February 2015 – Foster Runs

February 22, 2015

Splish splosh splash

Yesterday was a lovely day and I managed to get out into the garden for a couple of hours to prepare the way for a new project. This involved removing a couple of large shrubs that were past their best and moving a couple of railway sleepers. I’m quite surprised that I’ve not felt the after effects of all the cutting, digging and struggling with sleepers!

After sitting with a quadspresso in the teahouse this morning, planning the next steps, I got out for a run on my local circuit. The ground was surprisingly wet and the mud was thus really liquid, meaning that I was splishing a lot. There was little point in trying to avoid this water-mud so I just ran through the very worst of it… generally in straight lines so that I didn’t end up on my face!

For a change (and in order to avoid the worst of the mud) I ran along the Magical Path today, though even this was muddy.

I don’t normally take pictures of the beautiful houses I run past, but this one is for sale if anyone is interested… though I can’t find it on the agent’s site to let you know the price!

Sometimes it’s hard to convey what the conditions are like… today, however, I have photos!

6 miles in 1.02 is an average speed of just under 6mph… you can see the route here: https://www.strava.com/activities/258563623

My aim was to get back out to my garden project, but incessant rain stopped play. Cue a slob-out afternoon in front of the TV instead!

February 8, 2015February 15, 2015

Social running

One of the nested reasons for keeping at this running thing is so that I’m fit enough to keep up when there is an opportunity to run with my friends.

Cliff, Mark and Andy were running in a Longman 28 mile run from Falmer today and Mark had cajoled me into joining them, at least for a short distance. I started at Jack & Jill, their half-way point, and ran back along the top of the Downs towards them, passing the front runners as I did. The leader looked on pretty good form but the guys weren’t actually that far behind… er, well, maybe two miles or so, which I suppose is enough.

I didn’t quite manage to get to Blackcap before Cliff came into view and I turned around and ran back to the Beacon with him. Mark was 20m behind that whole way and he finally caught up while Cliff was eating Scotch Eggs and chocolate brownies at the refuelling station. I then ran with the two of them back across to Jack & Jill.

When I reached their turn point Mark suggested that I run with them a little further until I found Andy, who was only behind on account of being in recovery from the flu… we reached him before we got to the top of Home Hill. I then turned round and ran back to the turn point with him and then, for moral support, back up to the top of Home Hill again.

And then, obviously, I ran back down to the car.

Overall I felt as if I was on good form… idling along on a sunny day with friends who have run ten miles further than you will do that every time!

My efforts amounted to a run of 10.5 miles in 1.51, an average of 5.67 mph… you can see the route on Strava at ttps://www.strava.com/activities/252009307

I returned to base for a quick shower and then Kim and I went to Lewes for a relaxed walk and something to eat… it was a glorious day! We even managed to drop in on my folks on the way back… they were on good form too, despite being somewhat more than ten metaphorical miles ahead of me!

February 1, 2015February 15, 2015

Back stitch WhuHuh!

Twice in the last week I have run for a train with a heavy work bag on my back. I managed to get to the station ahead of the train both times and was pleased that I could still breathe easily, but it clearly wasn’t a good idea as I have managed to tweak my back.

We went out for a pre-Christmas meal with my favourite (school) friends last night and the bearhugs (or at least Paul’s ones!) probably didn’t help.

Based on this I was in two minds whether to go for a run at all, but I decided there was at least a chance that it would ease the pain so went out into a sunny morning. It was like having the stitch, insofar as I couldn’t fully inflate my lungs, except that the pain was below my shoulder blades rather than my sternum. Every so often I would twist and utter the WhuHuh sound, which probably would have been funny if anyone had been there to hear me.

The mud was about the same as last week, so I was sliding all over the place. However it was a bramble that ultimately unseated me… I must have stood on one end and the loop then caught my other foot… THUD! Down I went onto my hands… I won’t be surprised if my shoulder aches tomorrow into the mix!

Overall it was a beautiful day which even felt warm in the sun… though it was fweezin’ out of the sun!

No photos to show (yet) – see last week’s rant (which I’ve only posted today) for the reason. You can see the 6 mile route at https://www.strava.com/activities/249027181 – I basically completed it in about 1.01, which is similar enough to the last few weeks to make me realise that the pain today didn’t slow me down… or that I’m not generally trying hard enough!

Photos to follow if my MacBook Air ever lets me download them! Post purchase dissonance R us!

PS. It might seem odd to have pictures above of runners that magically shed their mud, whilst the socks & longs retain theirs. Kim kindly handed me a bowl of water & a scrubbing brush to clean them before I even took them off. It worked well, but the next run returned them to their disgustingly muddy state!