It was late in the morning by the time I managed to motivate myself to run and I needed a little help from Kim to decide whether to run locally or from my folks’ place… I (she) chose the latter and it was a great decision!
The sky to the south of the Downs was slightly brighter and it was almost warm down on the coast. Nevertheless I was taking no chances and wore a really soft t-shirt under layer (we call it a bunny-rabbit, it’s that soft) under a long sleeved top and my Gore jacket. I probably could have got away without my jacket but I was really glad of it running back up the hill into the wind.
I ran down the old track that links Woodingdean to Ovingdean and reflected that this may have been the first place that I ever went ‘running’, more than 35 years ago, thanks to an enthusiastic Scout leader. He was also a Police Diver and thus was able to teach us about the build up of lactic acid in the lungs (aka the stitch) and how to overcome it.
From this ridge it’s easy to see how the villages nestle into the valleys and how much green space has been left… there is space for many more houses, but the quality of life would be dramatically lower.
At Ovingdean I ran in the opposite direction to the other week, dropping down to the valley floor and running on down to the steps that lead to the Undercliff Walk.
Protected from the chilly north wind by the cliffs, the path was a sun-trap and I could easily have run along in t-shirt & shorts… this might actually have been better because when I reached Rottingdean and turned to run up the hill, the sweat from wearing too many laters exacerbated the effect of the cold wind.
I ran up past Rottingdean windmill and back up through Ovingdean, where I deliberately included the steep hill back to the ridge. It was then a comparatively short run back up to Woodingdean Primary School and back to my folks’ place.
I’m guessing that the run was about the same 5.8 miles as last time and it took around the same time too at 64 minutes.