[NB I should explain title - the run is officially called the Steepdown Challenge]
Another Sunday. Another run out for Lewes AC in the West Sussex Fun Run league.
I've found I need plenty of warm up to get into my stride (literally) for these c 5 mile runs. And since they are usually 11am or so on Sunday mornings, the 9am Twitten Run (up and down the 12 Lewes twittens) provides perfect process. Plus it gives me a good excuse when I don't absolutely storm the 5 miler.
So Sunday was bright and lovely - but pre-run tweets pretty much confirmed it would be a solo with others off running elsewhere, or ill, or working away etc. My left ankle had been in bit of an odd way since the super track session on Thursday, and I took it slowly, indeed gingerly up the first few twittens.
By the time I reached the bottom of Keere Street I had warmed up nicely and was planning only a short turn around (usually 2 mins) - but distracted by two local walkers heading off for walk: "you should try running up it [Keere Street]" they joked. "Just about to!" I said and off I trotted.
I didn't make it round the twittens in under 30 mins (apparently the new mark of a good solo run), since I was not pushing all out. But took in deserved flat white at the incomparable Ground Coffee (whose owner Rick had just put in storming performance day before on the Beachy Head Marathon).
Then car drive over to Lancing (originally small village on edge of Downs - now part of the virtually unbroken coastal strip of housing from Brighton to Littlehampton) was quick and we gathered in a playing field in the sunshine.
The mood among the Lewes AC team was pretty bouyant as we were a Lewis Hamiltonian number of points clear of our rivals and virtually certain to win the league again. Our strong 10 point scorers were out in force (including return of runner who trains with the UK triathlon squad) and we had a full squad of exactly 25 (meaning my point for appearing was worthwhile).
The route was more or less a straightforward - 4k up the hills behind Lancing as far as the trig point and 4k straight back down. But it would be tricky for me to gauge how hard to push/hold back on the up since I had no experience of the route. So I settled into a medium pace and let the hill rise up.
Oddly, the usually way ahead of me Dave Foster was in sight for much of the first 4k. Either I was running superbly well (no) or he was ill (no again). It dawned on me only at the end that he had run the Beachy Head Marathon in just over 4 hours the day before. So this was him "taking it easy". Ahem
The bunch of runners around me were kind of familiar ones - as this was 9th race in the WSFRL for me and you tend to see the same faces in your section of the field. What was new was another Lewes AC runner using me as a pacemaker - Hugh had done this at the Hickstead Gallop and here he was again hard on my heels.
As we rounded the trig point and were cheeringly told - it's all downhill - I sprang off and pushed into my faster pace, confident I could maintain this for the next 20 mins or less. Then the course threw in a little uphill section - not anything serious but annoying enough to take the wind out of my sails. Plus a younger Lewes AC runner Alex Monson had stopped and I slowed to check he was OK. And others caught me up.
So the last 1k was a harum scarum dash with folks overtaking and being overtaken among me and 4 others, including 2 Arunners (so called cos they run for club by the River Arun ...) who I'd jostled with before.
Alex came past me at pace round the playground swings (told you we started in a park) - and so did the 2 Arunners. Then the sight of the rest of the Lewes AC pack watching the finish spurred me on and I took out one of the two Arunners on last 100m.
As we crossed the line with barely a second between us the one I had bested said "I'm getting too old for this - it's only Tom that usually makes me run this fast. But thanks." And we all shook hands. The camaraderie of the chase for what was probably 90th place ...
So I await my result with interest. Another 125 points for Lewes AC. And one race closer to getting my 10 WSFRL run medal from the club.
Just imagine how quick I could have done without the Twitten Run warm up
Another steep Downs challenge
