Run The Date - Day 22
Distance: 22 miles
Motivational quote: "It's supposed to be hard. The hard is what makes it great."
Sponsor: Sarah Yeboah
Song: Higher State of Consciousness by Josh Wink
Running partner: None
Weather: Humid but dry. Breezy but behind me all the way.
Fuel: Pasta
Route: Lydd airport to Dungeoness to Folkestone
Comments:
MAF held an event today at Lydd airport. We have a new plane joining our fleet – a Grand Caravan. It will be used in South Sudan to fly people, food, medicines and materials to remote communities.
The plane originated in the USA and has been flown to Canada, Greenland, Iceland and now to the UK. It will proceed from here to the Netherlands and on to its final destination in Africa.
There was a group of us attending including the MAF International board. There were some speeches, prayers and a chance to sit in the plane.
Once this had concluded, I dashed into a phone box and switched from my work outfit to my running clothes in the blink of an eye and set off to run home via Dungeoness B nuclear power station. The buildings are visible from Folkestone and since moving here I have wanted to run the curve of coast connecting us.
To reach the power station I first had to head inland and then turn into the wind. The route was all on the road, so I had to keep my wits about me as cars swept past. Five miles later I was as close as I could get without jumping the fence. The road turned left so that the sea was on my right and I began the seventeen-mile flat stretch back.
At this point my stomach started causing problems. With a couple of miles, I had borrowed the toilet in two separate pubs, buying nothing but leaving a deposit! The miles slowly racked up as I plodded onwards. The path straight and long and boring. I listened to a podcast for a while but it was all about food and with my bowel issues I soon changed back to some music.
Another loo stop and an emergency situation on the beach left me feeling quite weak. I was sweating profusely and couldn’t tell if that was due to the humidity or my internal situation. By this time, I was about halfway and on the sea wall at Dymchurch. On January 1st John and I had run up and down it six times to complete a marathon. It was still as painful on September 22nd.
The one saving grace was a beautiful sunset, the sky turning a glorious flaming orange before fading to pink and then, inevitably, darkness fell. I reached the end of the sea wall and had to cut inland around the MOD firing range to Hythe. From here I was on familiar turf.
At one point I was running from Hythe to Sandgate in the pitch darkness with only the sounds of the waves crashing beside me. I could feel my legs turning over but with no visual reference point I had no idea if I was actually moving forward. A very odd feeling.
I switched the music to Ally & Fila, a trance album that John had been recommended. Soon I was in the zone and felt like I was starring in a running video with the soundtrack blasting out. I kept my eyes focussed on the lights in the distance and just kept pumping my arms and legs until my watched beeped to bring up the 22 miles. I was shattered and my joints ached from running on the hard surface, but another day was ticked off and my knee was still holding up. A good day.
MAF held an event today at Lydd airport. We have a new plane joining our fleet – a Grand Caravan. It will be used in South Sudan to fly people, food, medicines and materials to remote communities.
The plane originated in the USA and has been flown to Canada, Greenland, Iceland and now to the UK. It will proceed from here to the Netherlands and on to its final destination in Africa.
There was a group of us attending including the MAF International board. There were some speeches, prayers and a chance to sit in the plane.
Once this had concluded, I dashed into a phone box and switched from my work outfit to my running clothes in the blink of an eye and set off to run home via Dungeoness B nuclear power station. The buildings are visible from Folkestone and since moving here I have wanted to run the curve of coast connecting us.
To reach the power station I first had to head inland and then turn into the wind. The route was all on the road, so I had to keep my wits about me as cars swept past. Five miles later I was as close as I could get without jumping the fence. The road turned left so that the sea was on my right and I began the seventeen-mile flat stretch back.
At this point my stomach started causing problems. With a couple of miles, I had borrowed the toilet in two separate pubs, buying nothing but leaving a deposit! The miles slowly racked up as I plodded onwards. The path straight and long and boring. I listened to a podcast for a while but it was all about food and with my bowel issues I soon changed back to some music.
Another loo stop and an emergency situation on the beach left me feeling quite weak. I was sweating profusely and couldn’t tell if that was due to the humidity or my internal situation. By this time, I was about halfway and on the sea wall at Dymchurch. On January 1st John and I had run up and down it six times to complete a marathon. It was still as painful on September 22nd.
The one saving grace was a beautiful sunset, the sky turning a glorious flaming orange before fading to pink and then, inevitably, darkness fell. I reached the end of the sea wall and had to cut inland around the MOD firing range to Hythe. From here I was on familiar turf.
At one point I was running from Hythe to Sandgate in the pitch darkness with only the sounds of the waves crashing beside me. I could feel my legs turning over but with no visual reference point I had no idea if I was actually moving forward. A very odd feeling.
I switched the music to Ally & Fila, a trance album that John had been recommended. Soon I was in the zone and felt like I was starring in a running video with the soundtrack blasting out. I kept my eyes focussed on the lights in the distance and just kept pumping my arms and legs until my watched beeped to bring up the 22 miles. I was shattered and my joints ached from running on the hard surface, but another day was ticked off and my knee was still holding up. A good day.
