And occasionally I go running...

[Charliecat5]

It’s that time of year. The time of year when I’m all jittery.   A little on edge.  Mind constantly turning over.  With the Moyleman less than two weeks away, a mixture of nerves and excitement abound. Like a perfect cocktail (craft beer and a pack of pork scratchin’s)… the two coincide nicely together.
 
We had the last committee meeting on Sunday morning… a steady breakfast (the service wasn’t great) after the Twittens.  Most of the boxes are ticked.  These days it almost organises itself – a comment which is in danger of belittling the amount of effort that we all put into this.  But still, we do all know what we are meant to be doing, and when it needs to done by.  Mostly by the 17thMarch. 
 
I for one have almost forgotten the stress caused by last years’s weather and hadn’t mentioned the absence of my esteemed* sidekick for quite some time (days even).  However, his very lovely wife did bring the subject up in the car on the way to the first Seaford Parkrun (a run that the Moyleman sponsored BTW).  So, this year, bar any last-minute trips to the far east, we have a full team in place. We have a start.  We have an end.  We have beer and pizza.  We may even have a band (I know!).  We have a good posse of marshals and we have a lot of very excited runners.  We have also re-stocked the foil blankets and hand-warmers – but we’re not going to need them this year… 
 
 
*Other adjectives are available

[Charliecat5]

I did the Seaford Parkrun again. It was windy. 
 
But onto more important business.  After the Parkrun, the Goat, Shayne and I went to the Italian Deli in Newhaven for a coffee and a Sardinian sausage roll.  It was the nearest I have ever been to perfection in a sausage roll.  Its arrival was a unique orgasm of flavour, texture and colour.   Every mouthful a slap across the taste buds. It was jaw-droppingly good.  
 
They should be outlawed for the sake of humanities predisposition to addiction. 
 
I have a newfound love of the Parkrun… this could become a habit… 

[OutAlongTheRiver]

Shocked! I go away for one weekend and you become a parkrun addict ....

[Charliecat5]

I’ve been busting out the miles…. a combination of Parkruns, Twittens and a more recent foray up Caburn. But if I’m being brutally honest, I've been cruising. Not pushing hard, just racking up the distance.  And again, if I’m being honest, I’ve not really been doing much distance either. Someone, somewhere, on here, once used the term ‘junk miles’.  I don’t think they have been junk miles, as I know they’ve been doing me some sort of good, but it hasn’t really been moving me forward… well obviously it has, but you know what I mean. 
 
One thing, amongst many, that I haven’t been doing for the last six months, is running with the Herd.  All sorts of things have got in the way of this; predominately a severe case of the ‘can’t be arsed’.  This however, changed this morning.  Radar flagged up yesterday that the Herd was organising a run around the Firle loop.  A lovely romp the wrong way down the Coach Road, the wrong way up Bo-peep (have you ever run up that bastard?  I hadn’t until this morning… and it is indeed a bastard), and the wrong way along the top until you drop back down into Firle.
 
A severe case of puppy love caused Radar to pull out this morning, and I very nearly used this as an excellent excuse not to go… but I didn’t.  I went.
 
It was a really mixed group of runners this morning.  Mixed in terms of abilities, but also between those I know, and those I didn’t.  Since I last ran with the Herd, they have been recruiting.  Which was really nice.  I found myself at the front of the pack as we scurried down the Coach road.  I held my own up Bo-peep, and fair flew down from Firle Beacon pushing speeds I haven’t done for quite some time.
 
I loved it.  It was so nice to be out with a pack of runners who pushed my boundaries and reminded me what I am capable off.  It felt like those early days when Goat Face dragged my sorry arse all over the hills, albeit with fewer tantrums today.

[OutAlongTheRiver]

Hurrah! Great to see. We should plan a run if there's ever a weekend which works!

[Antonio247]

I'm glad you're feeling strong enough to go for such tough runs with the Herd again, C5.



Saludos desde Almería.

[Charliecat5]

I don’t know why, but I’m running a lot quicker than normal.  I discovered this earlier in the week when running with Mrs CC5.  I was comfortably running at an 8min/mi pace and below.  
 
Last night I headed out into the hills with Radar and a similar thing happened.  Once I’d had a mile warm-up, I was off pounding over the South Downs like a frisky lamb playing in the sun.  Although, the speed may have been an attempt to drive some clear ground between us, as she was regaling a review of Fleabag, from a women’s perspective, which was quite worrying for an innocent chap like me. 
 
This strange turn of events has nothing to do with a training regime or the like… admittedly I am running more regularly at the moment, but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.  I think it is more to do with the fact that I’ve remembered that I can move a bit quicker, if I just put a bit of effort in.   

   

[Antonio247]

That's wonderful, CC5! The same thing is happening to me but I must admit I'm training more and I've lost around six kilos in four months.

You look fine with the last Almería half T-shirt.


Saludos desde Almería.

[marathondan]

but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.

5 kilos is a lot.

Then again, what is "preferred weight"? We all have a preferred weight, doesn't mean we have ever achieved it!

[Charliecat5]

but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.

5 kilos is a lot.

Then again, what is "preferred weight"? We all have a preferred weight, doesn't mean we have ever achieved it!

My "preferred weight" is the weight I've been for the last five years... until this last 6 months or so, when I accidentally grew by 5 kilos.  Most of it is what some of us might call a "beer belly".

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.

5 kilos is a lot.

Then again, what is "preferred weight"? We all have a preferred weight, doesn't mean we have ever achieved it!

My "preferred weight" is the weight I've been for the last five years... until this last 6 months or so, when I accidentally grew by 5 kilos.  Most of it is what some of us might call a "beer belly".

It's just a thought, but there's no such thing as a "wine belly". Thee might be something in that.

[Charliecat5]

but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.

5 kilos is a lot.

Then again, what is "preferred weight"? We all have a preferred weight, doesn't mean we have ever achieved it!

My "preferred weight" is the weight I've been for the last five years... until this last 6 months or so, when I accidentally grew by 5 kilos.  Most of it is what some of us might call a "beer belly".

It's just a thought, but there's no such thing as a "wine belly". Thee might be something in that.

Have you looked down recently? :-)

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

but I am also 5 kilos over my preferred weight.

5 kilos is a lot.

Then again, what is "preferred weight"? We all have a preferred weight, doesn't mean we have ever achieved it!

My "preferred weight" is the weight I've been for the last five years... until this last 6 months or so, when I accidentally grew by 5 kilos.  Most of it is what some of us might call a "beer belly".

It's just a thought, but there's no such thing as a "wine belly". Thee might be something in that.

Have you looked down recently? :-)

Yes, but that's the beer. I never suggested I follow my own advice. That would be far too reasonable.

[Charliecat5]

I often think, in those more romantic moments, that part of my soul is lost out in the hills.  Like a benign Horcrux (I haven’t murdered anyone... yet) part of my soul exists beyond my being.   I say this because it seems quite a lot these days that the only time I feel whole is when out in the hills.  Sometimes when I have a couple of skies strapped to my feet, but more often when I’m out running.  
 
And yes, I am running. In fact, I’m running reasonably well. Most weeks I will manage a long one at the weekend with a short sortie during the week.  I have lost a bit of weight, started to work on strengthening my core, and the hills have become easier.  Moreover, I have ditched the technology.  Running only with a basic watch so I make it home in reasonable time. The Garmin hasn’t been on my wrist for over two months.  And I love it.  It defines a new era in my running career.  I no longer care how far I go, or indeed how fast I run.  I just love being out there in the hills.  I have a much better sense of my being now, and the morning after will always tell me how hard I worked.
 
Adventures are finding new trails and places to run.  Being more aware of surroundings and taking the track less trodden has provided different perspectives.  Coming off Caburn last night is a case in point.  Dropping down into a valley that I knew existed, but didn’t really, provided a whole new dimension to what is a very familiar route, made more special as the sun dropped over the horizon. 
 
Stopping is also a thing. Taking the time to sit on the tops and enjoy the view, or the valley bottoms as the mist burns off, the woods in the early evening.  To breath it in and appreciate the effort taken to get there.  Otherwise, what is the point. 

[OutAlongTheRiver]

That's brilliant!

[marathondan]

Stirring stuff, CC. Great to hear that you are in good form.

We have a yin and yang thing going on though. My running is going well too, but I am slave to the Garmin. Every session has a target distance and pace. That's the way I like it, for now at least.

[Antonio247]

Beautiful report, C5! Although I've got used to running or cycling with my mobile phone and using my app to see the course, distance, time later I think it is much better to forget all that and enjoy the run without worrying about the pace or distance you've done.

Best of luck with your training!


Saludos desde Almería.