. I don't know where the stuff came from but it looked like slime...YUK

So, dear reader, if I don't write for a few days you know I have been slimed, wish me luck.

Payment due

Oooppss, just got a first reminder for my running club membership via email!!

I am sure I am cracking up as I am for ever forgetting to take my form and cheque on club night so as soon as I got the email I zoomed off to the membership secretary's house with the envelope...phew!

All I have to remember to do now is to send my membership money for my secondary affilliation, I'll do that tomorrow after I do my run

Batty run

Went out for a late run this evening and decided to get as much of the local woods as possible until it got too dark. By about 8.30 pm I was surprised to see a small black animal flit by, you've got it, a pipistrelle bat.

It seems the pipistrelle hunts over a regular beat, flying at between 2 - 13 metres, usually up to 6 metres, above the ground. The bat eats mostly gnats and tiny moths, hunting for them in open spaces around a building or tree, or above water. It eats several hundred insects every day.

What makes it so interesting is the area where I saw them was around the pond area which backs onto a large open field in the centre of the woodlands. I will definitely try and get up there at sundown again to see if they appear again.

Back on track...

...no, no dear reader, not back on that track, I am back on the road and all looks good[ish]. I went out for a run in view of fulfilling my democratic right and if all was well, to continue...and I did and I felt good.

I made a point of really pulling off the gas tonight, run the flats but if a gradient put strain on my calves to walk. So there we have it, I am up and running again, taking it easy and building it up...hooray.

X marks the spot

Like most Britons tomorrow I shall be trudging up to the Polling Station to vote for the next Government of wannabe politicians...scary stuff!

Just like my ballot paper, X marks the spot where my leg injury is; I have found a distinct area on the outside of my right knee where there is a sharp pain which I have spent some time icing tonight, stretching it and taken some ibuprofen for any swelling.

I will revert to training plan but temper the mileage for the moment and see if I can keep to a routine on a lower mileage. Wish me luck as I run up to the polling station as I keep an eye on both of the crosses that mark the spot.

Back on the road

With great trepidation I went out for my first run since my injury to see how my leg would stand up to the rigours of the road and trail.

Things were going well for the first few miles but my calf and hamstring started to tighten up but I decided to move on until I arrived at the running club where I could stretch out and just meet up with the members. After a chat I decided to return home without a run out but found that the beginners group were going towards my house and had a very enjoyable [recovery paced] run with them...trouble is the leg was hurting, hurting, hurting.

Cold compress and then a hot bath has relieved it for this evening but I dread tomorrow morning!

Looking Good

Mrs S wanted to go for a walk today and I was happy to oblige as I was going stir crazy having had no proper exercise for a week. We decided to go to the local woods and just walk about 3 miles, now remember this was a walk for Mrs S's new health regime, I was going along for company but was also checking my calf out.

The funny thing was that I noticed whilst walking was that although I have run that route on hundreds of occasions, walking them allowed me to see it in a completely new perspective and allowed me to notice so many new things, new paths and new views.

I am really proud of Mrs S for getting out there and doing some exercise and have made a commitment that I will walk with her at least once a week on Sunday........ but after my run ;-)

Wise Words

I have been mulling around at home feeling very down about my leg injury and also very jealous about all the challenges my peers have just completed or about to undertake.

George has run VLM last week and then the Oxon 40 yesterday, Matt is about to run the Halstead marathon (with a 25 Ib back pack) and Rob the Neolithic, all races and challenges I want to do at some stage but Crawley has got in the way of them ( no regrets there)

I saw that the Orpington Marafun is next week and I mentioned it to my wife and she said:

"Just do your normal running Jerry, you are way too competitive for your own good and bound to try and race someone and hurt yourself trying to beat them"

...and there we have it, the go ahead to do my running but to keep it real. If this week's running goes OK I will embark on a long one next weekend.

Challenge

Always set the trail,
never follow the path

Having looked at this little saying a few times now I reckon it is time I set myself a new short-term challenge.

It doesn't necessarily mean a race or an organised event just the opportunity to get out there and enjoy my chosen sport.

Thought for the day

Do not confuse the moon with the finger that points at it.

Zen proverb