My annual pilgrimage to the Florida swamps has been and gone. Friends For Life was a rip-roaring success; record numbers fed, educated, entertained and sent off to face the year refreshed for their battle with type one diabetes. As for the staff ... we returned to our homes happy but drained, emotionally wrung out and, in my case, jet-lagged to the max.
No sooner had my feet touched down in Old Blighty than I was off to re-pack, load up the hounds and head West to rendezvous with Mrs S in an oceanside thatched cottage retreat. Tucked away in the folded fields east of Weymouth, this idyllic spot offers running opportunities aplenty, all of which entail a large amount of hill climbing. The coastal route east is mouth-watering. White Nothe looms high above Ringstead Bay, often shrouded in cloud or sea mist. The narrow, rutted path, lined with high grass and brambles, winds away towards Durdle Dor and Lulworth Cove. The vistas are breath-taking, the peaks and troughs hair-raising.
Tuesday morning, 24 hours after landing at Gatwick, I set off on this route. Rory, our youngest's current Beau, came along for the ride. At 20 he has the bounce and energy of a young gazelle, leaping up hills for fun, barely breaking sweat as I huffed and puffed in his wake. We turned at Durdle Dor, the return climb proving too much for me and the dogs to run. Rory bounced on, having the good grace to pause at the summit to catch his breath. A tiny patch of perspiration stained his otherwise impeccable t-shirt. By contrast I looked like I'd just emerged from the sea, bedraggled and soaked, beet-red and breathless. I gave him a run for his money on the descent, though, and absolutely thrashed him when it came to manning up and wading into the ice-cold ocean at the finish. We take our victories, however small, where we can.
This morning (Thursday) I'm sucking down my second coffee at 06:20. Breakfast lies in my belly in preparation for today's outing. Tuesday saw the thick end of 10k banked. Today it'll be more like 20, with an elongated half-time taken at Lulworth Cove for another dip and, frankly, a rest. These hills are unforgiving.
100 miles/ days challenge update:
June: 33.2 miles (ave 1.109 miles per day)
July: 22.3 miles (ave 1.394 miles per day)
And I Would Run One Hundred Miles
