Weekly report

-

This week I have continued my attempt to form some good habits. While I have slipped up on the alcohol I have continued to eat well and run hard. I’ve been stretching every other day, which isn’t ideal, but has kept the stiff joints at bay with the help of cod liver oil.

On Monday I received my London Marathon rejection and so took out my frustration by running a tough set of long hill reps up and down the Leas in Folkestone. Four reps with a total of 1,800 feet elevation at 8.5 miles an hour. I followed this by a 1.5 mile warm down.

Then on Tuesday I decided to run to Summerhouse Hill a few miles from town. John had run there on Sunday and sent me a photo from the summit making me very jealous, so I decided to repay the compliment. I ran hard through town and out along the Channel Tunnel route, reaching the hill after 5 miles and crawling my way to the top. Photo taken, I took a rather circuitous route back through woodland to Seabrook and Sandgate making it a half marathon (see photos below). I followed it up with a cooling sea swim. It was an unusually hot October day.

Sensibly I rested on Wednesday. On Thursday I caught the train to work and then ran back to Dover across the cliffs. I tried, foolishly, to achieve a quick time ascending Dover Hill but blew up half way. From then on, my legs were empty, and it was simply a case of plodding home. The positive side was that I was able to look around and enjoy the views without worrying about time. There was a strong wind behind me which helped carry me back.

When I reached Dover, I took a different route over the hill rather than around the marina which added to the elevation making it another 1,800 feet climb total. It was a good run for keeping my legs ticking over while getting some hill preparation in for the Beachy Head Marathon.

Today I feel flat, mentally and physically. My body is tired and needs to rest. Today it will get it, and I will simply do a short yoga session. Tomorrow is parkrun day, so I will do a steady one with a few miles beforehand and then another rest day on Sunday.

My goal this month is 150 miles and I’m half way with a marathon to come at the end of the month. I’m trying to get the miles in early as I want to taper the week before the event. Tomorrow I look forward to reaching a landmark – on my tenth mile I will have reached 2000 KM for the year so far.








Popular posts from this blog

A bridge too far?

-
Image
A post on Facebook caught my attention. This is how many of my running adventures begin. Bex Band, founder of the women's adventure community Love Her Wild had walked across all the bridges in Greater London. Obviously this meant the Thames River. Less obviously there are 33 bridges in total starting at Hampton Court and ending at Tower Bridge. Of these, 26 have pedestrian access and she had crossed them all. 'Hmm, that would make a good run' was my first thought. Seed planted. A couple of months later on a mild, bright January day I travelled to Richmond. My first run was Richmond parkrun with my friend Vicki and her pal Nicola. 3.1 miles, no dear and a warming coffee later, I ran the nine miles to Hampton Court. Twelve miles done and I was ready to start my run! My goal was to cross each bridge when I came to it. That meant crossing Hampton Bridge and a sign denoting entrance to Surrey before turning and re-crossing it to begin. Yes, I am a pedant. Hampton Court Bridge I
Read more

Bushy, crewing and an Epping ultra

-
Image
What a weekend. It involved some running, some supporting runners and a bit more running. Saturday dawned wet and windy. 300 runners were assembling in Wendover ready for a 43 mile run into London. The fields were boggy, the paths were waterlogged and it was cold. Well, what do you expect on January 8th. These hardcore runners set off while I was driving from east to west London. My first stop was Bushy Park. This, as many will know, was the birthplace of parkrun. On 2nd October 2004 13 runners completed the first 5k with support from Paul  and Joanne Sinton-Hewitt. 17 years later it is a global phenomenon. This was my running pilgrimage. I have wanted to run Bushy since I ran my first parkrun in September 2012. This would be my 291st. A gentle rain was falling as I parked up by the Diana Fountain just across from Hampton Court. To stretch my legs - and kill some time, I was an hour early - I ran around the park exploring the tree lined avenues, gated gardens and open marshland.  Tiny
Read more

The Druid's Challenge

-
Image
This weekend I signed up to be a member of the support team on the Druid's Challenge ultra running event in the Chiltern Hills. My friend Matt was running the three day, 85 mile event. I was allocated to help with set up and checkpoint duties on the Saturday and Sweeper on Sunday. The Druid has been going for 12 years. It is organised by XNRG, a family business that 'help people challenge themselves and break through their mental and physical barriers, whilst providing peace of mind with expertly run events, going the extra mile for every competitor.' They also put on the Pilgrim Challenge and a number of charity events raising money for Humanity Direct. To get there for the 7 o'clock start I left London at 3:30am. The benefit of this was clear roads and the ability to drive through the centre of London with no Congestion Charge to pay. I arrived at the agreed meeting point outside the village of Watlington.  The first wave of competitors were walkers. They were brought
Read more