A run in a thousand

I awoke at 5.52 am this morning with the real need to roll over and have another 4 hours in bed. With great effort I pulled myself from under the duvet with the promise that in an hour I would be rewarded by the North Downs in its full autumnal glory, I was soon to realise that this was the right choice.

This week we had planned to run about 20 miles and had no route in mind but after some umming and arring we had parked the car in Knockholt and got kitted up in the pre-dawn light. I was feeling a little nervous having to run in my new Adidas Kanadia TR4 shoes as they were offering support in places I was not used to but really pleased they were low cut around the ankle and heel, I was not to be disappointed with them.

We jogged off slowly with me wolfing down a banana and carrying a full backpack of kit comprising the required equipment I needed for the Brecon Beacons Ultra weighing in at about 7 lbs.

There was a general plan that we would climb the scarp twice but I was keen to investigate some untrodden paths if we came across them but first we had to navigate some old friends too and as we descended the 400 feet towards Chevening my jaw dropped to the floor to see the sun rising over Kent and showing its head above the fog which was hugging the valley floor below. We were even seen chasing the fog as it dropped from higher ground as the tops of the clouds warmed up.

This joy was to continue for the next 19 miles as every turn, every ascent or descent opened its doors to yet another amazing view, such that we "wanted" to run and ascend the sides of the scarp to show us what it had to show us. Even run within the fog in the valley started to present fantastic sights almost ghostly as the hazy sunshine cast long shadows and created silhouettes of the trees. Cows stared at the ghostly sight of two fluorescent clad runners appearing from the mist, horses bolted and dog walkers said the gleeful good mornings as they too were enjoying the glory of Kent on an autumnal day.

This was not to say we were not taking our training seriously and were still running the hills, hauling our sorry arses through ploughed fields, my yellow shoes now looking a little more like trail shoes as the mud clung to their agressive tread.

As the morning went on the fog slowly started to burn off leaving a fine mist which again gave an ethereal feel to the world around us as farm animals appeared through the mist and ate the dew drenched grass, accentuated by the cobwebs.

Our journey was interrupted when we met a fellow traveller, well actually it was a local getting his morning newspaper, who I asked directions to a road where my great aunt used to live and the last time I was there was 40 years ago. It was here that George recognised hsi accent being from "The Old Country" and they reminisced about various towns in Ireland, we asked directions and we were pointed to the wrong road which found us running in a complete loop, laughing we got back on track and I was able to find the house and was just amazed how little it had changed and being fed carrots cooked for 12 hours and eating packets of Smash potato.

We continued and were soon back on the trail and running through yet more muddy fields and trails but soon had to turn around and try to get back to our starting point planning our route from where we were at that time.

In all this run was a run in a thousand, full of the beauties of Kent and as George mentioned on a number of occasions is what makes the weekend that little better as we can carry the memories of the run to our dull business desks in the week.

Sometimes running is not stupid

Say hello to YELLOW

After much deliberation by myself and patience from the salesman at the local running equipment emporium I have purchased my latest pair of trail shoes.

Say hello to the very YELLOW Adidas Kanadia TR4 trail shoe which are described as follows:

"...The adidas Men's Kanadia TR 4 are aggressive, agile trail running shoes with a fast and sleek look...."

The problem is that these shoes come up small and the salesperson was pretty good in coming out with various sizes and I think I got the right size, in fact I didn't even look at the sizes until I found a shoe that felt comfortable on me...let's hope so as I have a ~20 mile trail run to settle them in tomorrow

A challenge worthy of some respect

My next challenge is soon to be upon us, in fact only a month away and the organisers have now loaded the route, required kit lists and helpful tips. The Brecon Beacons 40 mile Ultra will prove to be a worthy opponent and I have taken some time to look over the map of the course and then map it out on a mapping website. Ordnance Survey maps do not show all the paths and so I am assuming we will be taken well worn ascents and descents along the courses of streams and contouring where necessary. The stats make some interesting reading:

Total Ascent:	5889	ft (1795 m)
Total Descent:	6126	ft (1867 m)
Start Elevation:	381	ft (116 m)
End Elevation:	380	ft (116 m)
Min Elevation:	369	ft (113 m)
Max Elevation:	1949	ft (594 m)

The total distance is approximately 40 miles (64 km) and proves to be a tough number and as you can see from the image above some vicious ascents and descents

One for the trail

A beautiful track by Dire Straits even more poignant on this day

As ever, play it loud

By Jove

Click to enlarge

It has been quite an eventful week this week what with being accepted on the GUCR event next June on Monday, reaching 2,000 miles for the year on Tuesday.

 This evening my plan was to knock out 10 miles sticking to the pavements where possible and to investigate whether I was able to cross a local bridge on foot that had been closed for repairs. It is a strange feeling running down the middle of a closed road that is normally busy with cars to find it so, so quiet. As I trudged down the road I looked up to a clear black sky and through the trees saw the full moon shining down on me keeping me company with its new companion just to its side, Jupiter (Jove). 

I had a strange feeling, almost comforting, to have Jove the Roman god of the sky and thunder on my shoulder as I went on my lonely and weary way. A strange thing really but it kept my mind distracted to get through the run comfortably.

On you marks, get set....

GUCR...GO

On 10th September I sent an email notifying the organisers of the Grand Union Canal Run of my interest in running the event in 2012 and was duly put in the ballot for selection. It appears this year the event was very overbooked and therefore the chances of being pulled out of the hat were slim. To tell you the truth my general feeling was just to enter it and if I was not selected then at least I tried which is a better feeling than not trying at all.

The draw for the event was held last night in the Swan, East Ilsley, Berkhire and we were informed that we would not know of the results until tonight but this morning the Facebook GUCR pages and emails were flashing around and I was really pleased to see that I am in....the training continues.

Tough little number

The general opinion of the day was that we had to raise our game with only 4 weeks to go before the Brecon Beacons 40 mile ultra. George wanted to take on a 20 mile trail run and I happily spent the latter part of Saturday evening having a look over my map to work out a route...I felt that we had to visit an old friend, part of the London to Brighton route reaching the M25 motorway and then join the Vanguard Way , then North Downs Way and up north to the car.

I found it really hard to wake up this morning and wasn't until about 20 minutes into the run that I felt human again and able to chat properly with George but found from the start I seemed to be ready to run, to take on the hills and not to let up. The first 8 miles of the planned route was an old friend with some nice little testers, hills we have respected too much and it was time for us to take them on and not be frightened of them, with a change of pace we were soon seen taking them in our stride. 

We reached the M25 motorway easily and we jumped onto the Vanguard Way to take us up a very steep and rutted route to the top of Titsey Hill through freshly planted fields and herds of cows bemused but beginning to show interest in two fluorescent clad runners pounding past their morning rituals and with that interest two fluorescent clad runners were soon seen ramping up the pace. The next ascent saw us speed walking and chatting about Brecon and the opportunity of having a short break at 10 miles for a bite to eat, today's breakfast menu a satsuma and a gingernut biscuit, we were soon on our way discussing the distant rain dropping in the distant valley then taking on yet another ascent to take us off the Downs and into the flatter, more welcoming paths.

The wind picking up, the temperature dropping on the top of the scarp I put my Buff on and we began to slug out the remaining 10 miles which comprised approximately 0.5 miles of road, the rest trail and field mostly filled with herds of cows getting in the last of the prime grass before winter sets in for sure.

The remaining miles flew by and we were soon on the final ascent to the car park, legs tired, both with twisted and stumped ankles from various trips and clumps. Heart rates up, lungs bursting from the numerous ascents and descents, both really happy with the run and a new found confidence.

Sunday's run , 20 miles with  2,900 feet ascent, numerous scratches from brambles and 1 blister.... aweseome

My old workhorses

I have been grumbling of late about a slight soreness in my calves the day after a run and this is indicative of my running shoes beginning to wear out ( The magical 500 mile inbuilt self-destruction?). I am actively looking for a new pair anyway as the Autumn has arrived and Winter weather is promised so I may get a pair of waffle soled shoes which will be great for off and on road training over the next few months.

Mindful of my sore calves (peroneus longus?) I have decided to pull out my old favourites, my Nike Pegasus, which I bought about two years ago and generally use during the winter months, however they too are getting old but will be perfect for the woods, a little tricky on wet chalk, but which shoe isn't.

This week's Long run promises to be a sticky wet one due to the recent rains so it may be best to keep to the main paths over and down the North Downs scarp this Sunday but I have been informed by George that we will have to do at least 20 miles this week with the promise of a longer one next week...who am I to argue

Moonlight Challenge 2012

As my regular readers will know The Moonlight Challenge is a "must" do event and I have to admit that I completely forgot I had entered a few weeks ago. I got this email this morning from Mike Inkster, the organiser:

Jerry,

Hope this finds you well? I’ve attached all the relevant details for the Moonlight Challenge which takes place on Saturday 4^th February 2012. Your number will be 11  which you collect when you register. If you have any queries or problems relating to the Challenge then feel free to contact me by email or you can always give me a ring..

See you in February.

Mike

This is great as it fits perfectly into my training plans and taper for the Thames Path 100 in March ;-)


I am also really pleased because I have a prime as my running number!

Wakey wakey

I have come to realise I have probably been overdoing it recently!

I worked out that between Saturday and Tuesday I had run 42.2 miles taking a rest of Wednesday as I was teaching at the college that evening. On my way home tonight I got on the train and the next thing I know I was at the end of the line having fallen asleep. The amazing thing is I must have dropped off before the doors closed as I remember nothing of the journey absolutely nothing, ziltch.

Frustrating thing was I then had to get a return train home but luckily it was to the station closest to my house and I was only a few minutes later than normal

Running Numbers

It is around about this time of year I announce landmark stats about my running, one which will be coming in the next week or so, injury permitting. Firstly during the month of October I was planning to step up the mileage a little but my ankle injury didn't help things when I took 8 days off whilst it recovered but I am still pleased that I covered ~166 miles ready to ramp up as we approach the Brecon Ultra in December.

However one that did go under the RADAR was the fact that since I started running again in 2007 I have run 8,300 miles which equates to running one third of the distance around the Earth (via the Equator); so if I was to start on the West Coast of Gabon in Africa I would currently approaching Papua New Guinea to the north of Australia

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