34. The One Where It Was The Most Perfect Weather Ever

19 September 2015

So I live in England, and I deeply deeply love England.  I particularly love London, but I'm also very fond of the country as a whole.  However, we have appalling weather.  Really really bad.  BAD.  This summer I think it's probably rained more than it does in winter in most countries.  I've been so lucky in that - oddly - most Saturdays have been really not bad, and I have only been rained on a few times.  Now that it's September, however, I've been preparing myself for the worst, weather-wise, especially after this week when it's rained pretty solidly all week.

Guess what happened today though?  The clue is in the title!  It was PERFECT.  Amazing. I was all the more shocked, because I'd decided that I wanted to check out what the actual South West Coast Path was like.  Cornwall is really really really far from London so I couldn't go down there, but the other end of it starts near Studland, and I thought if I could get down to Weymouth, I'd be able to try it out.  However - naturally - there were works on the line, so I had to go to Poole instead.  This was practically a military operation to organise - it's almost a three hour train journey down, and even when I got there I had to catch a bus for 40 minutes to Sandbanks and then a ferry over the harbor to Shell Bay before I could even get to the start of the "path" ... and the reason I say "path" in inverted commas is because the first 4.6km is along a beach!!


Consequently, I had to get on the 06:13 train from West Brompton, and it was miserable - freezing, drizzling, grey and misty.  Awesome.  I watched the countryside rolling by all the way down to about Southampton and it just got worse and worse ... but then MAGIC happened.  Once we left Southampton, it was like we moved into a whole new country - the sky turned blue, the sun gleamed, and there was no mist in sight!  By the time I got to Poole at 09:00, the weather could hardly be more perfect.  After a small detour via the Quay (because the bus didn't leave from where I thought it did) I got to Shell Bay at about 11:00.  Unfortunately, because there is only one bus an hour between Poole and Sandbanks, where the ferry goes from, I knew I wasn't likely to be able to do the full 42km today but I thought it was worth it to actually experience the path itself.  Obviously, being me, I completely missed the sign for the start of the path - I mean, who wouldn't miss this, it's so discreet, so subtle:

Having sorted myself out though (ie asked directions from a slightly incredulous man: "Did you come off the ferry?  You didn't see the sign??"), I found the start of the path and got going.  The first challenge was this ... ermmmm!!


Everyone else was taking their shoes off and wading across, but I was really really reluctant to do that because I knew I was going at least 30km and the beach was superfine sand.  If that got into my socks I'd have absolutely had it in terms of blisters and I knew it.  Therefore, I had to give this some thought.  Eventually, I left my shoes on and picked my way over, which resulted in wet feet but at least my socks were sandfree.  Since the beach was soooo long ... and we're talking 4.6km long here ... I decided to fartlek my way along in order not to knacker myself out, since I haven't got any experience running on sand at all.  Since there weren't any other markers, I fartlek'd between people wearing red sweaters.  This was made more interesting by the fact that sometimes they were walking away from me, but generally was quite an entertaining way to fartlek.

However, I soon reached a stretch where no-one was wearing red jumpers.  In fact, no-one was wearing sweaters at all.  Or shirts, or trousers, or socks, or pants.  Or swimsuits.  I had in fact found myself on the naturist beach at Studland!  I thought it was a bit rude to fartlek between naked people, so I walked that bit and took the opportunity to take pictures of the scenery (not of the nekkid people though, sorry to disappoint).

It was STUNNING on that beach.  I was a bit confused by the lack of actual path, but a quick look at the guide to the the path reassured me that yes, I was meant to be on the beach.  Once I realised that I could give up worrying and enjoy it!  I have lived in some classically "beautiful" places - in particular, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand - and I don't think I've ever seen any beach to match this one.

 Once I got to the end of the path I was at Studland - the place with the most expensive property in England!  I can't say I massively appreciated this - I was busier concentrating on where the start of the actual path was.  I finally asked someone, since the entire place was just filled with beach huts.  Turns out you go between the beach huts, up some stairs, around the road a bit, and then you're back on the path.  Cracking.  I got going ... only to find that the path was blocked off thanks to the military.  I'll have a few words to say about that next time I run into Army personnel!  Luckily you can do a quick detour round  the road and get back onto the path before Old Harry Rocks.  I was super-happy about this 'cause Old Harry Rocks are famous and I'd been really looking forward to seeing them.  I ran up the path feeling pretty happy about seeing them soon and I was definitely rewarded by an amazing view from the top of the cliff above the Rocks.

Having stopped for a photo-and-peanut-butter-wrap break, I headed straight up the cliff above Old Harry and down the path on the other side.  I soon learned one thing about the SW Coast Path - the path can be unbelievably thin!  I had to keep my eyes sharply on the path, as it was literally one foot directly in front of the other and a sheer drop to my left down to the sea.  That made for fast running ... not!  It was worth it though for the gorgeous views as I went over the crest of the cliff as Swanage was straight down to my left.  The nice thing about the path is that it's got these markers everywhere so just in case you're not sure how far you've got to go, you've got it handily marked for you. 

By this point, I'd gone about 13km and I was feeling really good.  The downhill path was a bit hard to run because a) it was narrooooooow; b) it was muddy and slippery as anything; and c) it was really steep, so steps had been cut in it at various points.  This, together with my slow start on the beach, meant that I was probably a lot fresher than I would normally have been, but I also think that the gorgeous weather and views were really helping.  By the time I dropped down into Swanage I was ready for lunch, but I decided to get through town first and eat on the other side, because I knew I could only go for another 20 minutes or so before I had to turn around to get back in time for the ferry.  

Swanage smells A.MAZ.ING.  Basically, fresh fish and chips, vinegar, icecream and donuts.  I couldn't work out what the town reminded me of - it was so cute and it felt really familiar somehow, even though I knew I hadn't been there before.  I got chatting to an old dude when I was filling up my water bottles and he provided the answer - he told me "It reminds you of a time you've never known; a time before you were born, but a time you've always heard about.  Kids without technology, building sandcastles.  Teenagers learning to fish off the pier.  Families enjoying each other's company.  Fresh food and simple treats.  That's what it reminds you of ..." And you know what?  He was so right.  I wasn't around in the 60s or 70s, but now I know what it must have been like ... it was so lovely.  Once I'd made it through town I rejoined the path on the other side to head up the next hill, but only as far as the top before I flopped down and ate my lunch.  With all those smells I was STARVING but I decided that a sneaky fish and chips probably wasn't going to help me get back over that hill, so I settled for - another - peanut butter wrap.  I am swiftly evolving the kind of hatred for peanut butter wraps that's normally reserved for dictators and mass murderers.  However, I swallowed it down and headed back through Swanage and back over the hill.  Heading back, I went up the path a bit further and through a couple of gates - to discover I could see the sea on both sides!

  

 That second picture is the 4.6km beach from Studland to Shell Bay - it's so amazing!

Not only did I have the amazing views on both sides, I was also greeted by one of my people.  Haha jokes - just a sheep.  Although since I lived in NZ for 18 years, I did wonder if he'd heard of the sorts of things Kiwis allegedly get up to since all I can say about his behaviour is that he preened at me.  Look at the lil poser!  There were other sheep too, but this was the only one evincing an interest in me (story of my life ... the bloody lunatic is the one that fancies me!)

Having said goodbye, it was a straight run back down to Old Harry, then down the cliff path and back to the beach.  I stopped again at Studland (if it's going to be the most expensive realty in England, I thought I might as well enjoy it), and then worked out I had 45 minutes to get back along the beach.  I was pretty knackered by now, so I decided to do the fartlek action again (my favorite weapon in my arsenal when I'm tired).  This time I did blue sweaters but it didn't work out so well because blue is obviously not in this season, so I changed to beach wind breakers.  That was much more effective and it even worked in the nekkid bit!  Cracking!  I slowed down to a walk after a while though, because as it turns out sand is a real pain to run on.  

Finally, at 29.5km, I ended up back at the ferry.  I was really really tired!  1/3 of the run was on sand, and I am pretty sure that's why I was more tired than I thought I would be.  I also had really been enjoying the run so I think I hadn't really noticed that I was getting tired in the same way that I had on other runs.  Luckily I had the ferry right there and then a 40-minute wait for the bus back to Poole (ONE BUS AN HOUR!).  

By the time I got back to Poole I was STARVING MARVIN but when I looked at my remaining peanut butter wrap, I couldn't even.  No way was that thing getting anywhere near my stomach.  What I really really wanted was fish and chips, but sadly the only thing that was open was Greggs.  Whilst a steak bake wasn't the same thing, at least it was hot and not a peanut-butter wrap.  Well worth the £1.10! Having changed into compression tights and a warm fleece (it might have been a nice day but it IS September), I jumped on the train and tucked into my steak bake.  Sadly it wasn't quite as warm as one would consider wholly ideal (read:  stone cold) but at least it was comforting.  I finally got home at 20:30 - a long day, but absolutely my favorite run to date.  I'm glad I didn't find the path before because (the beach aside) it was easier than Beachy Head, so I think I've had better training there, but I'm so happy I did get down there today.  

31. The One Where I Found Myself Singing Along to One Direction

13 September 2015

So I stayed down in Eastbourne last night in order to be able to back-to-back my training without paying an absolute fortune to Southern Railway.  I was really good and went to sleep nice and early ... only to be woken up about midnight.  I couldn't get back to sleep for anything - my knee was hurting a fair bit (which was strange because it had been okay when I went to bed!) and I decided that my compression clothes were uncomfortable.  I changed into normal PJs and immediately got straight back to sleep - phew!

However, when I woke up, my knee wasn't a lot better ... it was irritable, and it wasn't that keen on me bending it.  It is the same pain that I feel when running downhill, so I figured I'd just annoyed it with all my downhills the day before, and that it would calm down after a bit.  I carb'd up with a bit of Oatso Simple instant porridge with a few added raisins (so healthy, so nutritious ...!  But it was my only option given that I was leaving at 07:00 and nothing was open).  Since I was leaving so early, I didn't have much choice but to eat it pretty much immediately before I left, but I figured that was far less risky than having nothing at all - I am not going to bonk again if I can help it!

The morning was absolutely gorgeous!  I started off by Eastbourne Pier just as the sun was rising behind it.  There was almost no-one on the streets but, unlike London and even Brighton, it was clean as a whistle on the boardwalk; you would never have been able to tell that the SteamPunk festival had been going on.  Reflecting on this, I headed out of town and back up to Beachy Head.  Going up there, I was absolutely fine - I was so happy because I actually felt better than yesterday, despite my long day yesterday.  Wooop woop!  Howeverrrrrrr .... as soon as I hit the downhill a sharp pain shot through my knee.  I hrmphed a little and thought about it and tried again.  It was still painful, but lessened, so I thought I'd just keep going for a bit and see what happened.

I covered exactly the same route as yesterday - over Beachy Head, through Birling Gap, and over the Seven Sisters to Cuckmere Haven.  Unlike yesterday, however, it was sooooo quiet!  I was literally the only one on the route at that time (unsurprisingly, since it was 07:00 on a Sunday morning, but there were no dog-walkers or anything).  It was absolutely stunning up there by myself; I really felt like I was lost in the run and in my music that I had playing.  I was brought to myself sharply, however, as suddenly this super-catchy toon came on and, since I was all by myself, I started to sing along even though I wasn't sure what it was.  Imagine my horror when the chorus came through and it was Midnight Memory by One Direction.  The shame.  The horror.  I quickly checked that no-one had heard (no, but a couple of seagulls were giving me a very superior look) and kept on going.

I'd noticed that the tide was out and I was thinking when I got to Cuckmere that I might just wade across the stream if I could, and head up Cuckold Mere again.  I really like that hill (coming eastwards anyway!) and I thought it would make a nice change.  However, my knee was really beginning to hurt by this point, so I decided to abandon that plan and head back the way I'd come - not least because I had a bit of a fear that the tide would come in and I'd be stuck on the Cuckold Mere side!  It was about then that it all started to go a bit wrong ....

I think that from favoring my right knee, I was running weirdly on my left foot.  I've never had blisters before, but the most enormous set of them suddenly sprung up all across my left toes, making it really hard to run normally.  I kept going - a blister is only a blister! - but my knee was getting worse and worse and I'm sure that partly it was that my stride was uneven because of the blisters.  When I got back to Birling Gap I stopped to eat a wrap and had a look at it, and it was massively swollen - it looked like someone had inflated it!  I really didn't know what to do ... I had no idea whether I should keep going and just ignore it or whether I should just get back to Eastbourne and stop there.  I pondered on this over Beachy Head and in the end came to the conclusion that I should stop, because if I wreck it in the event, it's actually fine because it can just rest after it.  However, if I wreck it now, I might not ever get to the event!!  I was really disappointed because the day started off so well (let's not talk about One Direction.  Although I did once sit next to Harry Styles at breakfast and he is HAWWWWWWT in person, even with his manbun and his skinny jeans, so let's just focus on that rather than that they are the chosen favorite band of eight-year-olds).

I ended up doing 26km overall anyway, and I really believe that if my knee hadn't gone I would've been absolutely fine to do the full 42km.  Knee aside, I felt fine - my muscles weren't stiff and my joints were working fine, and I was even managing to enjoy it.  So even though I cut it short I guess it was okay.  Kinda.

I think I did make the right decision though because I took my trainers off on the train, and when I went to put them back on again my right foot had swollen up so much I couldn't get the trainer back on it!  I've slathered the entire leg with Voltarol gel and it's gone down a fair amount now, so with a bit of luck and a fair wind behind it, it'll be fine for next weekend.  All fingers and toes crossed pleaaaase ...

30. The One With SteamPunks and a Vulcan

12 September 2015

Guess where I am ... again?!  Here's a clue:

Yup, down on the South Coast again.  This is my last big weekend of training before I begin to taper off a bit, which is both exciting and absolutely terrifying.

Today I had a run on the schedule which is designed to mimic, as closely as possible, the event conditions.  Cornwall is like super-far from London!  It costs about £150 to get down there by train and it takes forever either on the train or driving, so I can't actually get down there to train.  However, the course maps are online, and Day 1, which can be found here, is 27.5 miles (or 44km to me) with 2,152ft / 655m of elevation.  Rightio then - I figured a few times over the South Downs Way would be as close as I could get to that.  I decided to stay down in Eastbourne so that I could repeat the same run tomorrow, since Day 2 is really really similar, and it meant that I could do a back to back to get the real, ya know, authentic experience.  God help me.

So down I came this morning on the earliest train from Victoria and, after dropping my bag off at the hotel, I set off.  I had thought it would take me about eight hours so I was figuring on being back for about 18:00.  The way to the South Downs Way is now super-familiar, but one thing was definitely new ... a SteamPunk festival on the waterfront!  I've never seen SteamPunks before but let me tell you, they are SO COOL!  According to the mighty Google SteamPunk

"refers to a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery"

Okaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy ... that's not what I would have picked up; basically it's people wearing awesome black and purple Victoriana kit with what look to me like flying goggles.  And top hats.  With these awesome stalls with handmade goods ranging from fudge to backpacks.  It is SO cool and everyone was so friendly!  Happily it will be there tomorrow too, cos I was on a bit of a mission today so I didn't get to stop.

So anyway, it was up the hill and onto Beachy Head.  Eastbourne is pretty sheltered, so it wasn't til I got up to the top of the first bit of Beachy Head that I realised that there was the headwind from hell ... seriously!  I've heard people moan about headwinds before and thought "Yeah yeah whatevs" from my nice sheltered built-up London home, thinking they'd be like the small blusters on the track ... holy moly, til you've experienced a headwind on the cliff tops you haven't experienced anything at all!  Running into it was honestly like having a tyre attached to my back and having to drag it along; it was crazy.  There were times when I felt like I was running on the spot, it was madness.  MADNESS I tell you!  On the other hand, it definitely made running downhill easier on my body cos I didn't have to worry about leaning back; I was practically horizontal trying to reduce the wind drag on my body and actually go forwards which was a winner.  Eventually I managed to get to Birling Gap (my favorite psychological break) and then I carried on a up the first sister before I stopped for my first break.

I had some interesting food choices with me today ... namely, mini-wraps with peanut butter (again) and raisins (not again) and apple (definitely not again).  I decided to get involved in a peanut butter and apple one and immediately applauded myself on this choice!  In fact, I couldn't really taste the apple but the wrap was a million times better than bread because it was loads lighter.  Having had that, I got up (just about, since the wind was getting worse!) and carried on.  Last week I'd stopped at about the same point and returned because I was doing a shorter run, so I hadn't seen the rest of the Seven Sisters for ages and it was nice to see them again!  I'd forgotten how steep they were though and that came as a bit of a shock.  However, I find this the easiest bit of the run and there were loads of people about so it made it really interesting, and it didn't feel like much time at all before I was on the last Sister and heading down to Cuckmere Haven.  I tell ya what, that is one GORGEOUS beach from this angle - I hadn't seen it before this way, because I'd only ever done this part heading east.  It was well worth the pain of getting up the last Sister, look at this!

Isn't it beautiful?  Running down into it was lovely, although you have to go the long way round and come up behind it because the last Sister is far too steep to run down.  This was no bad thing though because it means you get to see Cuckmere Haven from every angle which is lovely.  For some bizarre reason (namely, that someone else was doing it) I decided that instead of going back around, I'd climb up the steep part ... ummm, don't think I'll be doing that again tomorrow!  I was terrified!!!  It's so steep that I was almost on my hands and knees, and not because I was leaning forward either!!  I did at least get back up the hill quickly though haha ... winning ...?!

My trip back across the Sisters was notable mainly for the tailwind ... you know how you can never feel a tailwind; it's all about the headwind?  Well this one was literally blowing me up the hill, together with everyone else who was out.  It was IN.SANE ... there I was, walking up the hill, and suddenly a gust woudl come and just lift me a few paces forward.  This was an excellent bonus!  I also met a lovely Belgian couple, Paul and Tone, who were massively into running which made the next lil bit loads easier as I had them to chat to.  Paul was 69 and had been a member of his running club for 54 years!  54!  He had loads of tips for me which was awesome, including bending my knees on the downhill more to save my poor quads (a tip I'd gotten from George earlier in the week and had thought I was employing, but plainly not).  I tried my best after that and it was helpful, even though I thought I'd been doing it anyway.

I stopped at Birling Gap for another wrap, then headed back over Beachy Head.  I think I must've been on drugs the first time I did this because it didn't feel like it was that far.  Believe me, it really really feels like far now!  Once I'd done it, it was a quick stop at the kiosk at the bottom to grab a bit more water and then straight back over.  Great.  Loved that ... NOT.  Especially as over the previous 10 kilometres I'd forgotten how bad that head wind was ... but it was interesting at least.  I vaguely noticed that there were a lot of people out, but I didn't really think much of it - I just figured it was a nice Saturday afternoon and that was that.  The nice news was that I ran into Paul and Tone again!  They were so nice, and I love a bit of human contact on these training runs because it is a bit lonely running for six or seven hours with just my iPhone for company ... so that was super-nice.  I decided to go straight past Birling Gap this time and continue on because I knew I wouldn't be going much further before I turned around and that meant it was pointless stopping twice.

 In the event, however, that was a bit of a mistake because I only got another three kilometres when I suddenly ran out of water!  I thought I'd have a bit of warning from my hydration pack (maybe being harder to suck water or something) but nothing at all - literally I had water one moment and the next I didn't!  That was a bit of a wake-up call to make sure I had enough in future, but it was a hot day and I only had to go another 1km anyway so I turned around right away and headed back to Birling Gap.  Not having water for 3km made me realise how often I reach for my hydration pipe - A LOT.  Once I got to Birling Gap therefore, I grabbed another full 1.5ltrs of water, even though I only had another 7km or so to go.  I also inhaled a cookie and had a nice rest because there was the most massive queue in the cafe there - jeez!  Everyone seemed to have descended on it which I thought was a bit strange because the last few times I've been there it's been pretty empty and that was on hotter days.

However, it soon became clear as to why ... I pootled up and over the next hill and, at the bottom was an absolute raft of people with cameras, all pointing out to sea.  I had no idea what was happening, but since I am not English and therefore have no issues in questioning people, I selected a friendly looking lady with her daughter and asked what was happening.  She told me that "the Vulcan was doing a fly-by" which left me none the wiser, so I looked back out to sea.  She giggled wildly and said "No, look up!  Into the sky!" which I did and ... it was amazing!  This triangular plane (painted in very fetching cow print) (which is possibly camo, but looks much  more like a very sartorial cow) was heading straight for me.  My new buddy explained that this was the Vulcan's last flight before she retired, and therefore it was kind of a big deal.  I couldn't get a good picture on my iPhone but the event was covered here.  I also had a great chat with her and her daughter - turns out they are big airshow fans and were very sadly at Shoreham a couple of weeks ago.  They'd come out today to banish some of the Shoreham memories, so it was an emotional time for them, but they were loving it.

I left them to it and began to toil up Beachy Head for the last time today.  That is one BIG HILL.  It was alleviated by the Vulcan coming overhead a bunch more times which was lovely - I felt so lucky to be part of it, even if I hadn't known a thing about it and it was just coincidence!

I had my final pitstop at the top of Beachy Head, just before the descent into Eastbourne.  I scarfed my last wrap and headed down the hill ... luckily wind-aided again as I was knackered by this point.  I don't know why but the final 3km into Eastbourne town kills me every time ... maybe it's because it's a shallow hill and it's on tarmac, so my trail shoes don't love it?  I dunno, but I know I hate it!  I managed to sort of run down the hill, but as soon as I got to the flat I employed my tactic from last week and fartleked my way through town.  It was a relief to hit the hotel ... exactly 43km and 739m / 2,424 ft after I left it!  I was so pleased with how that worked out because it's a little shorter, but also a little steeper, than Day 1 of the ACC.  So now I know what it's like!  I managed it in 06:52 which I was pleased with as I'd time-budgetted eight hours for it, so now I know I can manage in sub-07:00 ... this week at least ...!  My goal is still eight hours for the event so we'll see how I get on.

I'm doing it all again tomorrow, so I hit the local Italian for a tagliatelle bolognese which was just the ticket. I'm now wrapped up in my compression kit watching ET (but luckily it finishes later than my bedtime so I'll miss the sad bit as I am emotional enough already today after such a long run!).  I can't wait to be asleep!

28. The One Where I Ran Fast Downhill

9 September 2015

So I went out last night to a lecture on "Are You Addicted To Your Phone" (I think I can safely say a massive YES) at the fabulous House of St Barnabas (a fantastic social enterprise and private member's club in Soho), which I've been a member of pretty much since it opened.   I was lucky enough to be invited for supper after the lecture as well which was great!  It was a lovely night - a little too good, because I forgot to keep an eye on the time and didn't get home until past midnight!  It was definitely worth it, but when my alarm went off at 05:20 after only about four hours sleep, I was a less than impressed ...

I dragged myself out of bed though and back to Battersea  ... and back to the hills.  After chatting with my buddy on Friday who'd done parts of the South West Coast Path (in particular, the last part), I've also been exchanging emails with another friend-of-a-friend whose partner has done the ACC three times.  Both their advice has been to walk up the hills and run down them and run on the flat, because otherwise you simply burn too many matches and run the risk of not completing the event.  Since they're both uber-experienced and have actually done the path, I'm definitely going with their advice!  Therefore, today I really wanted to focus on my downhill running.  I noticed at the weekend that sometimes when the hills were really steep, not only did I have to slow almost to a walk, but also my knees were really sore by the end of the hill.

My favorite resource for all questions about running is Kinetic Revolution.  James Dunne, who runs it, is fabulously knowledgeable about all things related to running (and triathlon as well, which is how I came to know about it).  By coincidence, just a couple of weeks ago he posted a video on how to run downhill pain free, so I checked it out and of course it was brilliant, just like all his other videos.

As I think I mentioned, I've been doing my reps in about 45 seconds (so I get about another 45 seconds rest).  I used James's techniques today though and made sure that my knees were flexed, I was relaxed, I was using my arms for balance, and (most importantly I think for me) I wasn't leaning back and ... I took about four seconds off per rep!  I'm pretty sure that this was not on the uphill, because it felt hard today (four hours sleep anyone ...?!), so that leaves just the downhills as there are no flats on the circuit.  Better yet, my knees didn't protest about it once, which is brilliant news!  I'm so pleased because I was a bit worried that if I'm going to be walking UP all these hills, I don't want to be walking down them as well or I'll never do any running at all and I'll probably still be doing the challenge next April (there's a risk of that anyway, let's be honest).  I'm feeling good again about this although definitely I was not prepared to make today's discovery that I am T MINUS THREE WEEKS AND TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!

26. The One Where I Chased Brian for 24KM

6 September 2015

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!!!!

23. The One Where It Was Suddenly Winter

2 September 2015

I woke up this morning, threw on my shorts and running vest, and headed straight out the door ... only to gasp in horror and run back for a warm jumper!  It was FREEZING!  It's been raining and miserable for a few days, but today the sun was out and it looked deceptively lovely ... hmmph.

Once I'd put my horrible old (warm) fleece and jacket on, I headed back out to Battersea Park to do some more hill repeats.  I was doing the same set as last week (every 90 seconds, I ran up the hill and down the hill, with whatever remained of my 90 seconds as a rest).  I intended to repeat this as three sets of ten reps with a three minute rest between sets.

In fact, though, I felt really good after the first ten reps and I decided not to bother with the extra rest but to go straight through with the first twenty sets.  I got a bit tired towards the end of the first set but my times were still staying about the same (it was just harder!).  I decided to take the extra three minutes break between the second and third sets, but to be honest, it didn't really make any difference.  I think there is sufficient rest between reps anyway (about 45 seconds on my times) that actually the additional couple of minutes doesn't really make much difference to how you feel overall.  Next week I'm going to try and do four sets all up, but I'll take the rest to try and pace it.

Apart from being ccccccold (and also wet, the ground was soaking), Battersea was as beautiful as ever this morning.  You can't really tell but the sunlight was sending shafts of light through the trees - they were gorgeous!  It definitely makes getting up and running a lot easier when the sun is up.  It's only got to be cooperative for another month or so until the challenge, so crossed fingers it can hold out that long!

21. The One With All the Surprises

29 August 2015

I woke up feeling a bit weird this morning - I went out for supper last night for my lovely friend Flora's birthday and I think I ate too much pasta.  It was really good pasta though ... but I felt so FULL!  The last thing I wanted to do was eat before I ran, but with the memories of bonking a couple of weeks back sharply in my mind, I knew I had to choke it down.  I got the usual Pret porridge with mango and seeds, my traintime favorite!  

I'd wanted to head back to the South Coast and do my favorite run, which is also the first one I ever did - Seaford to Eastbourne.  However, I also wanted to add a bit to it because I wanted to do about 25K, so I decided to start from Peacehaven.  My friend Debbie and I walked from Peacehaven to Newhaven at Christmas and it was sooo lovely!  Luckily the trains and buses were working fine today so I managed to get down there in a reasonable time, and I could set off over the cliff top path pretty much on time at 09:30.  

  

My first surprise of the day arrived when it was beautiful weather - it's bank holiday weekend, so obviously the weather should have been awful, and that was what had been predicted.  However, it was lovely!  This was good, but I'd only brought a sweater to change into and I'd left my sunglasses behind which was a bit of a rookie error - let's face it, when has the weather forecast ever been right?! - but in the grand scheme of things my sunglasses were an okay thing to forget and I thought I'd be cold after the run anyway as my body cooled.  Since I was heading east though, I spent a lot of time looking at my eyelashes due to excessive squinting!  

My second surprise was much better!  More blackberries!  I've only been over that path in winter but I tell ya what, it is FULL of natural goodness.  I'm never sure if you can eat the berries that look like blackcurrants here, so I avoided them, but I got totally stuck into the blackberries (all thoughts of feeling a sick faded into insignificance beside the blackberries - I love wild blackberries!).  

My third surprise came when I got to Newhaven and realised that you can't just keep going over the path, because there's an inconvenient harbor in the way.  I consulted GoogleMaps, and it diverted me up and over a bridge, which was cool, and then back down on the other side of the inlet.  I was a bit confused because instead of the perfectly normal residential street I'd been on on the other side, I was in some kind of industrial estate, but I figured GoogleMaps knew what it was doing.  However, when it started to take me down what looked like a locked off alley I began to lose a bit of faith ... but then it diverted me onto a path along the railway lines.  At first that was fine, but just when I got too far along to turn back, the path turned into ... well, not a path.  More like a faint trail between brambles and thistles and cutty grass!!!!  I couldn't see what on earth I was stepping on, but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  Eventually the brambles and grasses faded down a bit, but I still wouldn't call this a path!

Even though I was watching the path like a hawk and I was running incredibly slowly, I did take a comedy fall at one point - there was a hidden hole which of course I stood on with my bad foot and literally simply fell straight forward like a cartoon.  If anyone else had been there to see, obviously I would've bounced straight back up like I was on a trampoline, but since I was entirely hidden by the long grass I lay there for a bit to assess.  No damage was done - which was lucky, since how I'd have gotten out of there if there had been any damage is a mystery!  I set myself back on my feet and kept going but walking this time, because it was seriously sketchy out there!  Finally I hit Seaford and I've never been so glad to see it!

  

I hadn't eaten anything at that point, and I remember my friend Debbie telling me the other day that if she needed fuel (she's a serious cyclist) she would start to feel really down, rather than hungry.  I noticed as I came into Seaford that I was feeling what I can only describe as sour!  I hated everything at that point, so I tried out eating some ChiaCharge trail mix.  It was actually really nice, although it took me ages to eat because I was sooooooo not hungry.  It was good though because the next thing to tackle was Cuckold Mere and that is not for the faint hearted - it's enormous!  I do really love it though, it's my favorite of the hills down there, so I was happy to have gotten back to it.  I walked up and ran down the other side, which is pretty much perfect because it's a crazy steep ascent but a much nicer, gentler descent on the other side.  I knew from the first time that that would bring me to Cuckmere Beach, the ankle-breaking beach which takes you to the Seven Sisters which are right in front of you as you're coming down the descent off Cuckold Mere. 

 

The first time I'd gotten to Cuckmere Beach, there had been this little stream part way down the beach, but it was totally easy to get across - I just took my shoes off and wandered over, same like loads of people.  Obviously, I was expecting to do the same this time.  Uh-uhhhhhhh!  This is what greeted me for my next surprise:

That ain't no navigable stream!!!!!!!!  I did give some serious thought to just swimming it - it was boiling hot anyway and I knew I'd dry off pretty quick.  However, I had my phone and all my food with me and it didn't seem that worth paying £600 or so for a new iPhone just to get over to the Seven Sisters.  By that time I'd already gone 16K and I knew it was 5K back to Seaford, so I figured I might as well go back over Cuckold Mere and get the train back from Seaford since there was no way I was going down that stupid path again!  It was still a 21K run which was fine, that was all I needed to do today, especially as my sketchy foot was protesting against being run on after having been fallen on (fair enough) and I have plans this evening so it was actually quite a relief to head back to London in time to have a bit more of a rest.  

The sea was ALL KIND OF AMAZING today - from silvery green to a deeper green to a crazy Mediterranean blue.  It definitely made my toil back over Cuckold Mere more enjoyable because believe me, that is not the direction to go in - the trek up takes forever and running down is so steep that you think you're going to kill yourself with every step, so you can't burn it down like you can the other way.  Good to know for the future in case I ever want to do Eastbourne to Seaford (having checked the tides next time!).  

Once I got onto the train, it was totally treat time!  Of course, as soon as I stopped running  I was hungry again, so I tucked into my peanut butter sandwich and ... ta dah ... banana milk!!  The second I got into Seaford, something in my brain lit up like a lightbulb with the word "BANANA MILK" in bright flashing letters.  I found some in the local newsagent and I have literally never been happier.  That and a sparkling water (with my Whole Earth peanut butter sandwich that I'd brought with me) and I was all set for the journey home.  I was also all set to be five years old again, but that is all good!

19. The One With The Hills

26 August 2015

Aw man my legs hurt!  Haha I was actually aware of them even in my sleep ... my quads and glutes are KILLING me!  This is good in a way for two reasons - 1. It definitely means I was hitting the right muscles in my strength set yesterday; and 2. I can continue on my research into running on tired legs.

This morning, instead of doing my usual 800m track reps, I decided to do hill reps.  Believe it or not, the best place for this work out for me is Battersea Park ... I know, I know!  But it does have a hill - and one that's incredibly short and sharp (even if it doesn't look like it here) which was exactly what I needed today.

Since I didn't want to kill myself today, the plan was to go up and down the hill every 90 seconds for 30 minutes (ie, 20 repeats).  Therefore, the quicker I did it the more rest I got.  I've done this before and my times were pretty similar to what they've been before - about 45 seconds up and down, giving me 45 seconds rest each set.  Usually I would do this twice with a five minute rest between sets, but I knew my legs were super tired and I didn't want to risk an injury, so one set was fine!

The other thing I wanted to do today was test out my trail shoes!

The recommended footwear for the challenge is "well-worn-in trail shoes".  I've had my Saloman trail shoes for ages, but I definitely wouldn't say they're well worn in - I've worn them about three times!  They've been known to give me terrible blisters, so I have been reluctant to wear them on my longer runs, even though I know I need to get used to them.  I thought this morning's short set would be the perfect opportunity!  I made sure I wore my AMAZING Zer0D socks - they're not as comfortable as my Balega ones for shorter distance running, but when you need additional support they are fantastic!  They're also great for stopping blisters because they come up over the ankle (totally 80s chic).  Surprisingly, my trail shoes were actually really comfortable, at least for that short set, and they gripped the earth brilliantly.  We've had the most appalling weather the last two days so the ground was MUDDY and super-slippery, but I only skidded once in the entire set which is pretty good going.  I'm impressed!

I finished up the set still sore - sadly I didn't manage to run off the DOMS like I did on Monday - so I'm glad I did the shorter set; it was exactly what I needed.  I also learned that I'm not sure what I do to my legs when I run up hill, but I appear to kick myself in both calves judging by the mud marks on both legs!  I have no idea how that happened but at least I'm definitely picking up my legs when I run bwahahahahahahaha!