First Run in Eastbourne...

Another week, another seaside town and more coastal running = excellent *big smiley face*

Unfortunately, when I arrived in Eastbourne on Sunday evening, I was immediately struck down by a 24hour vomiting and stomach bug on the Monday. So, I missed my first day of ‘getting to know stuff’ and the start of my induction. It really did wipe me out and I’m only just getting my energy and appetite back properly and today’s Thursday.

However, yesterday – Wednesday – I decided that I couldn’t resist the urge to run and explore any longer and even though I’m not 100% yet and I have no idea where I’m going, I dragged myself out for a little exploration. There was lots of walking as I clumsily navigated the unfamiliar streets of Eastbourne, but once I discovered the seafront I broke into a run. I got really excited when I saw the signposts for Beachy Head and all the possibilities that this will mean in the coming months. 

I decided to follow the signs, although I didn’t intend to run out as far as Beachy Head just yet. I was on evening duty at 6pm and it was past 4.30, so I didn’t want to risk going too far and getting lost. Ultimately, I ended up run/walking up and big grassy hill and onto the South Downs Way.

It is so beautiful. I have run along the SDW at various points in various races, but I have never run this end of the path. I have run close to Winchester and somewhere in the middle, but this bit has remained unfamiliar to me over the years. I have entered Beachy Head Marathon in the past, but it was just too far away for me to get to when I was in the North West. This is one of the reasons that I am now so excited to be in this area; there are just so many beautiful and interesting places to explore. So, I ran along the path for a little while, in the late afternoon sun. It was peaceful, hilly and serene.

I may still be getting over being sickly, but this little wander definitely left me feeling perkier.

The pretty bits of London...

Richmond Park Run

I’m now in Eastbourne for a new EFL teaching job, which is great because it means that I’m in a lovely part of the country. I’m right by the sea and I’m also right next to the beautiful South Downs Way and Beachy Head – you can’t get better than that! This job also means that I will be able to afford more ultras and marathons than I have been able to afford in the last few years. This is all very exciting. 

On my way back from Devon, I stopped over in London for a week and relaxed a little. I also went on some nice runs around Battersea Park and by the Thames. However, one of my favourite places to run in London has to be Richmond Park. It seems like such an unlikely pretty hideaway in the middle of all that hustle and bustle. Me and George-ultra-running-boyfriend-extraordinaire ran a nice quick 14 miles. Yet, I think the best thing about the run was coming across some deer. 

All the times I have run in Richmond Park, I don’t think I have ever come across any of the famous deer that live there. I always look out for them, but they never appear. This time I wasn’t even looking and there they were, munching away on some grass. It really is the small things...

It’s better going that way

Bloggage from 24/02/14

That statement just about sums up yesterday’s run. It was so very windy, it made running a little difficult. In fact, the wind was so gale force out there, it made walking difficult along some stretches of the sea front. It was especially tricky going out, so when I was on the return leg, the wind was mainly behind me then, but another runner was running in the opposite direction, and he was indeed correct – much harder! However, looking at it positively, I had to work much harder and therefore, I got more out of the run. I wasn’t simply running up hills, I was running against the wind and a bit of resistance training is very useful.

So last week, I ran 49.58 miles. I wanted to run at least 40 miles, although I was aiming for 50 miles in order to meet my target of 160 for the month. In actuality, I did just over 50 miles, since I got to restart my Garmin at some points.

Monday 17^th Feb: A wet and rainy run along the sea front. It really got torrential out there, but it also felt very refreshing. Overall, I ran 6 miles

Tuesday 18^th Feb: I went running a little later than normal and it started to get pretty dark whilst I was out. I ran 6.11 miles

Wednesday 19^th Feb: I ran 6.18 miles and I went a little further along the coast. Sometimes, I run up and down and repeat sections of the seafront to make up the mileage, but I didn’t need to on this run.

Thursday 20^th Feb: I ran shorter than 6 miles and ended up doing 5.18 miles. Again, it was getting dark. However, I made sure I put a lot of effort into my runs up the hills.

Friday 21^st Feb: I felt a little chilly and pretty tired on this run. However, I did manage to do the 6 miles that I was aiming for and ended up on 6.04 miles.

Saturday 22^nd Feb: I decided to explore further along the coast than I had previously. I went down the big steps to Goodrington. There were lots of steps and lots of hills to be had on this run, but the weather was glorious. I was warm from running and the sun was shining, I wish I’d taken money for an ice cream. Overall, I ran 10.07 miles

Sunday 23^rd Feb: I was determined to continue my little running streak and get in more than 6 miles, in order to reach my target for the month. My calfs and quads were now beginning to ache after the repeated hill running and climbing of steps. Yesterday was also extremely windy, so there were many points where I nearly gave up on running longer than 6 miles. Yet, I prevailed and I carried on – I was determined that the wind was not going to beat me! I had to run up and down a bit, to make up the mileage and I even ran around the block at the end, but eventually it was worth it and I clocked up 10 miles.

First run in Paignton

Yesterday, I arrived in Paignton after a 6 ½ hour journey aboard a National Express coach, from London. I wasn’t taking any chances with the trains and didn’t relish the prospect of unloading all my luggage and stuff off of one train and on to another or a bus. So, I chose the most straightforward approach, and the longest. It really was an extremely long coach journey and we stopped at Heathrow for around 25 mins loading up dozens of people onto the coach until it was completely full.

When I finally arrived, I was met at the bus stop and shown around the school. I will be here for two weeks teaching EFL students and helping out at the school. Paignton really is a beautiful place and now the storms have gone, you can really appreciate the seafront and the stunning coast line. So, I went for a little walk yesterday, just to explore my surroundings and figure out where would be best to run.

Today, I ran along the seafront. Weather-wise, it really was a beautiful day, so I can’t really blame people for wanting to get out there and make the most of it. However, I was constantly dodging people, kids, kids on scooters (dangerous...), yappy dogs, running dogs, all sorts and sizes of dog and people and kids on bikes. I know, I know, it sounds a bit miserable of me.

However, the weather was so bright and sunny that in my perfect imagining of my run, I would just have been running along serenely and peacefully. Instead, I kept thinking I was going to trip over a puppy or that some mad child on a scooter was going to crash into me. On that note, whenever I have children, I am never ever buying them a scooter... So, the run had its good points and its bad points.

I couldn’t fault the scenery on this run or the weather. It was chilly, but incredibly sunny, which equals perfect running conditions. And did I mention the scenery was beautiful! However, on a ‘to be expected’ note, I had no clue in the world where I was going. I would run and then sort of stop and glance around me to figure out my next move. I was also slow. I could have carried on down the coast, but I reached the top of a very big hill and was facing some very steep steps and I couldn’t decide. A future note to myself is: If you can’t decide, do it anyway.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day...

The weather is pretty crazy out there and it is rather windy and rainy, but I’m so excited to be going out for dinner this evening. The truth is, I have always liked Valentine’s Day, even when I was single. I know a lot of people hold the negative view that it is just a money-making scheme conjured up by card companies etc., but I’m not one of the haters. And, I don’t think you have to go crazy or make it a really expensive occasion, but I think a little effort is a nice expression of affection.  Also, I think there is so much negativity out there and stresses in everyday life, so any day on which we make that extra effort to be caring towards someone, is a good day. Of course, we should make the effort the rest of the time as well...

Brown Bat - Ultra mascot...

So, I’m in London for a few days, and like the rest of the country at the moment, the weather is unpredictable. However, I managed to squeeze in a nice refreshing and rainy 5.70 miles, by the Thames & through Battersea Park (I've never seen it look so empty...) in 46:21. I’m really happy with that, because I really did resemble a drowned rat by the end of my run. Thankfully, the wind wasn’t as bad as it has been over the past few days, but there were a few sudden gusts around a few corners.

Right, I am off to relax with a coffee and warm myself up. It’s a bit chilly...

Toenails

I have no idea why, but for the first time in years (years and years) I suddenly decided to paint my toenails. Now, I’m clearly out of practice, as I think I could have done a better job blindfolded. Although, it probably doesn’t help that my toenails were so battered to begin with. However, I think I can say that I have a full set, although my little toenails don’t really have much going for them at the moment, as the previous ones fell off a few months back. I've also got a few blackened ones. Well, actually, now they’re all black, albeit a shiny sort of fancy black as opposed to ‘manky runner black’ nails.

I haven’t been out running today, as the weather is just too crazy. I envisioned myself getting hit by a flying branch or blown into a road, so I thought I’d do the sensible thing and stay home. I did some weights instead. It was a bit of a shame that I couldn’t go running, as I had wanted a big mileage week. However, no running in gale force winds (up to 80 mph today) was definitely the sensible thing to do. Instead, I kept myself sane in the knowledge that I had quite a speedy medium-length run on Monday - 12.47 miles in 1hr 42min...

I kept myself insane by thinking about toes some more... So, thinking back to tootsies, I was pondering just how battered they get and how little appreciation they receive. I don’t know, maybe the weather has messed with my mind a little, but they do keep us balanced and they bear the brunt of the force when running up and down hills. Yet, as runners, you’ll constantly hear people going on about their manky feet and toenails predominantly. So, I say, lets show toes a bit of love and give them the TLC they so deserve. The End.

L x

A soggy adventure in The Lakes

I said that I wanted to challenge myself in positive ways. Glancing back over the last week, I think I can say that I’ve succeeded on the running front. Saturday’s run was awesome.

I accepted the invitation of two runner friends to go and run in The Lake District.  The Lakes is approximately a 2 hour drive from where we live and it’s totally worth it. I have so many great memories of the Lakes and the scenery is beautiful.  So, I got up early and fuelled up for the day on some porridge and toast and a very large coffee. The drive was quick and before I knew it, we were there. It was definitely worth getting out of bed early for.

The weather was cold, so I had made sure to put on a base layer, long sleeved top, t-shirt on top and my OMM waterproof jacket on top of that. I also put my pack-away inov8 waterproof pants in my backpack just in case. I had visions of us being out on the hills or exposed moorland, shivering somewhere.

We ran from Ambleside and up past a river, before finding ourselves on rocky trails. We had decided to run some of the Lakeland 50 route. I haven’t run Lakeland 50 since 2010 and I don’t remember an amazing amount of this section, as we would have reached this bit of the course in the dark and moved pretty slowly on tired legs. However, every now and again, I’d exclaim ‘Ah, I think I remember this bit...I don’t think I enjoyed this bit’. After all, Lakeland 50 is the slowest 50 mile ultra I have ever done.

At the start of our adventure, we happened to come across another runner who was recceing the Lakeland route, in preparation for Lakeland 100, which starts the evening before Lakeland 50 and is significantly harder/ probably one of the toughest 100 mile ultras around. I love the fact that even when you’re not even running a race, that there is such camaraderie amongst fellow runners and you end up meeting new people. The lady runner (Jo) stayed with us for the remainder of our run. And then there were three...

At about 8 miles in, the wind and rain really began to hammer us. The marshy ground also kept suctioning off my running shoe and I was pretty slow and cautious as I negotiated the rockier bits.  The thing is, ‘back in the day’, I ran this type of terrain often. I’ve never been a crazy daredevil fell runner who can throw themselves down the side of a hill without a second thought and I never will be, but I used to be braver. I definitely felt myself going a lot slower than I would have liked. Another thing is that I’m a lot faster (in general) and fitter than I was back in the ‘good old days’. I don’t run as many races and my training miles are of better quality. But I was rusty on the rockier, more technical aspects of trail. I think it is a matter of confidence sometimes, and practice. I have only just got back into hillier trail running and I am training for a very long, FLAT canal race (GUCR 145 miler), so it’s no mystery that I wouldn’t be the best at this. Yet, I want to be. I want to be better and I want to be ‘hard-core’ again. I don’t want to be afraid of tricky mud, rocky bits and hills. I love this type of running.

So, after 8 miles, we had a bit of a rest from the rain and went for a drink. Everyone else decided upon a cuppa’ tea and I don’t blame them, as I guess it was warming. However, I decided to get a half pint of pale ale. I figured that the carbohydrates would come in useful.

After the pub, we carried on, on our journey. We decided to loop back towards Ambleside, a different way from the way we came. Fortunately, we had a good map reader amongst us and Mark knew exactly the route we should take. At this point, the rain had turned to hail. The hail in itself wasn’t significant, but the wind blowing it against my legs and face was ferocious. I had to shield my eyes with my hand (should have worn a cap) and I yelped a little at how much they stung me. Yet, I told myself to ‘wo-man up’, as it was only a bit of hail and not the end of the world. The weather was actually worst at the end of our run, where the rain was just relentless. I was glad that the worst waited until the end. Although, I did wonder about some poor souls we had seen out walking earlier on; none of them had proper walking gear on, merely jeans and ‘everyday coats’, and yet they looked at us like we were the mad ones!

Ultimately, we ran just under 18 miles and we looked like drowned rats, so we decided to go to a local café and hunt for pasties to warm us up. Unfortunately, all the pasties were sold out, so I ordered a brie and caramelised onion toastie and a pot of tea. It was scrumptious. However, as we sat there, inside the café, eating our food, water was dripping off us.

All in all, I had a brilliant day out and I took a lot away from it. I’ve figured out some new goals that I want to accomplish this year, which mainly revolve around wanting to get more confident with hilly trail running again. I will do this.

L x