February 2005 - Week 4

[Sweder]

Time of day: 13:30 Hrs
Location: South Downs Way – Lewes to Ditchling Beacon (round trip)
Distance (estimated): 10.4 miles
Duration: 1:43:32
Conditions: sleet, snow, northerly winds, wet underfoot
Companions: 3 wet hounds

House-bound thanks to my dodgy disk I decided on a lunchtime lope up to Ditchling Beacon. The 161 kilometre South Downs Way runs from Chichester to Eastbourne. The trail follows the routes and droveways of ancient man along the chalk escarpment and ridges across Sussex. Some of the views from this elevated vantage are fantastic, but today the vista was swathed in a strange, mist-like fog which turned out to be sleet hurtling across the valleys to sweep up the northern face.

Ditchling Beacon sits 5 miles west of Lewes, proudly straddling this historic path. My run started as so many do, with a slow lope up to Black Cap. The 2.5 miles took just over 28 minutes, modest even by my standards, around 2 ½ minutes slower than usual. This was partly due to a concerted effort on my part to go easy on the rough terrain. A misplaced step would do my delicate back no favours, and with slimy footing along much of the trail any slip would be exaggerated. Another reason for my tardy progress was an impressive slice of weather. Not directly head-on, but near as damn it, the sharp N/NE breeze carried tiny iced barbs, hampering visibility and stinging my face.

I took a few photos (posted below) but as you will see sleet-drenched landscapes do not handsome backdrops make. The hounds enjoyed brief respite from the battering by darting into the thickets around Black Cap. Frankly had they startled any Rabbit daft enough to be above ground in this I'm sur they'd have declined the chase in favour of shelter.

We pushed on, leaving the relative safe footing of the sheep fields for the altogether more treacherous prospect of the tacky mud-trail that passes for the main thoroughfare to Ditchling. I’ve extolled the virtues of my new off-road Mizunos before, but today even these fine boots struggled in the conditions. I stopped a couple of times to remove enough sludge to cement a low brick wall, taking to the wispy grass verges in an effort to keep the soles clear of detritus.

Sleet was replaced by lightly driven snow, a less painful, more aesthetically pleasing accompaniment. On past the Agricultural College at Plumpton, the out-buildings barely visible in the valley below. We were greeting by a couple of decent climbs, each with it’s peak wreathed in the strange winter fog. I welcomed the challenge and pushed on, feet happy to be back on springy downland turf. A lone sheep, apparently on sentry duty, eyed us suspiciously from his side of the barbed wire as we cruised by.

We reached Ditchling in 58:52. As I stopped for a drink (and to take more misty snaps) I estimated the distance covered. The ascent to Black Cap paced at plus 11 minute miles, and I reckoned my pace had been similar (certainly no faster) to the turn. This equated to just over 5 miles, but I must say I’d much prefer to know how far I’d gone, and a Garmin of some description seems inevitable.

The return journey saw no respite from the lashing sleet. My only comfort came from the change of aspect, resulting in my left side freezing up and my right thawing slowly. Normally I’d run in vest and gloves (leggings in use today, obviously) but even a thick-skinned Dinosaur needed an extra layer today and I donned my yellow windcheater. The unpleasant by-product of a third skin is the entrapment of leakage. By the turn I was soaked from inside and out, so any thoughts of an extended break at Ditchling were shelved.

We reached Black Cap in 1:22. The return leg from the Beacon to here had taken 24 minutes, 6 minutes less than the outward leg. The last section (Black Cap to home) took 21 minutes, 7 minutes less than the first 2.5 miles. This pleased me, as even with the homeward leg being predominantly downhill this represented an accelerated running rate, in keeping with the Brighton Half and a race strategy I’m keen to develop: start easy, finish strong.

Without getting too intimate the après-run shower was a near religious experience. Large areas of midriff blubber, all but frozen on the run, tingled as they returned to life under the piping hot cascade.

Medics report: I noticed a tightening in my right hamstring in the final quarter mile. Interestingly this was not in the same area as my recent problem, but I applied an icepack and tubesock as a precaution. My back seems to have thrived from the activity. I am blessed (if that makes sense) in that my ‘lapsed disc has split symmetrically, causing equal grief to each side of my body. I’m not sure but I believe had it ‘favoured’ one side over the other I could expect nerve trouble in the leg on that side.
Thank God for small mercies