So the one thing about ultra training ... it's kinda lonely. There are very few people who feel like getting up and running long runs with you - of all my friends, about half are sporty, but none is into ultra apart from one, and he's so much better than I am that it isn't really possible to train with him at all. In addition, training plays havoc with your social life, because a hangover is 100% incompatible with getting up early and running, and post-run all you can think about is a bath, food, and mindless TV.
So imagine how happy I was to meet a running bud on the train to Eastbourne this weekend! Brian came up to me and asked if I knew how to get start of the South Downs from the station, because he'd never been there before. He was visiting from the US, was training for a marathon, and wanted a long run that had good views to make his buddies jealous! He had about 15 or 16 miles to do, which was perfect because I had about 25km to do, so we decided to buddy up and see how it went. Actually - it went perfectly! We didn't run together exactly, more kept in contact and met up across the course, because he was faster than me overall but I was much better trained on the hills, since he comes from Charlotte NC which he told me is pretty flat. It was so nice to see his red shirt bobbing ahead of me now and again though, or to have him come up behind me. It was also nice to have someone to talk about all this crazy stuff with - he is planning on doing 52 marathons over the next little while (one in every state, plus an extra bonus marathon in his home state), so we had a lot to chat about which was nice. We did get a few funny looks on the train though ...!
For the run itself, I was back down on the South Downs, but I wanted to do Eastbourne to the Seven Sisters and back again. I was planning on doing about 25km and I got close at 24.3. It was hard though - I'd forgotten how high Beachy Head is! The last time I did a similar run was the very first one that I ever did and I was so much faster this time though! I was so happy about that because sometimes with this training I only seem to get slower, so it was a nice boost to think that at least I've managed to get a bit faster! I basically did 20km in about the same time as I did 17km the first time, which was a fabulous lift. Hurrah! I'm glad I have the South Downs, because I went to a party on Friday night (and drank a bottle of wine, which is why I didn't train on Saturday ... oops! I was bored of having no social life!). Anyway, at this party I was speaking to a buddy who'd just done the same part of the South West Coast Path which I have to do on the third day. She is a massively experienced ultra runner and endurance athlete (think running 84 miles over Hadrian's Wall, swimming the Channel, cycling to Istanbul ...) and she said it was super super hard! EEEEK! She said it was the terrain that made it so difficult, so I'm pleased that the South Downs should at least give me some experience of what it's like, although I can't get it to be as hard as the actual terrain will be. But at least I'm trying!
The South Downs are also so absolutely stunning that they do take your mind off the run, so I'm also hoping that that will be the same on the actual ACC. I've heard amazing things about the Cornish Coast, so fingers crossed!!!!
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