Saturday Morning Fever

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Saturday morning is one of my favourite times of the week. Trainers on, Strava set and off I go for a whole morning of running, coffee and cake with my fellow Bald Monkey.

This week we planned a long one and John had his mind set on a parkrun PB. I had planned a sneaky segment first thing to try and topple John from his throne and claim a Strava crown. As it happened, we managed to achieve all three of our goals over the course of 5 hours.

I left the house at 7:30 fuelled up on porridge, blueberries, chia seeds, coffee and a banana smoothie. I’m making a big effort to fuel and hydrate properly this year, an area I have foolishly never really paid much attention to in the past.

My first mile warmed me up and then I launched into a fast 1.8 mile loop which formed a Strava segment. I pushed hard right until the end and claimed top spot by over 2 minutes. It was a nice surprise to realise I had actually scored two crowns as I had also completed another segment within the one I was doing.

I called for John and we did 4 miles together on the way to parkrun. At 9 o’clock we set off with the other 250 people taking part and managed to maintain our places in the top 15 for the first mile. I began to push on hoping John would follow and passed a few others finding myself in 8th after 2 miles. By this time there was a big gap back to John, but I felt great and had 7th in my sights.

As we made the final turn, I saw John coming the other way and he didn’t look happy with me. I caught myself and realised that I had let my competitive nature get in the way of my friendship. It was more important to help John get his PB. That was my goal today.

I slowed and allowed a couple of people to pass before seeing him coming towards me. We ran on together pushing hard down the hill. He was suffering but in a good way and kept it going all the way to the line as I berated him. He ended up with a 9 second PB.

After a stop at Butties for coffee and cake we were back out on the road. This time our route would take us to Dover and back; a nice long run. Once at the top of the hill in Capel-Le-Ferne John pushed the pace and we flew over the cliffs. It felt great to be back up there.

I enjoy running off road as it requires much more concentration. For miles I was staring at the floor to find my next step, lost in a meditative place, my mind stilled. Occasionally I would look up to take in the glorious view and then back to it.

As we descended towards Dover, we took the bridge across the M20 and climbed up the side of the valley. This path ran parallel to the one we had left on and would take us back into Capel-Le-Ferne. The wind was now against us, but we kept pushing forward and were soon at the Valiant Sailor Pub. Here the road splits, either winding down into the town or travelling along the cliffs towards Hythe.

We chose to continue along the cliffs down and up, down and up to Castle Hill and then took the steep path back into Folkestone. At this point we separated, and I headed home. Now approaching 26 miles I could feel my body trying to stop and it was a mental challenge to keep my feet moving. I saw this as an opportunity to do some end of race training in mental toughness, and it was tough.

Eventually I reached my door and stopped my Strava. 26.6 miles. Slightly longer than a marathon but I hadn’t wanted to check earlier in case I was under. I was tired but felt great. Roll on next Saturday!

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