May we run well this month

[Charliecat5]

I’ve been working all afternoon and now need to go and make the tea.  So this will be a brief report to start the new month.

After a week of monumental travel it was time to hit the hills for the first time in a week. The plan, as usual, was to head out for a Sunday run – 10 miles plus is the weekend objective now.  But a well-timed tweet from Mr Tom Roper suggested that we might both head out for a jaunt on bank holiday Monday instead.  It seemed a good plan to me.

And so it came to pass that we met at 8:30 this morning on the railway land ready for something between 8 to 10 miles.  The planned route was to head down the river to Southease before hitching up to the Moyleman (in reverse) to take us back to Kingston where we would drop the Moyleman leaving us to roll downhill back to Lewes.

Being a bank holiday it was of course wet and windy with a visibility on the tops that was down to about 20 yards.  But there were two very happy runners up there bouncing along.  So happy in fact that we took a little detour before we hit Kingston to take part in the long-lost art of sheep path traversing at break neck speed.

With the need to return to Tom’s car to pick up his wallet before a well-earned rest at Ground Coffee, we plodded back via Spring Barn farm, the rugby ground and the railway land so Tom could buy me a coffee as payment for my most excellent navigational skills (ok, I hadn’t got any money).

All in all, including my run from home and back to the meeting point I ran 13.2 miles this morning. 

A quick half on a Sunday morning isn’t a bad way to start the month. 

       

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Not a bad way indeed, Mr. Cat. Not bad at all.

[Charliecat5]

HELLO?  hello?  HELLO! Is there anyone out-there?


I have been doing some running... 3 miles last Friday in Leicestershire, 7 miles with the herd on Tuesday and 6.6 miles last night doing hill reps on Kingston Ridge.
 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hell yes. I'm still in the hunt.

Racing day after tomorrow. Report soon.

[Bierzo Baggie]

I'm still here too ... just not posting much.
Good luck for your half marathon MLCM .... I'll be looking out for that report!

[Charliecat5]

‘Tis the hay fever season and this year the pollen has arrived with a bang… well to be honest, with a sniff and achy joints.

I love this time of year when the trails dry out, the evenings get lighter and the weather warmer… but it is also the time year when the world of plants turn their attention to sex – throwing their seed into the wind and up the nostrils of us innocent humans.

The upshot of all of this… is that I’m moaning more than normal about the lack of umph in my legs and the buckets loads of snot dribbling from my nose.

Still, having said all that, it hasn’t been a bad week for running.  Since my last ‘proper’ post I have run 3 miles in Leicestershire which was a classic out and in affair through beautiful early morning sunshine.  I have spent an evening in a picturesque Yorkshire town with some great friends moshing to my favourite band – I still have a glorious parade of bruises up my legs, arms and torso a week later.

I then went running with the herd on Tuesday.  This was a really tough run and I very, very nearly pulled out at one point… but encouraged by Nick "the quick" Williams I knuckled down and followed the herd up to the race course and back to town via Chez Sweders. 

Thursday was hill rep night… any excuse not to go track running with the herd (I hate track running).  I decided that I would head over to Kingston and run up to the top four times in succession.  I cannot say it was particularly quick, but what a glorious evening.  On one descent I got stuck behind a flock of sheep and lambs being bought down of the Downs into a lowland field ready for shearing.  Not being able to get past (without scattering the sheep) I helped the farmer bring them down… something I’ve not done for years.   He offered me a lift back up the hill on his quad bike – I was bloody tempted, but chose my feet and ran back up it again.  I then I sat on the top after the final ascent and watched the sun go down.  A lovely evening.

This brings me to today’s run.  I have abandoned Sunday Twitten runs now for the Downs - with the intention to run a 10 mile plus on a Sunday morning.  I did run 10 miles plus this morning, but I felt every bloody step.  It was a real grind out there, with several recovery stops.  The route was up to Blackcap, back down to Offham, a bit of road work to Hamsey before running it in along the river.  Having made it back to town, I bolted on an extra 2.5 miles to ensure that the 10 was completed before home.  Heading down from the top of Blackcap I passed Mario, who is a very quick Moyleman runner – he was coming up the hill like Zebedee on speed.  Humph.   

All in all, and not counting the Leicestershire run, I’ve run 24 miles this week.  Not bad for a fat lad.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

'Fat lad' my foot. 24 miles is not too bad, not too bad at all. I trust you find a good antihistamine soon. Who knows what kind of distances you'll run then.

[Charliecat5]

Last week was a soddin’ write-off.   Bloody hay-fever and what I think was also a cold (it’s hard to tell through the snot of the hay-fever).  By the weekend I felt better but was away up North for family celebrations… leaving no time for running.

This week I feel much better so ahead of tonight’s outing with the herd I thought I’d better loosen up the old legs.  

Having dropped the kids at Badminton I sent off from the Leisure Centre heading for the Caburn Massif.   It started well… a trot through the railway land and down through town to the bottom of Chapel Hill.  The hill slowed things down a little but I climbed it in a reasonable time.  A quick photo stop on the mound and then it was into the field for the slow climb up around the golf course pushing out for the ‘lonely tree’ and amazing views of the Caburn Peak – a Peak I had not the time to summit today (thank goodness). 

I then turned around for the run back down the hill… happily running at a sub-7-minute mile pace (just) for the first mile before cruising back down Chapel Hill into town again.  Then the old shin splints returned resulting in a hobble back to the Leisure Centre to clear 4 miles. 

A run of contrasts, but good to be back out there after a week of feeling sorry for myself.

       

[Charliecat5]

I want to be like this guy when I'm nearly 90.  Video

(Sorry, the owner won't let anyone embed the video).

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I want to be like this guy when I'm nearly 90.  Video

(Sorry, the owner won't let anyone embed the video).

Yeah, that's brilliant. I've long said I want to still be running in my 80s. Having chatted to a few 80-something year old runners in a race or three (as they overtook me in some instances!) it seems the only secret, just as Bob Hayes said in that video, is to keep running.

So, let's keep running.

[marathondan]

If we keep going long enough, there may be an outside chance of a good for age marathon entry.

I reckon 70-75 is the one to aim for.

   

[Charliecat5]

Sometimes, it is just meant to be.

This Tuesday night’s run with the herd was great.  I had spent the day looking forward to it and had even remembered to grab a couple of peanut butter sandwiches a couple of hours before the run was due to start.  So at 18:50 I jumped into the car (with the Boy – who I was dropping off for a squash lesson on the way) and headed down to the leisure centre.
 
There was a reasonable crowd hanging around waiting to go… looking at them I realised that most were the crazies.  I stood and watched the slower group set off, wistfully wondering whether I should have joined them, but having decided resolutely that I was with the crazies tonight I stood my ground. 

Our leader called time and we were off.  Down towards the river and then south to Rodmell.  It was quite a pace, the first mile in seven and half minutes; the second in eight.  I had drifted towards the back of the pack, but certainly not last.  After about three miles or so, we left the river behind and turned west for Rodmell village – here we met up with the slower group before following a whole series of new footpaths for me, back across the fields to Lewes.  

There was quite a biting cold wind blowing, but the sun kept his hat on all the way around and it was a beautiful evening running through crops of wheat, maize and peas - all full of the hope of great things to come.

Back at the Leisure Centre, seven and half miles later, I reflected for a while on the progress being made.  There is no way six months ago I could have run that distance at that speed.  My average pace now has an eight at the beginning rather than a nine.  And although I struggled to keep up on the last couple of miles, I wasn’t last and I wasn’t completely dead on my feet either.

The run did play havoc with my left foot though.  Starting out with a shin Splint (a carryover from Monday night’s speedy descent from Caburn) this then morphed into foot cramp, before turning into a blister.  I think it is time to hang-up these particular running shoes and accept that having served me well, their work is done.

[Charliecat5]

I’d forgotten what a *ahem* joy Sunday morning Twitten running was.  With the family away I have unlimited passes this weekend, so thought I would do the Twittens today and then tomorrow the weekly long one.  

It was hot this morning… hot and humid.  With the wind in the north and the Twittens facing south, there was little of the usual wind to cool us down.  Life wasn’t made any easier by the hangover from last night’s rather marvellous shenanigans.   An evening at the Limetree eating rib eye and washing it down with red wine and craft beers… with a couple to get us going in the Landsdown first and then a nightcap in the Lewes Arms. 

The first mile just getting to the start line resulted in acidic sweat pouring down my face and into my eyes – as the alcohol made a bid for freedom.

We had a newbie today… someone with fine running form which added to the uphill pressure, and as always Mr Stacey was hot on my heels… pushing a pace beyond, well beyond, any resemblance of my comfort zone.

After a couple of coffees and a good bit of craic it was time to head back up the hill with BGG.  In the last few yards the big man pushed ahead going for a sprint finish – so with an evil thought, I suggested we kept going up Spittle road just for the hell of it.   A cunning and a satisfyingly mean plan until I realised that he was able to peel off after 200 yards to head home, leaving me to run Sweder’s circuit in reverse – an additional three miles.  

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

   A cunning and a satisfyingly mean plan until I realised that he was able to peel off after 200 yards to head home, leaving me to run Sweder’s circuit in reverse – an additional three miles.  

Ha!