After a week off followed by a couple of lazy mid-week lopes I decided to hook up with the Jog Shop Joggers this morning to see how they were getting on. Around forty runners gathered above the Marina, keen to get started. The routes on offer this morning were
One: The Big V (half the Big W) taking in North Face, Yellow Brick Road, Big V, Castle Hill, Death Valley and The Snake. In all just shy of nineteen miles of leg-thrashing hell. Not for me, this one. Two: NF, YBR, Snake, Double Back, Windmill Hill/ St Dunstans and back along the cliff-tops (around sixteen miles). Or Three: a straight Snake with a double-back to the Reservoir, Windmill Hill and cliff-top finish for a shade under fifteen.
It took me about one point two seconds to go for option three. This would be the largest group and would split at the top of Telscombe Tye into 'fast' and 'slow' packs. Sam asked me to take the front group. He would ride alongside the slowbies, watching out for strugglers/ injured runners.
The front group turned out to made up of me and three svelt and rather lovely ladies. It is, as some have said before, a tough job... We set off after the three mile preramble, charging up the steep climb out of Saltdean at a fair pace. I felt good, my enforced mini-taper and deliberately sparse running week leaving my legs fresh and full of running. We chatted easily about the races ahead. My mention of Bombay* raised an eyebrow or two, drawing comments about 'heat' and 'humidity'. Ah yes, part of my Master Plan: if I can suck up the heat of Mumbai** in January I should be better prepared for Cape Town at Easter. At least, that's the thinking; it could all go the way of all flesh before then but I feel it's good to have a dream.
Around twelve miles in I noticed the unwelcome return of my old mucker the Calf Strain. Fitting that this should rear its ugly head now, for today sees the running of the
Steyning Stinger, the brutal Sussex off-road marathon that spawned the injury twelve months ago. Conditions today were benign by comparison with that rain-lashed swamp-fest. I felt a pang of envy as I looked across the hills where patches of sunlight danced between the rushing shadows of the scurrying clouds. I'd like to have taken on the Stinger Half today but the race, as with so many around these parts these days, closed its doors some time ago, already full to the brim with masochistic locals.
My companions today got stuck into their miles with great gusto. A biting cold wind raced out of the west to slap our faces on the steeper sections, adding a welcome spice to the challenge. In the low-lying valleys the cruel wind abated leaving the sunshine to warm our sweaty backs unmolested. Chantelle, someone I'd not run with until today, showed endless energy as she bounded up the Snake, arms rocking in a nice compact style. She gasped at the fabulous landscapes stretched out below us, and not for the first time I gave thanks that I live and run in this beautiful place. Behind us Jill and Holly (another newbie to me) worked hard to keep up. We took the sharp left-hand turn at the head of the Snake, taking the cinder track back down to the foothills before heading due south towards the reservoir. The hardtop road took us over a hill before stretching away in a gentle descent into Rottingdean. In the distance the English Channel glittered and twitched, bringing to mind that
Cardiacs classic
Cold As Can Be In An English Sea.
Home in around two and a half hours. My calf felt pretty sore, even after some determined stretching; looks like another visit to Evil Annie and her
Screaming Chinese Cups of Pain 
Still, a steaming cuppa at Mac's, where Remmy and Simon returned after their epic long route encounter plastered in mud and looking horribly pale, soon had my spirits restored. Roll on next week when I hope to get a full session in.
(That's
running session SP
)
[SIZE="1"]* Pedants please note; generally I'm sticking with the old name for the city. My new friend Amit uses 'Bombay', and he lives there
** I reserve the right to contradict myself at all times.[/SIZE]
