Technological firepower

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We all lurve gadgets and most of us have a selection of redundant kit from various generations sitting gathering dust, while we proudly sport the latest model.  There is no doubt, however, that the latest kit is totally awesome and Nick’s Garmin Forerunner 305-8RR II is a case in point here. 

Not only does it read your heart-rate, but it has a satellite dish that enables it to work out your global position, your speed, the distance you’ve run, the calories you’ve used (how does it do that?), your body weight, the amount of urine you pass en route, a sweat meter… in fact it’s so fully loaded that it will even find its own way to your computer to download files.  Just awesome!

Unless, of course, you forget to charge the battery, in which case it’s pretty er, useless.  Though why not lugging this fairly heavy wrist-weight around should make Nick run slower, I can’t profess to understand.

But there you have it.

My Gore-tex jacket made its first outing this morning and whilst it was only drizzling, saturation would have occurred quickly without it.  The going underfoot was slidey in places, making it challenging & fun, but the mud was not yet deep enough to grab your shoes.  The long grass en-route had reached 100% humidity though so it felt a little like running through a puddle… in socks.

Overall I calculate, long-hand and without the benefit of space-race technology, that we ran six and a half miles in exactly one hour… making a speed of, er… 6.5mph.  I’m no heavier than I was, but Nick did stop for a five-minute pee and the toast consumed has not filled my stomach so I clearly used… more calories than however many are in that.

Strangely, although we were both running more slowly than normal, it was far faster than I wanted to run… in short, sitting here a couple of hours later, I am knackered. 

Don’t tell Nick though!

Dirty dancin’

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Kurt was really pleased to see my old trainers caked in mud yesterday, so I thought I’d get right at it with the new ones.  It wasn’t splish-splosh out there but I did find enough mud to take the edge off the sparkly bits!  As I started out, I wondered whether the combination of a mid-week training session, allied to new runners and Kurt’s encouraging comments about my running (you know how I feel about the power of the mind!) would make a difference to my speed and/or endurance.

I don’t think I would have kept up with Cliff’s whippet-like starting pace, but I still started quickly like last Sunday.  I slowed a little from time to time, but unlike last week I didn’t run out of steam – overall, I felt pretty good.  I also felt just warm enough with my new under-layer and an old Rono long-sleeve on top and longs below… and sporting my new beanie, of course!

My route this morning took in the Royal Oak, the corner of Wivelsfield Green, Hundred Acre Lane, Wellhouse Lane (with its large group of perambulators, though none with spare tea-cakes for me to scoff!), the water tower and back along the railway.  I made it 7.5 miles overall and the time was…

…65 minutes, which means an increase from last weeks 6.77mph to 6.92mph.  I was hoping that it would have been faster, but never mind.  I have a run scheduled with Nick on Wednesday and if he doesn’t knacker me out I might go for a run the with Burgess Hill Runners again that night.  It would be great to break 7mph net Sunday.

Kurt suggested that I enter Barns Green half marathon on 28th October, saying that it’s a lovely run through beautiful countryside… Kim is yet to be persuaded, but Dai said he might sign up, so are there any other takers?  Hey Nick!  You must live round the corner, so no excuses there… unless you want to get the teacakes in afterwards!

The Kingdom

We caught up with Dai in Brighton for coffee and conversation about the latest technological developments in education, before heading off to Brighton Marina for supper and a film.  The marina is excellent at the moment… it seems to have progressed in waves, getting quite depressingly tired between moments of excellence, but right now there are a more than 20 capacious places to eat, a stack of shops, a David Lloyd gym, a casino… the list goes on.  Oh, and a cinema, of course.

Oh my, WHAT a film!

The Kingdom, directed by Peter Berg and starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, is based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after a terrorist bomb shakes a compound for western workers.  With it’s complex post-911 / east-west / inter-cultural tensions and stunning performances from the cast, the action is relentless and the plot gritty and scarily believable.  Overall, it’s a very thought-provoking film and left us slightly dazed!  Five stars!

Disco dancin’

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We all love new KIT, so yesterday, with its visit to Run, was a red letter day.  We also love Kurt and Fred (who was conspicuous by his absence!) because they’re just SO passionate about running and they want to pass that on to their customers. 

When you’re buying new trainers, they always want to see the old ones.  This is to see how the soles have worn so that they can recommend the most appropriate replacement.  They also get you to run up and down outside the shop to confirm their prognosis.  I was told to run off around the block twice to compare two different shoes: the equivalent replacement for my two-year old Saucony’s and a pair of Nike’s.  There was no contest, added to which the Saucony’s are a hoot… real discodiva strutyourstuff shoes!

The other item on the shopping list was a rain jacket.  Their stylish range of Rono gear is excellent and their new gore-tex jacket is a joy to wear… I half hoped for rain today so that I could christen it!  A new supersoft base layer t-shirt and a fab iQ beanie hat completed my acquisitions.  Kim went for two new top layers… a mid-season zipped top and a rain resistant jacket in red… it’s gorgeous and she won’t be missed when she’s wearing it!

We were so happy on leaving that I left my socks behind… any chance of posting them back Kurt?

Middleton Common Farm

We’re really lucky to have a great little farm shop just outside town.  Middleton Common Farm is found on Middleton Common Lane, near Ditchling Common (postcode BN6 8SF, phone number 01273 890266) and they have a wide range of fresh fruit & veg, dairy products, cakes, other staple foods and greeting cards.  The reason we go there is for our logs though, to keep our wood burner happy and us toasty through the winter!

We started the wood burner going last week and although it’s now warmer again, there’s a sense of anticipation going to see the two brothers who own the farm and getting logs in for the next cold evenings.  What is charming is that after months of not going, they make us so welcome, asking to be updated on our lives and chatting like good friends.  Really lovely people!

Mid-week exercise

We joined the Burgess Hill Runners on Wednesday night for some track work at Lewes sports centre and my, what a track it is!  Floodlit and in great condition, the slightly springy surface is a dream to run on. 

From the people I met, the club has a really broad mix of members but all keen to improve their running… and their banter!  It was a really fun hour and despite being newcomers, we were welcomed like good friends!

The downside?  We now need to go to the Run shop and buy some new winter kit… we were really lucky as although dark, it was quite mild, but I think that the warmer weather has now been washed and folded up into a drawer so that it doesn’t get dirty until the Spring needs it!  I definitely need one of those rain jackety things (damp is okay, cold is okay, cold and damp… ugh!) and both my pairs of Saucony’s are showing signs of distress… even the newer pair has no splodge left after the Ligurian descents!

Okay… so I just looked out the window to see a gorgeous day sitting in my garden, but you know what I mean!  Soon it will be winter drawers on, mark my words!  ‘Til then… I must go and see if it really is warm out there!

Longs on

I had no inclination at all to run this morning and it wasn’t until I had consumed my huge espresso that I could even countenance it!  This lack of inclination, in addition to a chilly wind, meant that the longs came out for the first time since the spring.

The mind is fascinating though, as when I actually started running it was at a far brisker pace than normal… my legs were on good form, only my mind had been in denial! 

I took a shorter route rather than push myself too hard and there were several times when I needed to pause for breath or slow down, but each time I got to an uphill I would push against it, almost racing myself (gently) to the top.

Despite the slow bits and the pauses, I managed 6.2 miles in 55 minutes, which is an average speed of 6.77mph… not bad, bearing in mind how little I’ve really been running and that I was running on my own.

Kim and I are planning to do some circuit work this week, so we’ll see what effect it has!  Good I hope, as Nick is about to make a reappearance after his rib recuperation and it would be nice to run him ragged for a change!

Michael Clayton

I’m suprised to report that we’ve not been to the movies since the middle of August, but this is mainly due to the traditional lull in the launch of decent films at the end of the summer holidays.

Ironic then, having raved about the Bourne Ultimatum, to go and see another film penned by Tony Gilroy, although this time he directs too. 

George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, a fixer in a greedy corporate law firm whose largely honourable motivations are misunderstood by those around him, to his detriment.  It’s a tense thriller for those people that like to have to think about what’s really going on… in fact, I overheard one of the women who had clearly only gone along for George Clooney (swoon!-), having the sub-plot explained to her afterwards!  Tom Wilkinson gives a stunning portrayal of a brilliant laywer pushed way beyond his principles for too long, while Tilda Swinton gives fascinating insight in the two-sided personality (the perfectly composed side you see and the one that worries like the rest of us) of a top executive.

Cracking plot and brilliantly executed, I give it 5 stars!

Old news

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Our good friend and Italian walking guide Lorenzo Gariano sent an email around today with some photo’s from our summer jaunt to Italy… La Via Marenca Ultra Trail.

It’s fair to say that Dai and I only did the half marathon (you might have read Dai’s comment that it was actually around 25km long and about 1km in height gain), but Cliff, Pete, Lorenzo, Steve and Colin all completed the Ultra at around 99km!

Anyway, the photo is me finishing in a relaxed 4 hours 13 minutes or so (good for a half marathon, no?) and you can see all the other photos at the site of Adolfo Ranise.

I feel exhausted just remembering!