April 2011

[Sweder]

As foretold here the ParkRun experiment fell flat on it's sun-burned face. I duly lined up on Saturday, stapped into my canoe-like Connemara road shoes, and went off like a train. The train ran out of steam roughly two minutes later as the sun scorched down and the previous days' barbeque and Guinness conspired with gravity to take a hold. I chuffed in a good minute and a half slower than last week and I doubt the shoes had anything to do with it.

This morning I hooked up with Ladyrunner, Moylebird and Judith to run a section of the South Downs 100 mile relay from Washington (near Steyning). Despite another cloudless sky there was enough of a cool breeze to give us hope. My quads were playing up after yesterday's 5k, something that did not happen last week. Hmm. Maybe some shoe-related findings to report after all. Sadly any scientific merit was soon left dripping into the dry, stony trail as I laboured horribly after my companions.

Fifteen plus kilometres later I fell asleep in the car on the way back to Brighton. Our route had taken in part of the Steyning Stinger, joining halfway up the second sting. The girls wanted to add mileage once we'd reached the end of the planned stage (this section to be run on the day by Moylebird). I opted to lean wearily on a sturdy fence to let a torrent of ugly sweat run off my sagging belly as the girls gobbled up another hill, picking me up on the return journey.

My quads, sore before we started, sang to high heaven on the way back. They felt like ground hamburger, soft and impossibly bruised, especially so on the sun-baked, unyielding descent back down the 'sting'. They didn't hurt this much after the Connemarathon. Yes, I AM daft to take on such a distance with so little weekly mileage behind me. Yes, I WILL adjust my outings to allow for a more gentle increase in distance over the next few weeks. Now for a much-needed soak in the restorative waters of Seaford.